WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) today celebrated the passage of the Halt All Lethal Trafficking (HALT) Fentanyl Act, which makes permanent the temporary classification of fentanyl-related substances as a Schedule I drug of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). Cassidy’s bill passed the U.S. Senate by a vote of 84-16 and will head to President Trump’s desk to be signed into law. The HALT Fentanyl Act built on the momentum of the Stopping Overdoses of Fentanyl Analogues (SOFA) Act introduced by U.S. Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI).
“74,000 people died in 2023 from fentanyl overdoses. Law enforcement needs every tool,” said Dr. Cassidy. “This gives them another tool and makes that tool permanent. We must continue to work until 74,000 becomes 0. I am proud to have led the effort to get this bill to the president’s desk.”
“The HALT Fentanyl Act is a critical step towards ending the crisis that’s killing hundreds of thousands of precious American lives. I thank my Senate colleagues for passing this bill with broad, overwhelming support,” Senator Grassley. “I urge my House colleagues to swiftly pass the Senate version of this battle-tested, bipartisan bill to save lives, advance research and support our brave men and women in blue.”
“The HALT Fentanyl Act incorporates the permanent scheduling of fentanyl-related substances, which I first introduced in 2017 in the Stopping Overdoses of Fentanyl Analogues Act (SOFA). SOFA served as the template for the Trump administration’s temporary scheduling rule in 2018, and it recognizes the admirable devotion of Wisconsinites Dr. Tim Westlake and Lauri Badura. Ms. Badura, who founded Saving Others for Archie, made it her life’s mission to end the fentanyl crisis after tragically losing her son, Archie, to fentanyl poisoning. I am pleased that the Senate overwhelmingly passed this important bill that has been proven to keep new kinds of fentanyl-related substances from being manufactured for illicit use in our communities,” said Senator Johnson.
The bill has 30 U.S. Senate cosponsors, including Democratic lead Martin Heinrich (D-NM).
“I’m pleased that my HALT Fentanyl Act passed the Senate and is one step closer to becoming law,” said Senator Heinrich. “My legislation now heads to the House and I urge my colleagues to pass it. The HALT Fentanyl Act is urgently needed to help our law enforcement crack down on illegal trafficking, get deadly fentanyl out of our communities, and save lives.”
The bill has also been endorsed by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and is supported by 40 advocacy groups, including 25 State Attorneys General, 11 major law enforcement organizations, nine major medical associations and Facing Fentanyl, a coalition of over 200 impacted family groups.
Before the vote, Cassidy spoke on the U.S. Senate floor urging his colleague to vote for his HALT Fentanyl Act.
Background:
In February, Cassidy spoke on the U.S. Senate floor amid Senate Democrat’s attempt to undermine his HALT Fentanyl Act.
Drug overdoses, largely driven by fentanyl, are the leading cause of death among young adults 18 to 45 years old. Synthetic opioids like fentanyl account for 66 percent of the total U.S. overdose deaths. In the last two fiscal years, U.S. Customs and Border Protect (CBP) seized record amounts of fentanyl—nearly 50,000 pounds—enough to produce more than 2 billion lethal doses. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2023 there were an estimated 107,543 drug overdose deaths—74,702 of which were attributed to fentanyl. This was primarily fueled by synthetic opioids, including illegal fentanyl, which are largely manufactured in Mexico from raw materials supplied by China. In 2022, there were over 50.6 million fentanyl-laced fake prescription pills seized by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), more than doubling the amount seized in 2021.
In 2017, Johnson introduced SOFA in the U.S. Senate following the Wisconsin legislature’s unanimous adoption of a similar bill. In 2019, Cassidy became a cosponsor of SOFA.
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