Yesterday, U.S. Congressman Tim Burchett (TN-02) attended a roundtable discussion on the growing fentanyl crisis in the United States.
During this roundtable discussion, Rep. Burchett listened to mothers of children who died of fentanyl overdose and other Americans who have been harmed by opioids.
Several members of Congress were also in attendance to discuss legislative solutions to this important issue. In January 2022, Rep. Burchett introduced the Fentanyl Trafficker Elimination Act, a bill to sentence fentanyl smugglers to life in prison. Unfortunately, due to extended vote times that shortened the time of the roundtable, Rep. Burchett was unable to speak on this legislation. However, you can read his prepared remarks below:
Thank you to everyone who came here today to talk about their personal experiences with the ongoing fentanyl crisis. This is a painful topic, but it’s important we all come together to work on solutions to get this drug out of our communities.
Fentanyl is killing hundreds of thousands of Americans, and it’s quickly spreading through our nation. Drug traffickers and cartels are taking advantage of the weak security at our southern border to move more fentanyl into our country. They are willing to kill people in order to turn a profit.
Fentanyl traffickers are terrorists wielding weapons of mass destruction, and we need to treat them like it. That’s why I introduced the Fentanyl Trafficker Elimination Act. This bill would increase criminal penalties for anyone who intentionally smuggles illegal fentanyl into the United States. Anyone who is convicted of intentionally trafficking fentanyl or fentanyl analogues would be sentenced to life in prison.
We can't shrug off this criminal activity that is responsible for killing hundreds of thousands of Americans. We need to lock up these terrorists and throw away the key.
I'm eager to work with my colleagues in Congress to get this bill passed and support other solutions to keep this deadly weapon out of our country.
Original source can be found here.
