WASHINGTON – The Senate today passed the Halt All Lethal Trafficking of (HALT) Fentanyl Act, which Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, helped introduce. The bill was led by Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and would permanently list fentanyl-related substances as Schedule I substances under the Controlled Substances Act.

“The HALT Fentanyl Act would help save lives in Louisiana and across the country by empowering law enforcement with tools to combat the trafficking of this deadly drug. I’m proud to see the Senate pass this critical legislation, and I look forward to it becoming law,” said Kennedy.

Fentanyl is a scheduled substance, but Mexican drug cartels have made small chemical tweaks to fentanyl to produce drugs with similar dangerous effects—fentanyl-related substances—that were not scheduled.

In response to this crisis, the DEA exercised its authority to temporarily classify fentanyl-related substances as Schedule I under the Controlled Substances Act. That temporary scheduling order will expire on March 31, 2025 if Congress does not act.

Under the HALT Fentanyl Act, fentanyl-related substances would remain Schedule I. In addition, the bill clarifies that the mandatory minimum penalties that apply to fentanyl also apply to the trafficking of fentanyl-related substances.

“74,000 people died in 2023 from fentanyl overdoses. Law enforcement needs every tool. 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,” said Cassidy. 

“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. 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,” said Grassley.  

Background:

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that in 2023 there were 81,083 overdose deaths in the U.S. that involved opioids.

• In March 2023, Kennedy introduced the Fairness in Fentanyl Sentencing Act, which would have made sure fentanyl-trafficking sentences reflected the deadliness of the substance. Senate Democrats blocked the bill in May 2023.

• In 2024, U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized 21,889 pounds of fentanyl, enough to kill more than 4.9 billion people (assuming a lethal dose of two milligrams)—or enough to wipe out the entire U.S. population more than 14 times over. 

The full bill text is available here.