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House hearing spotlights HALT Fentanyl Act as bipartisan tool to curb fentanyl-related substances
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Summary
Members of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health and witnesses urged Congress to pass the HALT Fentanyl Act, a measure to permanently schedule fentanyl-related substances as Schedule I while preserving research access; witnesses described class scheduling as a targeted preventive tool distinct from interdiction of illicit fentanyl.
Lawmakers and expert witnesses at a House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health hearing urged passage of the HALT Fentanyl Act, legislation that would permanently schedule fentanyl-related substances (FRSs) as Schedule I under the Controlled Substances Act and create regulatory paths intended to protect research.
Supporters said class scheduling would remove an incentive for chemists to tweak molecular structures to evade prohibitions. "Class scheduling simply removes the incentive to create new FRSs and has been proven to do what it was designed to do, halt their very creation," said Dr. Timothy Westlake, an emergency physician who has worked on opioid policy. Several members and witnesses framed the bill as one preventive tool alongside enforcement and public-health measures.
The bill drew broad support in testimony. Sheriff Michael Bouchard, vice president of government affairs for the Major County Sheriffs' Association, told the subcommittee that permanently classifying fentanyl analogs would give law enforcement a more stable legal basis for prosecutions and disrupt trafficking networks. "The HALT Fentanyl Act would permanently classify fentanyl analogs as Schedule I substances, helping to curb the influx of these lethal drugs," Bouchard said.
Family advocates also testified. Raymond Cullen, who lost his son to a drug poisoned with fentanyl, called for immediate action: "Someone intentionally laced that cocaine with fentanyl. Our son did not accidentally overdose. He was poisoned." Cullen urged lawmakers to support the measure and to increase public education to prevent other families from similar losses.
Several witnesses and members acknowledged the limits of scheduling. Regina LaBelle, an addiction policy expert at Georgetown, and others said class scheduling of FRSs addresses one narrow spigot in a larger crisis driven by illicit fentanyl produced and trafficked by transnational networks. "There is no quick or easy solution to the scourge of illicit fentanyl," LaBelle said, but added that FRS scheduling is a ‘‘legislative fix’’ aimed at preventing the creation of new analogs.
Supporters asked members to vote on the bill when it appeared on the floor later the same day. The hearing record reflects no committee vote at the session; members noted the House would consider the HALT Fentanyl Act later.
Ending: Witnesses repeatedly urged that class scheduling be paired with investments in interdiction, treatment, harm reduction and drug monitoring to address illicit fentanyl supply and other emerging compounds.
