Republicans in the House and Senate hope to use the Biden administration’s desire to crack down on the fentanyl epidemic to gain Democrats’ support for passing tougher penalties that make selling the drug to someone who then dies from it a federal crime.
Sen. Marco Rubio and Rep. Tony Gonzales debuted the Felony Murder for Deadly Fentanyl Distribution Act in mid-February to increase the punishment for any person involved in the sale of fentanyl that leads to a user’s death.The bill is meant to crack down on drug dealers and suppliers who sell counterfeit versions of Percocet, Xanax, and Oxycodone that have been manufactured by Mexican cartels and filled with fentanyl.
“Look back to the State of the Union. Even Biden mentioned the fentanyl crisis. He didn't mention it very long, but the fact that he mentioned it — that was telling,” said Gonzales. “You're seeing more and more people across the other side of the aisle realize, ‘Hey, this is a problem.’" In a proposal that the White House released in September 2021, it outlined counter-fentanyl measures that Congress should enact, specifically permanently scheduling fentanyl, precursor ingredients, and related substances instead of renewing its temporary classification.
Gonzales, whose 800 miles of border district runs from south-central Texas to El Paso on the state’s border with New Mexico, believes that the Republican Party will coalesce around that series of bills that he hopes will include the Rubio-Gonzales proposal. The bill would also make such an offense a federal charge that would be prosecuted by the U.S. attorney's offices nationwide.
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