John Thune

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, Zach Didier was a good student, an athlete, and a musician. He was an Eagle Scout, star of the school play, and he was hoping to attend Stanford University. But 2 days after Christmas, in 2020, Zach's dad found him dead in his bedroom of fentanyl poisoning. He was 17. Zach and his friends had gone to the mall to meet a drug dealer they had found through social media. He bought what he thought was Percocet, but it wasn't. The counterfeit pills he bought contained fentanyl, and what was a bad decision became deadly. Zach was one of the more than 90,000 Americans who died of an overdose in 2020, many of those deaths from fentanyl poisoning. He was one of countless victims of fake pills being peddled on our streets, pills that too often find their way into the hands of young people and steal their futures. Courage Minten's is another tragic story. Adopted from Ghana, Courage was pursuing his dream of becoming an airline pilot. He had attended flight school and interviewed for a job, just days before he died, at age 23. Courage's parents found him on their couch after a night out with friends, seemingly asleep, until he stopped breathing. As they later found out, Courage had taken a pill with two times the lethal dose of fentanyl in it. Ashley Romero, a 32-year-old mother, took half of what she thought was a painkiller, but that half a pill contained a deadly dose of fentanyl. The dealer who had supplied Ashley's boyfriend with the pill that took her life is believed to have sold pills that killed several other people. One of those individuals was Jonathan Ellington. Jonathan had become addicted to OxyContin when it was prescribed to him for a high school soccer injury. He got clean and stayed clean for about a decade, until another injury and another prescription got him back on it. When his prescription ran out, he bought some pills from an acquaintance. It only took one pill with a lethal dose of fentanyl to take Jonathan's life. Mr. President, these are just a few of the stories that families have shared with the Judiciary Committee in support of the HALT Fentanyl Act. Unfortunately, there are many more like them; lives lost, futures destroyed, families changed forever. One in three Americans know someone who has died of a drug overdose. We are losing young people, teenagers, young parents, and people with bright lives ahead of them. When the Trump administration temporarily classified all fentanyl analogs as schedule I substances, law enforcement gained a critical tool to combat fentanyl and go after people who are bringing this poison into the United States. Congress has extended this temporary classification several times because it works. Now we need to make it permanent by passing the HALT Fentanyl Act. I was very pleased at the strong bipartisan vote this bill received last Thursday, and I hope the vote on final passage will be equally robust. As I said, classifying all fentanyl analogs as schedule I substances gives law enforcement a critical tool to go after the criminals bringing this poison into our country and selling it on our streets, and it joins other efforts to end the fentanyl crisis in our country. President Trump is taking significant steps to halt the supply of drugs flowing across our borders. Senator Blackburn has done great work bringing attention to the role of social media, which is often the link between teenagers and drug dealers. And the Senate will continue working to stop fentanyl from taking more American lives. Fentanyl has caused too many tragedies. I am grateful to the families who have lost loved ones to this deadly drug for sharing their stories. The HALT Fentanyl Act is moving forward due in no small part to their support. I yield the floor. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 30.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I send a cloture motion to the desk.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I move to proceed to legislative session.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 32.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I send a cloture motion to the desk.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I move to proceed to legislative session.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I send a cloture motion to the desk for Calendar No. 18, S. 331.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate resume legislative session and be in a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I move to proceed to legislative session.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I understand there is a bill at the desk, and I ask for its first reading.

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I now ask for a second reading, and in order to place the bill on the calendar under the provisions of rule XIV, I object to my own request.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 960, introduced earlier today.

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I have four requests for committees to meet during today's session of the Senate. They have the approval of the Majority and Minority Leaders. Pursuant to rule XXVI, paragraph 5(a), of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the following committees are authorized to meet during today's session of the Senate: committee on agriculture, nutrition, and forestry The Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, March 11, 2025, at 2:30 p.m., to conduct a hearing. committee on armed services The Committee on Armed Services is authorized to meet in open session during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, March 11, 2025, at 9:30 a.m., to receive testimony. committee on the judiciary The Committee on the Judiciary is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, March 11, 2025, at 2:30 p.m., to conduct a hearing. committee on veterans' affairs The Committee on Veterans' Affairs is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, March 11, 2025, at 10:30 a.m., to conduct a hearing.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I move to adjourn until 6:40 p.m. today.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 11 a.m. on Wednesday, March 12; that following the prayer and pledge, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and the Senate proceed to executive session and resume consideration of Calendar No. 31; further, at 12 noon, the Senate vote on cloture on the Miran nomination, and if cloture is invoked on the Miran nomination, the postcloture time expire at 2:15 p.m. and the Senate vote on confirmation of the Miran nomination; further, if cloture is invoked on the Sonderling nomination, the postcloture time expire at 5:15 p.m. and the Senate vote on confirmation of the nomination; finally, if any nominations are confirmed during Wednesday's session, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order following the remarks of Senator Blumenthal.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the morning hour be deemed expired.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Journal of proceedings be approved to date.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate be in a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I understand that there are two bills at the desk due for a second reading en bloc.

Mr. THUNE. In order to place the bills on the calendar under the provisions of rule XIV, I would object to further proceeding en bloc.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.