Washington, DC—May 25, 2023…Today, Congressman Steve Womack (AR-3) voted in support of his cosponsored legislation, H.R. 467, Halt All Lethal Trafficking (HALT) of Fentanyl Act. This legislation would permanently place all fentanyl-related substances (FRS) on schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. It also grants researchers the ability to conduct certain research on FRS by streamlining the registration process for such research, allowing us to better understand their overall effects on health.

Congressman Womack said, “We can’t sit back and watch as this deadly drug infiltrates communities nationwide. Fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances are pouring over the southern border through criminal cartels and landing in the hands of young Americans, often unknowingly. Today, we took action in stopping the manufacturing and distribution of this lethal substance to fulfill our duty of protecting the American people.”

With the fentanyl epidemic worsening due to the southern border crisis, illicit fentanyl poisonings are now the number one cause of death among adults 18-49—more than COVID-19, cancer, heart disease, and car accidents.

Congressman Steve Womack (AR-3) has represented Arkansas’s Third Congressional District since 2011. He is a member of the House Appropriations Committee.

womack.house.gov

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