TRANQ Research Act of 2023

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1734, the TRANQ Research Act, a bill that I was proud to cosponsor, but I need to thank especially our colleagues, Representatives Yadira Caraveo and Mike Collins, for leading this legislation, as well as Chairman Frank Lucas for his support.

Synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl, have taken a terrible toll on communities all across the country, including in my own district. Fentanyl is now involved in more deaths of Americans under 50 than any other cause of death.

As if the opioid epidemic wasn't bad enough already, our communities now have to deal with various chemicals being added to these drugs that ``enhance'' their effects and make them harder to detect.

One chemical that criminals have started to use is a common animal tranquilizer called xylazine. When added to fentanyl, this animal tranquilizer can have terrible side effects, including horrible wounds at the injection site.

These additives are also consequential to our first responders and to law enforcement as they deal with these drugs on the street. Drug mixtures usually contain a very small amount of synthetic opioids, which makes it difficult to detect and hard to identify new variants. Even small amounts of some drugs can be dangerous for law enforcement and public health officials to handle.

This bill would address these challenges by leveraging NIST's unique research capabilities to help develop technologies to quickly characterize and safely handle street drugs.

For decades, NIST, the Nation's measurement laboratory, has helped to provide safe and effective drug detection techniques and handling practices. NIST also collects and analyzes drug samples in circulation to help health authorities, as well as law enforcement, better respond to this crisis. This bill would codify, as well as enhance, those ongoing efforts.

This is a fantastic example of how we can activate the unique expertise in our government laboratories to benefit communities across the country. We can use science to make law enforcement and first responders safer and help fight this drug epidemic.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Colorado (Ms. Caraveo) and recognize her leadership on this matter.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Michigan (Ms. Stevens), a valued member of our committee.

Madam Speaker, I am prepared to close and yield myself the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, this is another example of how the Science Committee can successfully follow our history of bipartisan work for the well- being of our country--two freshmen coming together for something that is important.

Madam Speaker, I also will mention that Representative Caraveo is not just Representative Caraveo. She is Dr. Caraveo. She comes with significant expertise to this body and especially to the Science Committee. We are grateful to her constituents for sending her to us.

She, like Mr. Collins, has only been here several months, but she has already shown leadership, a focus on law enforcement and health, and a real willingness to work on a bipartisan basis to solve problems that face our country.

Madam Speaker, I thank Representatives Collins and Caraveo for their hard work, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and concur in the Senate amendment to the bill (H.R. 1734) to require coordinated National Institute of Standards and Technology science and research activities regarding illicit drugs containing xylazine, novel synthetic opioids, and other substances of concern, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on H.R. 1734, the bill now under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1734, the TRANQ Research Act sponsored by the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Collins).

This is an important bill that will help us combat the dangers of novel synthetic opioids. Unfortunately, there is no area of our country that hasn't been touched by the deadly fentanyl epidemic. Now these drugs are being mixed with animal tranquilizers to create deadly new combinations.

Drugs like tranq are presenting new challenges to law enforcement, healthcare professionals, and first responders. H.R. 1734 authorizes critical research and development to help us better understand, detect, and handle these drugs. With that knowledge, we can help to slow their spread and reduce lives lost to these deadly drugs.

This bill takes advantage of the tremendous expertise of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, which is already doing cutting- edge work on detecting and analyzing fentanyl. With the passage of the TRANQ Research Act, NIST will be able to apply their expertise to these dangerous new variants.

This bill authorizes NIST's work to quickly identify illicit drugs, analyze them, and establish best practices for first responders to handle these dangerous substances. By doing that, it provides critical protections for the police officers and EMTs that encounter these drugs, helping them to stay safe and protected as they do their work. It will also give us the knowledge we need to stop the spread of tranq and other novel synthetic opioids.

This bill has already passed the House with a unanimous bipartisan vote of 425-0. I would like to see that same level of backing today.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Collins) to speak on his bill.

Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I note that when this bill is signed by the President, it will be the first bill introduced by a freshman in the 118th Congress to become law. I congratulate the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Collins) for this achievement. I think it is a reflection of just how important this topic is, and I am so glad our colleagues have all recognized the growing dangers of novel synthetic opioids and have given this bill such strong support.

Again, I thank Representative Collins and my colleagues for everything they have done to help support this. I urge all of my colleagues to support it.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1734) to require coordinated National Institute of Standards and Technology science and research activities regarding illicit drugs containing xylazine, novel synthetic opioids, and other substances of concern, and for other purposes, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 1734, the bill now under consideration.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1734, the TRANQ Research Act, led by the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Collins) and the gentlewoman from Colorado (Ms. Caraveo).

Unfortunately, we are all too familiar with the destruction opioids like fentanyl are causing our communities. Now these drugs are being mixed with animal tranquilizers to create deadly new combinations.

Drugs like tranq are presenting new challenges for law enforcement, healthcare professionals, and first responders. Without a better understanding of this drug, we cannot slow

its spread, combat its effects, or ensure safe handling.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology, known as NIST, has already done extraordinary work on fentanyl detection, and this bill allows them to apply their resources and expertise to analyzing these new variants. With NIST's help, we will improve our ability to detect and identify these drugs and improve the tools available to keep first responders and law enforcement safe when dealing with them.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Collins) to speak on his bill.

Madam Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I am ready to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, as we have heard today, this zombie drug has gruesome side effects and is leading to an alarming rate of overdose deaths.

Overdose deaths involving tranq have increased in all regions of the United States, according to the DEA. From 2020 to 2021, these deaths surged 100 percent in the Northeast, more than 500 percent in the Midwest, and 750 percent in the West, as well as skyrocketing by more than 1,100 percent in the South.

Our first responders need every tool they can get to identify and to fight this growing epidemic of synthetic drugs. H.R. 1734 will authorize NIST to give them those tools by expanding real-time analysis capabilities to frontline workers like law enforcement and EMTs.

This legislation was favorably reported out of the Science, Space, and Technology Committee by a vote of 36-0. It is bipartisan and addresses a critical issue every district in the Nation is facing.

I thank Representatives Collins and Caraveo for their leadership on this bill.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise today in support of this bill that I proudly cosponsored. I also thank my colleagues, Representatives Caraveo and Collins, for leading this legislation, as well as Chairman Lucas for his support. I also thank Senators Peter Welch and Ted Cruz over in the other body for their work.

Synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl, have taken a terrible toll on communities across this country, including in my own district. Fentanyl is now involved in more deaths of Americans under 50 than any other cause of death.

This epidemic is a horrifying ordeal, and now our communities must deal with various chemicals being added to these drugs to enhance their effects and also make them harder to detect. One chemical that criminals have started to use is a common animal tranquilizer called xylazine. When added to fentanyl, this animal tranquilizer can have terrible side effects, including horrible wounds at the injection site.

These additives are also consequential to our first responders and law enforcement as they deal with these drugs on the street. Drug mixtures usually contain a very small amount of synthetic opioids, which makes it very difficult to detect and hard to identify new variants. Even small amounts of some substances can be dangerous for law enforcement and public health officials to handle.

H.R. 1734 would address these challenges by leveraging the National Institute of Standards and Technology's unique research capabilities to help develop technologies to quickly characterize and safely handle street drugs. For decades, the Nation's measurement laboratory has helped to develop safe and effective drug detection techniques and handling practices. NIST also collects and analyzes drug samples in circulation, and this helps health authorities and law enforcement to better respond to this crisis. This bill would codify and enhance those ongoing efforts. It also adds reporting requirements for NIST and the GAO so that Congress can better understand our Federal capabilities in responding to this crisis.

This is a good example of how we can activate the unique expertise in our government labs to benefit communities across this country. It is also a good example of the bipartisan work that we do in the Science Committee. I thank my colleagues again, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, as Mr. Collins has just remarked, he and Dr. Caraveo took the lead on this legislation. We are grateful and fortunate, indeed, that Dr. Caraveo is here in our body, dedicated to our constituents, but also bringing the expertise that a medical doctor can have to an item like this.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Colorado (Ms. Caraveo).

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I thank my fellow freshman colleague for yielding a few extra minutes, seeing as I am from Georgia and he is from Ohio, and I don't talk as fast.

Madam Speaker, I also thank Representative Caraveo, Chairman Lucas, Ranking Member Lofgren, and the other members of the Science, Space, and Technology Committee who have joined 22 of their colleagues in cosponsoring this commonsense bill.

I rise to call on my colleagues to support H.R. 1734, the TRANQ Research Act. This bill directs the National Institute of Standards and Technology, NIST, to analyze and advance research on dangerous fentanyl additives that are putting our public safety officers' lives at risk, including those who are guarding our borders.

As we have seen, fentanyl has been entering our country at record levels over the past 2 years. Now, we are seeing even more harmful chemicals like tranq being added to an already deadly drug. You see, tranq is a deadly substance. It contains a veterinary tranquilizer, xylazine, which, when combined with fentanyl, becomes deadlier than the fentanyl itself.

These drug traffickers dealing in tranq are following the same playbook that they used when fentanyl first flooded the United States. It took us too long to recognize the dangers of fentanyl once it was first detected, putting the lives of first responders and everyday Americans at risk. These are mistakes we simply can't afford to make with this new drug.

As a matter of fact, the Drug Enforcement Administration reports that between 2020 and 2021, detections of tranq in fentanyl increased nearly 200 percent in the Southern United States. Those numbers continue to rise, and first responders are struggling to keep up.

This bill is one step in fighting dangerous fentanyl additives. By understanding what these additives are, how to test for them, and how to safely handle them, we can better protect our first responders.

NIST has a long history of partnering with State and local agencies to protect frontline workers from dangerous substances. The agency has developed new drug detection and identification tools that are used in the field today. It is also a frequent partner of law enforcement, providing analytical services when they come across new substances.

NIST has also helped create drug handling practices that have become the gold standard for keeping law enforcement officers safe when they have to handle fentanyl and other drugs. These are exactly the kind of efforts we should be making with tranq and other novel synthetic opioids that are hitting the market.

This is a commonsense bill that will allow NIST to focus its work on tranq and help us to better understand the rise of fentanyl additives plaguing our communities.

Madam Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this bill.