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The Republican Recap: Week of February 3, 2025

Washington, February 7, 2025
Here’s a recap of what Republicans achieved on the House Floor this week:

Cracking Down on Fentanyl to Save American Lives ✅

Thanks to Biden’s border crisis, fentanyl is pouring across our southern border, destroying lives, families, and communities. Synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl, lead to nearly 70 percent of overdose deaths, as the drug can be deadly in even small doses and is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. In 2022, more than 200 people died from fentanyl and opioid-related overdoses every day, and fentanyl is the leading cause of death for Americans under 50 years old – taking more lives than heart disease, cancer, suicide, and homicide.

If the temporary order scheduling fentanyl related substances (FRS) ends, several FRS will become street-legal, law enforcement will lose authority to seize them, and drug traffickers will continue to funnel increasingly deadly drugs into the United States. 

This should not be partisan – lives are at stake. In 2022, drug overdoses claimed the lives of over 100,000 Americans, 67 percent of which involved synthetic opioids like fentanyl, and the DEA seized over 379 million doses of fentanyl – enough to kill every American.

H.R. 27, the HALT Fentanyl Act, introduced by Rep. Morgan Griffith, permanently classifies fentanyl-related substances (FRS) in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, guarantees law enforcement has the resources to keep these drugs off the street, and allows for further research of FRS. 

“The ongoing fentanyl crisis has been fueled in part by a rise in lethal fentanyl-related substances. We are pleased to see House passage of the HALT Fentanyl Act, which prioritizes the safety of American life and highlights our commitment to defeating the scourge of fentanyl. Accordingly, we urge swift passage of HALT Fentanyl in the Senate so we can complement President Trump’s actions to curb the flow of fentanyl into America,” said Rep. Morgan Griffith and Rep. Bob Latta.

What Members Said:
 
“This critical bill will enable law enforcement to get dangerous drug traffickers off of our streets by permanently and responsibly classifying fentanyl analogs as Schedule I narcotics. Last year, DEA Rocky Mountain Division seized a record 2.7 million fentanyl pills – enough to kill everyone in my district one and a half times, or 1.3 million people. We must do more to stop this drug from infiltrating our communities, and that starts with empowering law enforcement,” said Rep. Gabe Evans. “As a Colorado cop for 10 years, I witnessed first hand how not supporting law enforcement enables traffickers and the flow of fentanyl into our communities. This bill, of which I am a proud introduction co-sponsor, gives cops the tools that they need to bring traffickers of this poison to justice.”


Click here or on the image above to view Rep. Evans' remarks.
 
Rep. Julia Letlow emphasized that fentanyl has left too many families heartbroken, and H.R. 27 ensures that law enforcement has the tools they need to keep it off our streets.  
 

Rep. Dan Crenshaw highlighted that H.R. 27 targets illicit fentanyl traffickers -- the criminals lacing drugs and killing Americans every single day -- by permanently classifying fentanyl-related substances (FRS) in Schedule I and empowering law enforcement.  


Protecting American Energy from a Fracking Moratorium ✅

Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a drilling technology used for extracting oil, natural gas, geothermal energy, or water from deep underground – accounting for two-thirds of the natural gas in the U.S. and half of the nation’s oil, and positioning the U.S. as the world's leading producer of natural gas and oil. Despite the large amount of American energy it produces, fracking is under threat, as Democrats continue to attack American energy production regardless of the energy crisis their policies have caused. 

Former President Biden repeatedly caved to radical environmental activists and made statements about ending fossil fuel production in the United States. Although fracking has been consistently attacked for contaminating groundwater, a study conducted by the EPA under the Obama Administration found that fracking has had no “widespread, systemic impacts on drinking water resources in the United States.”

American energy production through fracking leads to lower energy prices for families and workers, boosts economic growth, and improves quality of life for Americans. We must protect American energy production from Democrats’ radical anti-American energy agenda.

Rep. August Pfluger’s legislation, H.R. 26, the Protecting American Energy Production Act, prevents a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing (fracking) to protect American energy production, and expresses that states have primacy over energy production on state and private land.

“The Biden Administration spent the last four years attacking the American energy industry – going as far as attempting to shut it down by banning almost all new U.S. offshore drilling projects on their way out of office. This is why the first piece of legislation I introduced in the 119th Congress was the Protecting American Energy Production Act, and I am thrilled to see its passage through the House today. This legislation will protect the American energy industry and its consumers from the federal government by preventing any federal moratorium on the use of hydraulic fracturing. I am blessed to represent America's most prolific oil and gas producing region and am committed to unleashing energy in the Permian Basin this Congress,” said Rep. August Pfluger. 

What Members Said:
 
“Unleashing American energy dominance is one of the most important tasks facing Congress right now. Four years of restricting the flow of American energy has forced the price of everything, especially fueling our cars and heating our homes, to skyrocket. Finally, with Republicans back in control of both chambers of Congress and the presidency, we can follow through on the American people's mandate to unleash American energy,” said Rep. Buddy Carter. “Under the Biden Administration, the attacks against energy dominance were crippling. Even in the final days in office, President Biden tried to ban American energy by stopping almost all new U.S. offshore drilling projects. Congressman Pfluger’s bill is a common sense piece of legislation that will allow individual states to maintain control of their own fracking policies and prevent executive overreach. America is a large country with diverse energy needs – a one size fits all strategy might make life easier for Washington bureaucrats, but it does not work for the American people.”


Click here or on the image above to view Rep. Carter's remarks.
 
Majority Leader Steve Scalise underlined that H.R. 26 prevents future presidents from implementing fracking bans like President Obama and President Biden pushed to crush American energy production.  
 

Rep. Scott Perry stressed how American energy dominance is critical to America's prosperity, and that H.R. 26 prevents the federal government from being allowed to arbitrarily hinder American energy production.