Fentanyl

Floor Speech

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Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, I am 5 minutes late in coming to the Senate floor. I was supposed to be here on the fentanyl issue to support Senator Cotton. I know that an objection has been raised, but I want people to know how important I think this issue is.

Today, we were considering--hopefully, by unanimous consent--passing a bill to permanently schedule fentanyl substances. Proactively scheduling fentanyl-related substances ought to be a big priority because too many Americans' lives have been lost to reject this critical measure.

Some wrongly assert that controlling fentanyl analogs is partisan and unnecessary. That is simply untrue. Legislation to schedule fentanyl analogs is a bipartisan issue. Just last year, this body passed a bipartisan, 15-month extension bill unanimously. Also, such authority is necessary. The CDC estimates that fentanyl analogs have killed 50,000 Americans in the last 12 months. We must prevent overdose deaths. Prevention is possible when we use our laws to force China to stop the flow of fentanyl analogs.

Opponents of permanent scheduling assert that the authority is broad and could result in too many arrests, but since the Drug Enforcement Administration placed fentanyl analogs in schedule I, the Justice Department has convicted only 80 people under that authority. So too many people being arrested as an argument against their permanent extension is hogwash. This authority hasn't resulted in vast and wide prosecutions; rather, this authority has been targeted and deliberate, and, of course, that is the way it should be.

So if controlling fentanyl analogs is, in fact, bipartisan and necessary, why isn't supporting legislation then a no-brainer? Perhaps because of heightened partisanship, the Democrats can't vote for legislation that helps law enforcement, or maybe they can't be seen as supporting any drug control law even if it could save thousands of lives. This position goes against the unfortunate truth that 50,000 Americans have died from these deadly fentanyl analogs. Politics has no place above human life.

As frustrated as I am by this, it is not my nature to throw in the towel. I will always work hard to find middle ground. That is why I am asking every Senator to support Senator Cotton's permanent extension or, at a minimum, my bill, the Temporary Extension of Fentanyl Scheduling Act. This bipartisan measure extends the authority to schedule fentanyl analogs for 14 months. It keeps fentanyl analogs in schedule I until July 2022, which is long enough for the administration to come to a permanent scheduling solution and allow for a deliberate and transparent dialogue with Congress.

Simply put, we need to give ourselves enough time to find a solution to this major problem causing 50,000 lives to be lost every year. As history shows us, lengthy fentanyl scheduling legislation is not controversial. I am simply asking for a similar, bipartisan approach now. My bill is the only bipartisan temporary extension bill on the table.

I am grateful for Senators Hassan and Shaheen for teaming up with me and Senator Cornyn.

We can't limit ourselves in the fight against fentanyl. It is with this in mind that I urge all of my colleagues to support either a permanent extension or my bipartisan bill and to extend the authority to schedule fentanyl analogs for 14 months.

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