Brett Guthrie

Mr. GUTHRIE

Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume. My friend from New Jersey did say that this law expires at the end of the year. That is why we are here today to make scheduling illicit fentanyl permanent. We have to understand what the status quo is. The status quo currently is horrific. Before these illicit fentanyls were scheduled, although we couldn't get them permanently scheduled, there were all kinds of analogues throughout America. That is why the DEA and others recommended that we schedule these, because once you change the fentanyl molecule, unless these are scheduled, then it becomes no longer illegal. These all appeared in our country, and that is why we are reacting to it. They are scheduled now, and what we are moving to do is to make it permanent. What has happened since they were scheduled? They came to me, and they talked about mass incarceration. We have heard that today. There have been eight people in prison under this law, four dealing with cartels, which I would say absolutely should be in prison. I asked some of my law enforcement people when I was looking into this bill: If you have only arrested eight people, why does it matter? That is what they are saying on the other side of the aisle. What they said was the only reason we have only arrested eight people is because when this was put into place, the analogues--not fentanyl, but the analogues, which can be more dangerous--had disappeared from the marketplace. They are bringing in fentanyl that is already scheduled. The problem is, if we treat fentanyl analogues differently than fentanyl, they are going to reappear again. That is why we have to put them in the same category. If you have fentanyl subject to mandatory minimums, but not these analogues, then they are going to reappear. We have to pass this bill, we have to move forward, and I recommend support of this bill. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GUTHRIE. Madam Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Iowa (Mrs. Miller-Meeks).

Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Chairman, I move that the Committee do now rise.

Mr. GUTHRIE. Madam Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Latta).

Mr. GUTHRIE. Madam Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California, Mr. Mike Garcia.

Mr. GUTHRIE. Madam Chair, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Dunn).

Mr. GUTHRIE. Madam Chair, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Bucshon), the vice chair of the Health Subcommittee.

Mr. GUTHRIE. Madam Chair, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Joyce).

Mr. GUTHRIE. Madam Chair, may I inquire as to the time remaining. The Acting CHAIR (Mr. D'Esposito). The gentleman from Kentucky has 5\1/2\ minutes remaining. The gentleman from New Jersey has 8 minutes remaining.

Mr. GUTHRIE. Madam Chair, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from New York (Mr. D'Esposito).

Mr. GUTHRIE. Madam Chair, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Griffith), the bill's sponsor.

Mr. GUTHRIE. Madam Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Chair, action is needed now to address the fentanyl crisis. That is why I rise today in strong support of H.R. 467, the HALT Fentanyl Act. Fentanyl is the top cause of death for Americans 18 to 49 years old. In my home State of Kentucky, illicit fentanyl overdoses represented 70 percent of all overdoses in 2020 and 2021. The fentanyl crisis is one of the foremost problems that the American public faces and has been made worse by the crisis at our southern border. Illicit fentanyl is turning virtually every community into a border community with these poisons flooding streets across America and taking innocent lives, including the lives of our kids. The HALT Fentanyl Act would ban all fentanyl analogues and strip the drug cartels and other criminals of the incentive to create new versions of fentanyl to skirt around the law. This bill is a key step to help get these poisons off our streets and give law enforcement the tools they need to crack down on illicit fentanyl trafficking. A two-pronged approach to addressing this crisis is needed. We must have a law enforcement and a substance use recovery strategy to address this crisis. That is why I look forward to examining the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act later this year to continue providing access to treatment and recovery support services that so many individuals rely on throughout the country. To those who oppose this legislation on the grounds it could lead to mass incarceration, the emergency classwide scheduling implemented by President Trump did not lead to mass incarcerations. In a Government Accountability Office study from 2021, the GAO found that there were only eight prosecutions--yes, eight prosecutions--during the period in which the Trump administration temporarily scheduled fentanyl-related substances as schedule I drugs from 2018-2020, with four of them being individuals working on behalf of the cartel because the cartels quit creating illicit fentanyl separate from the fentanyl that is poisoning our kids today. It could be even worse. I know there are also those who believe the emergency scheduling order didn't lead to reductions in overdose deaths and that this bill before us won't effectively address the issues we are facing. To both of those criticisms, this bill stops these analogues from being produced in the first place. Right after the classwide ban was put in place, the number of fentanyl analogue encounters dropped nearly 89 percent, more than 6,200 fewer reports of analogues. DEA officials stated that the classwide scheduling contributed to this dramatic drop. It also includes provisions to facilitate more research into the detection of fentanyl-related substances and potential treatment of fentanyl poisonings, something that has much more red tape in the status quo. I am happy to see the White House supports two main provisions of the HALT Fentanyl Act. The HALT Fentanyl Act is one step of many this body needs to take to address the end of the overdose crisis. The time to permanently act is now, and I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 467. Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on the legislation and to insert extraneous material on H.R. 467.

Mr. GUTHRIE. Madam Chair, this was a bipartisan bill. It got bipartisan votes in committee. It is the DEA's number one priority. If you are selling fentanyl to our kids, you deserve to be incarcerated. We don't apologize for that. Madam Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Washington State (Mrs. Rodgers), the chairwoman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Mr. GUTHRIE. Madam Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis).

Mr. GUTHRIE

Mr. GUTHRIE. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that when the House adjourns today, it adjourn to meet at 9 a.m. tomorrow.

Mr. GUTHRIE

Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize Edwin F. Smith. I am proud to join the community of Glasgow in celebrating Edwin Smith's 100th birthday on April 12, 2023. The community is not only recognizing the Kentucky native for his momentous birthday milestone, but also recognizing his service to our nation. U.S. Army Air Force 2nd Lieutenant Edwin F. Smith is a veteran of World War II. He played football at Glasgow High School and was offered a scholarship to play at the University of Louisville. However, his life went down a different path after the attack on Pearl Harbor. He enlisted in 1941 to fight for our country and became a pilot. Shortly after serving in World War II, he was one of two people to survive a deadly plane crash during a military training exercise. Following his service, he attended the University of Tennessee before transferring to Bowling Green Business University, which is now Western Kentucky University, and graduated with a degree in accounting. Edwin Smith continued to give back to his community following his military service through volunteer work and sharing his experience in the military with students. Edwin Smith is a father, stepfather, grandfather, and great- grandfather. A piece of advice he gave one of his children is to ``count your blessings--not your troubles.'' He has lived a remarkable life of service. I thank him for his service and wish him a very happy 100th birthday.

Mr. GUTHRIE

Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Chair, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Chair, I heard several Members that were talking, saying that they were vaccinated and encouraged people to be vaccinated. I actually did my vaccination on Facebook to encourage people to be vaccinated. The question is: Is it a choice or a requirement to move forward? So I am not here to disparage the vaccine at all. I just think it should be the people's choice. To clarify--this was brought up, and I want to reiterate again--this does not affect any of the entry requirements that have been put on people coming from China. There will be an amendment in the package to reinforce that it doesn't do anything to move forward. We had a hearing earlier today, and for the first time, I heard there is actually a plan to try to unwind the emergency pandemic. That is the first time I heard of that. We have been asking for that for a year. We want to move these bills forward because other countries have started opening up. Other countries have moved forward. We heard the President say the pandemic is over. We heard the President say in this Chamber last night that COVID doesn't run our lives anymore. So we need to do our proper role of oversight. I will point out that if there is another strain of COVID--when it says that not only does it undo the mandate, it will also undo any similar mandates, it is only for COVID. So if there is another kind of pathogen, unfortunately--hopefully not--that comes into our country, it can be addressed. We can come together. We came together when COVID first broke in 2020. I remember flying back on an airplane that had three people on it right in the heart of COVID so we could come back and cast a vote. We all came together and did that. We will rise to the occasion as we move forward. The question is: Can we get back to normal? This is a bill that brings us back to normal. It has nothing to do with the effectiveness of the vaccine. As I said, I took mine on Facebook so people would see that I felt it was safe. I just don't want to force somebody else to do it. This is an opportunity for us to end this mandate and continue to work because I want to work with my colleague on the Energy and Commerce Committee as we unwind this pandemic before May 11, so that we do it together, and we do it in a way that we recognize COVID is still here. When they say it is not a pandemic, it is endemic. That doesn't mean it has gone away. It means we still have to mitigate and deal with it. There will be opportunities for us to work in a bipartisan way and do so as we move forward out of this emergency order, which was last week's bill. But in this bill, it is time for us to move forward like the rest of the world, as well. Mr. Chairman, I encourage my colleagues to support this bill. There will be some amendments also to move forward on as we debate later today. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Chair, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chair, I rise today in support of H.R. 185, which provides another opportunity to recognize COVID-19 as an endemic and move our country back to normal. Last week, we had a couple of bills dealing with COVID--one vaccine mandate for healthcare workers, which is the only CMS vaccine mandated for healthcare workers--and my bill to declare the emergency over. President Biden actually did announce that the emergency is going to be over May 11, so we have a lot of work to do moving forward. Now we move forward to ask for support for H.R. 185, which provides another opportunity for us to move our country back to normal. H.R. 185, introduced by Mr. Massie, a member of the Rules Committee and a fellow Kentuckian, would finally put an end to the CDC's requirement for international travelers to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination before entering the United States through air, through flying to this country. The bill would also prevent the CDC from implementing any similar mandates to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination to enter into the United States through air. This policy is out of touch with the rest of the world. The U.S. is the only country in North America with this requirement, and most other countries have no testing or vaccination requirements at all. Also, the Biden administration fails to provide exceptions for religious or moral reasons. As with other vaccine mandates, this requirement will not end on May 11, and thus far, the administration has not indicated any plans to change it. It is long past due to end this mandate. Doing so will align the United States with the rest of North America's COVID-19 vaccine policy for people coming into the country and recognize COVID-19 is an endemic rather than a pandemic. Further, this will serve as an important check and balance against President Biden's overreaching policies by requiring the President to come to Congress in order to enact similar policies in the future. I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Chair, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Massie), my good friend, to speak on the bill. We have the great privilege of sharing Bardstown in Nelson County in our districts.

Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis), my good friend.

Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.