Staten Island Reporter

(WASHINGTON, DC) - On May 25, 2023 Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis (NY-11) applauded the House's bipartisan passage of H.R. 467, the HALT Fentanyl Act, that permanently schedules fentanyl-related substances (FRS).

In addition to permanently classifying FRS as a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act, the bill continues to give law enforcement and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) the authority to seize FRS in communities across America and at our southern border and ensures practitioners can research FRS so we can better understand their overall effects on people's health.

"Permanently scheduling fentanyl-related substances is the Drug Enforcement Administration's top legislative priority and I'm proud to have joined a bipartisan group in passing this legislation today," Malliotakis said. "Without this legislation, many fentanyl-related substances would become street-legal, law enforcement would lose their authority to seize these extremely lethal drugs, and the drug cartels would continue to have free reign along our southern border and in cities across America. These drugs have killed hundreds of thousands of Americans and remain the number one killer of young Americans ages 18 to 45. This legislation, coupled with the critically important border security package we passed earlier this month, will go a long way in stopping these criminal organizations that are raking in billions of dollars peddling poison into our cities to kill our youth."

Yesterday, Malliotakis spoke on the House Floor to urge the passage of this legislation and highlight the results of a year-long DEAinvestigation that led to the arrest of more than 3,000 individuals and the seizure of more than 44 million fentanyl pills, as part of their efforts to crack down on Mexican drug cartels operating within the United States.

WATCH MALLIOTAKIS' REMARKS HERE

Original source can be found here.