'The Most Important Thing This House Of Representatives Will Do': Fitzgerald Touts HALT Fentanyl Act

During debate on the House floor, Rep. Scott Fitzgerald (R-WI) spoke in support of S. 331, the HALT Fentanyl Act.

Transcript

00:00Thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you to Chairman Guthrie and Congressman Griffith for your

00:05leadership on the issue.

00:08This is a historic moment, Mr. Speaker.

00:11House Republicans are delivering on a promise to stop the flow of deadly fentanyl that for

00:17years has been flooding our communities and tragically tearing families apart.

00:22Today, drug overdose is the leading cause of accidental death across the country and

00:28fentanyl-driven overdoses are the leading cause of death for American adults between 18 and

00:3645 years of age.

00:38That's because it's cheap to make, easy to transport, and so potent just a few milligrams

00:45can be lethal.

00:47Addressing the spread of illicit and illegal fentanyl-related substances has been a top

00:52priority not only for myself but for many other colleagues in this House.

00:57It's hard for me to believe what I'm hearing from the minority right now.

01:01One of the first pieces of legislation that we introduced in the 117th Congress was stopping

01:07the overdose of the Fentanyl Analogs Act.

01:11SOFA is the same acronym as an organization started by Laurie Baudra of Oconomowoc, Wisconsin,

01:19saving others for Archie.

01:20Archie was her son.

01:22Laurie has worked to raise awareness of the dangers of drug addiction throughout Wisconsin

01:27following the loss of her son Archie to a fentanyl overdose.

01:32Mr. Speaker, I'd like to personally recognize the work of Laurie as well as Dr. Timothy Westlake

01:38of Waukesha, Wisconsin for spearheading legislation in the Wisconsin State Legislature that culminated

01:45in the bill being debated before us today.

01:49Since 2017, they have been working on a permanent solution and that is scheduling fentanyl as

01:57a substance one item.

02:01It is the most important thing that this House of Representatives will do in this Congress.

02:06Thank you and I yield back.