Combating Illicit Xylazine Act

Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member for yielding me time, and I thank Chairman Guthrie and Ranking Member Pallone for their work on this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1266, my bipartisan legislation, the Combating Illicit Xylazine Act.

This is a bill, as we have heard, that would provide an important tool for law enforcement to go after the illegitimate use of xylazine by scheduling it under the Controlled Substances Act. It would also protect the legitimate use of this animal sedative for farmers, ranchers, veterinarians, and other professionals.

This is a bipartisan, bicameral bill that is a product of years of expert-driven work. This bill is not just about stopping the illegal use of xylazine on the streets. It is also about ensuring the legal use of xylazine on the farms.

Mr. Speaker, xylazine is a veterinary drug used to sedate large animals. It is irreplaceable as a tranquilizer for horses and cattle, but it absolutely has no legitimate use for humans.

Unfortunately, drug dealers are diverting it from legitimate uses to be combined with illicit drugs, especially fentanyl. That combination has become known on the streets as tranq, a drug that has become so popular that even the Emmy Award-winning series ``The Pitt'' portrayed the horrible effects of xylazine mixed with fentanyl. It is a zombie drug, Mr. Speaker, that makes fentanyl cheaper, easier, longer lasting, and deadlier.

The mix has resulted in drug users, either knowingly or unknowingly, taking the drug, which turns out is also very dangerous to their health. The side effects of human ingestion include necrosis. That means, Mr. Speaker, deep wounds in which the skin and muscle simply rot away. It leads to ulcers and scabs.

Mr. Speaker, when you see a picture of this stuff, you can't unsee it. They become infected and, in some cases, have been found to be filled with fleas or maggots. It has ultimately led to amputation.

The drug also leads to miserable hangovers that makes users want more, making fentanyl more addictive. Tranq can also lead to a depressed heart rate, resulting in hours-long

blackout stupors, which can make the drug users an easy target for assault or robbery.

What is worse is that first responders have found that users of tranq who are overdosing were not responding to Narcan, or naloxone, which is the emergency treatment for an overdose of fentanyl. That means the users of tranq weren't able to come out of the overdose and were more likely to die from their drug use.

Xylazine was first detected in the early 2000s in Puerto Rico. Although it stayed mainly in that area for the next decade, xylazine recently started to circulate in limited areas within the Northeast, especially in Philadelphia. However, the drug has now been detected in nearly every State in the Nation, including my State of California.

In 2021, xylazine was in 12 percent of powdered fentanyl tested by the DEA. By the end of 2024, xylazine was in nearly 40 percent. Unfortunately, because xylazine is not regulated as a controlled substance, it is easily available to drug traffickers and can be bought for as little as $6 per kilogram on Chinese websites.

The growing presence of xylazine complicates our difficult war against overdose deaths, and it risks making drug users even more vulnerable.

To make things more difficult, xylazine cannot be scheduled through rulemaking without cutting off its access for legitimate users in animal health. Appropriately, controlling xylazine for those legal end users requires an act of Congress, and that is why we are here tonight.

The Combating Illicit Xylazine Act would thread the needle by adding xylazine to schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act and, yes, punish those who traffic this drug. Also, this bill would authorize the DEA, the Drug Enforcement Administration, to track xylazine's legitimate dispensing and change the definition of an end user to those allowed to possess xylazine, including those who rely on this drug to care for animals and feed our country.

The bill offers a targeted and nuanced solution to overcome the devastating effects of tranq. It will prevent further trafficking of illicit xylazine while preserving its access to those who need it. That is why the Combating Illicit Xylazine Act is not just a bipartisan bill. It is a consensus bill that is supported by Democratic and Republican Presidential administrations, by 41 bipartisan attorneys general across the country, by law enforcement groups, by DEA and HHS, by veterinary medicine, and by more than 100 Members in this Chamber.

I thank the leadership of August Pfluger and Gus Bilirakis. That is why this legislation passed unanimously out of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

This bill also has bipartisan support in the Senate, led by Senators Cortez Masto and Chairman Chuck Grassley. It is a popular bill in the Capitol because, unfortunately, the use of tranq has become popular on the street.

However, by passing the Combating Illicit Xylazine Act, we are doing our job in Congress to prevent the illicit use of xylazine by drug dealers while ensuring its legitimate use for our farmers, ranchers, and veterinarians.

That is why I authored this bill, and that is why I urge my colleagues to support this effort and to pass my Combating Illicit Xylazine Act.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak in support of H.R. 1266. This legislation classifies xylazine as a schedule III controlled substance while including provisions to preserve access for veterinarians, livestock producers, and researchers.

Over the last decade, xylazine has been increasingly found in the illicit drug supply as a low-cost cutting agent intended to strengthen street drugs. Because of its use in veterinary medicine, drug traffickers realized that they could buy powdered xylazine, and it has become the most common drug mixed with fentanyl.

This potent drug combination poses severe health and safety risks, and there has been a dramatic increase in overdoses involving xylazine. Xylazine remains an important prescription sedative that facilitates the safe handling and treatment of many animal species. For example, it is important for use in cattle, as there is no practical alternative for sedation.

This legislation protects the legitimate use of xylazine for veterinary medicine and fights the spread of illicit xylazine among humans, but scheduling alone will not get us out of the overdose epidemic. We need investment in harm reduction, prevention, and treatment services to reduce overdose deaths across the Nation. We need a comprehensive, evidence-based public health approach to address this crisis.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this bill and to work with me on legislation that will expand access to prevention, treatment, and recovery.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from California (Mr. Panetta).

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close.

I encourage my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this bill and to work on additional legislation that will expand access to prevention, treatment, and recovery to combat this epidemic.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1266) to prohibit certain uses of xylazine, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on the legislation and to include extraneous material on H.R. 1266.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 1266, the Combating Illicit Xylazine Act, led by my colleagues Representatives Panetta and Pfluger.

Xylazine is a veterinary drug used to sedate large animals. It has no legitimate use in humans, and it is quickly becoming one of the deadliest drugs on our streets.

This bill would place xylazine in schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act while ensuring an exemption for appropriate use within the veterinary and ranching industries.

The decision to place xylazine in schedule III is a product of extensive bipartisan work spanning two Congresses and two administrations, supported by both DEA and HHS.

It is critical that we pass this commonsense bill to strengthen our ability to crack down on illicit xylazine distribution while preserving its legitimate veterinary and ranching uses.

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

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

I have no further speakers on this bill. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my friend from California's hard work on this bill and all the other colleagues he mentioned and the committee's work. I encourage a ``yes'' vote on this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.