AUSTIN – Yesterday in the Senate Judiciary Committee, U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) scorched Democrats for slow-walking consideration of the Halt Lethal Trafficking (HALT) Fentanyl Act, which would permanently classify fentanyl-related substances as Schedule I under the Controlled Substances Act. Sen. Cornyn voted for the legislation, which ultimately passed out of committee. Excerpts are below, and video can be found here.

“Fentanyl poisoning is the leading cause of death for young people between the age of 18 and 45.”

“The longer we dither over some of the fine points of chemistry on this bill, that it’s like watching the house burn down and suggesting maybe we need to use a different sort of hose to put out the fire.”

“There have been 60 years of research into fentanyl-related substances, and this bill just says any substance that is related to fentanyl would be scheduled as a dangerous drug and would be prohibited from sale.”

“The longer we delay in the permanent scheduling of these fentanyl-related substances, the more people are simply just going to die.”