Rep. Kuster led proceedings on the House floor today and urged her colleagues to support this critical legislation. Watch here.

** In 2018, there were 32,000 fentanyl-related deaths, an increase of 14% from 28,000 deaths in 2017.**

**This legislation will create a study of Fentanyl-analogues and ensure that the DEA can continue to keep the public safe from these dangerous substances.**

Today, Rep. Annie Kuster, founder and co-chair of the Bipartisan Opioid Task Force, led House passage of the Temporary Reauthorization and Study of the Emergency Scheduling of Fentanyl Analogues Act. Without this legislation, the current scheduling of fentanyl-analogues will expire on February 6, 2020. Earlier this week, Kuster sent a letter calling on House leadership to bring this bipartisan legislation to the House floor for a vote.

“Fentanyl is killing people in New Hampshire and across the country,” said Kuster. “Communities throughout our state have been devastated by the opioid epidemic and we know that synthetic opioids such as fentanyl are central to fueling this deadly crisis. We must use every tool available to reduce fatal fentanyl overdoses. Today, we averted disaster by ensuring that fentanyl remains a schedule 1 narcotic and members of our law enforcement community do not have the rug pulled out from under them. I will continue to work across the aisle to ensure that we combat the opioid and substance abuse crisis from every angle.”

The Temporary Reauthorization and Study of the Emergency Scheduling of Fentanyl Analogues Act unanimously passed the Senate last week. This legislation will extend the Drug Enforcement Agency’s (DEA) temporary order making fentanyl-related substances Schedule I, a designation reserved for substances that have no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.

Watch Rep. Kuster speak on the House floor in support of the Temporary Reauthorization and Study of the Emergency Scheduling of Fentanyl Analogues Act here.

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