May 25, 2023

RANKING MEMBER CORREA VOTES AGAINST GOP’S FLAWED HALT FENTANYL ACT

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Representative Lou Correa (CA-46), Ranking Member of the House Border Security and Enforcement Subcommittee, voted against the counterproductive and inefficient Halt All Lethal Trafficking (HALT) Fentanyl Act, and issued the following statement: 

“I have seen first-hand the devastating impacts of fentanyl and other narcotics—both in my district and during my visits to our border,” said Ranking Member Correa. “This bill does not combat the root of the problem: drug traffickers who are smuggling fentanyl and other narcotics into this country. Instead, the so-called “HALT” Fentanyl Act demonizes those impacted by this crisis—without providing rehabilitative resources—and imposes harsh, historically ineffective, mandatory minimum sentences. Above all, a Schedule 1 substance is defined as one with no currently accepted medical use, and all fentanyl-related substances do not fall into that category. In fact, many are approved and used by medical professionals around the country, and many of whom also oppose this legislation.”

Specifically, this bill:

  • Wrongfully classifies all fentanyl-related substances (FRS) on Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act when FRS is used to treat many medical conditions. With this classification, there is no exemption for removing harmless substances from the drug schedule.
  • Imposes and expands harsh mandatory minimums for all FRS, criminalizing foreign, domestic, and nonviolent distributions at the same level. Mandatory minimums limit judicial discretion and do not take into account the background or context of the offense. These minimums only fuel racial disparities in our prison system.

“We need to build bipartisan bridges to enact real drug reform,” Correa concluded. “I appreciate my Republican colleagues attempting to tackle this very important issue, but this legislation neither halts fentanyl usage nor offers real solutions to the drug crisis in this country. We need targeted measures to combat drug traffickers smuggling fentanyl into our communities and rehabilitation efforts for affected users. That’s why I voted ‘NO’.”

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