President Biden told Congress to stiffen penalties for fentanyl trafficking in his State of the Union address, sparking an angry response from GOP lawmakers who say the president is the one who must get moving.
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers said Mr. Biden should tighten border controls and pressure the Senate to pass the HALT Fentanyl Act, which would permanently place the synthetic opioid and its chemical analogs on the most stringently controlled list of drugs — Schedule I.
“Rather than enforcing the laws on the books or taking action that he has acknowledged he has the authority to do, President Biden has bent to the will of his radical, open-border political base. This administration should support and pressure the Senate to pass [the HALT Fentanyl Act],” Ms. Rodgers said.
The point of the bill is to make it clear that illicit fentanyl is a banned substance subject to stiff criminal penalties. The measure passed the House but hasn’t been taken up by the Democratic-led Senate amid concerns about mandatory minimum penalties for drug offenses.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is responsible for tens of thousands of deaths per year, making it the top culprit in the U.S. overdose crisis.
Mexican cartels import precursor chemicals, often from China, and manufacture fentanyl. They often press the drug into fake pills, causing unsuspecting Americans to take the drug and die.
Mr. Biden insists he is responding to the problem. He formed a joint team with Chinese President Xi Jinping to crack down on Chinese chemical manufacturers who feed the cartels, and he said a bipartisan border deal thwarted by the GOP would have enlisted 100 more high-tech drug detection machines “to significantly increase the ability to screen and stop vehicles from smuggling fentanyl into America.”
“There’s more to do to pass my Unity Agenda. Strengthen penalties on fentanyl trafficking,” Mr. Biden said later in his speech.
Rep. Bob Latta, Ohio Republican and a lead sponsor on the HALT Fentanyl Act, said Mr. Biden was attempting to “pass the buck” on border security “when, at this very moment, he has the authority and ability to stem the flow of illicit drugs — like fentanyl — and illegal migrants from crossing into the United States.”
Sen. Katie Britt, Alabama Republican, struck on a similar theme in the GOP’s rebuttal to Mr. Biden’s speech.
“From fentanyl poisonings to horrific murders — there are empty chairs tonight at kitchen tables just like this one because of President Biden’s senseless border policies,” she said.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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