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Mrs. LESKO. Madam Chair, our Nation is facing a tragic fentanyl crisis. Our kids are dying. Our neighbors are dying. During the last 2 years, if I may remind my Democratic colleagues, they were in charge. They were in charge of the House, they had control of the Senate, they had control of the Presidency, and they did nothing to stop this fentanyl crisis.
Late last year, I visited the Maricopa County Medical Examiner's Office in Phoenix, Arizona. It is truly revealing. It is one of the busiest medical examiner offices in the Nation. In Maricopa County last year, fentanyl and its analogues were involved in 60 percent of all the drug-related deaths. Once more, there are record amounts of fentanyl coming across our southern border into our Arizona communities.
Did you know that last Thursday, officers at the Arizona Nogales Port of Entry seized over 207,000 fentanyl pills and over 16 pounds of fentanyl powder just in 1 day. With border officials only able to seize 5 to 10 percent of all illegal drugs, these numbers are truly terrifying. House Republicans are taking action. We are the ones introducing this bill. We are the ones getting something done. We are introducing the HALT Fentanyl Act.
Madam Chair, I urge all of my colleagues to support this legislation, to stop this deadly drug crisis and save lives.
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