{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://boebert.house.gov/FentanylWMDAct", "Congresswoman Lauren Boebert Reintroduces Legislation to Protect our Children by Classifying Fentanyl as a Weapon of Mass Destruction", "2024-02-01", "2024", "2024-02", "Republican", "House", "CO", "Lauren Boebert", "B000825", "boebert.house.gov", "boebert", "https://boebert.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "Today, Congresswoman Lauren Boebert reintroduced the Fentanyl is a Weapon of Mass Destruction (WMD) Act to protect our children and communities by classifying the deadly drug fentanyl as a WMD.\n\nCongresswoman Lauren Boebert (CO-03) said, \u201cAs a mom of four boys, I will not stand by and watch as fentanyl floods across our border and poisons our youth. It's time to use the full force of the federal government to tackle this crisis. The Biden Border Invasion and this deadly drug are killing Americans. It is time to call fentanyl what it is: a weapon of mass destruction that is destroying our nation.\u201d\n\nCongresswoman Beth Van Duyne (TX-24) said, \u201cWe are in a wartime scenario with more than 100,000 Americans, including more than 1,000 North Texans, dead from fentanyl poisoning. This deadly drug is smuggled into our country by Mexican drug cartels and supplied by the Chinese communists. In addition to working to secure the border and stop the flow of fentanyl into our communities, I\u2019m supporting the Fentanyl is a Weapon of Mass Destruction Act because it will give our law enforcement officers much-needed tools to combat the lethal threat posed by fentanyl.\u201d\n\nCongresswoman Anna Paulina Luna (FL-13) said, \u201cI am proud to co-sponsor the Fentanyl is a Weapon of Mass Destruction (WMD) Act. Hundreds of thousands of lives have been lost to fentanyl in this country, and it is high time we take this issue as seriously as it is. This deadly drug is the #1 killer of our young people in America and is readily capable of being weaponized against the American people to inflict mass murder. Classifying fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction would allow our law enforcement agencies, including DHS and Border Patrol, to better coordinate efforts to eliminate fentanyl from our streets and as a threat to national security.\"\n\nCongressman Bill Posey (FL-08) said, \u201cFentanyl pouring in our country through the southern border has become a massive epidemic and caused countless, pointless deaths. By asserting fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction, we can better coordinate and eliminate fentanyl in our country.\u201d\n\nBackground:\n\nThe Fentanyl is a Weapon of Mass Destruction (WMD) Act would require the Assistant Secretary for the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office of the Department of Homeland Security to treat illicit fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction. This would enable the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security, the Drug Enforcement Agency, and the Department of Defense to coordinate their efforts and aggressively target criminals trafficking fentanyl in America, allocate additional resources, and take more aggressive measures to prevent the production and distribution of fentanyl.\n\n18 U.S. Code \u00a7 2332a explicitly defines a weapon of mass destruction (WMD) as any tool designed or intended to cause death or serious bodily injury through the release, dissemination, or impact of toxins, poisonous chemicals, or their precursors. This classification undoubtedly encompasses illegal fentanyl and its analogs, which have proven to be entirely capable of causing mass casualties and biological impairment.\n\nIn 2002, the Russian military reportedly deployed an aerosolized form of fentanyl to incapacitate terrorists holding hostages in a Moscow theater; the gas also killed more than 120 of the hostages.\n\nIn FY 2023, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), including Air and Marine Operations, seized 27,293 pounds of fentanyl coming across the southwest border\u2014enough to kill more than 6 billion people.\n\nThe Fentanyl is a WMD Act follows a 2019 proposal from Trump\u2019s Department of Homeland Security to use counter-WMD authorities to combat the fentanyl crisis. James F. McDonnell, then the DHS Assistant Secretary for Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction under President Trump, stated, \u201cFentanyl\u2019s high toxicity and increasing availability are attractive to threat actors seeking non-conventional materials for a chemical weapons attack.\u201d\n\nThis designation would not impact legal pharmaceutical fentanyl made in regulated labs. It would only impact illicit fentanyl. For example, Botulinum toxin is a WMD, but its legal medical form (Botox) is incredibly accessible.\n\nThe Biden Regime\u2019s open-border and soft-on-China policies have allowed drugs like fentanyl to flow across our borders and into our communities. Designating illicit fentanyl as a WMD will force the Democrats to prioritize this crisis with an all-of-government approach.\n\nFentanyl Crisis by the Numbers:\n\nThe opioid crisis, fueled by the widespread availability of fentanyl on the illicit market, has had a devastating impact on communities and strained public health resources:\n\nIn 2023, CBP seized 27,293 pounds of fentanyl, enough to kill 6 billion people.\n\nOver 112,000 deaths resulted from lethal fentanyl overdoses in 2023, an increase of 38,346 from 2022.\n\nIn Colorado, there were over 1,800 deaths from lethal fentanyl overdoses in 2023, nearly double the record number set in 2022.\n\nFentanyl is the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18 to 45, surpassing suicide, cancer, and car accidents.\n\nFentanyl is 100 times more potent than other opioids like morphine.\n\nCosponsors of this bill include: Rep. Andy Ogles (TN-05), Rep. Paul Gosar (AZ-09), Rep. Bill Posey (FL-08), Rep. Troy Nehls (TX-22), Rep. Matt Gaetz (FL-01), Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (FL-13), Rep. Tim Burchett (TN-02), Rep. Beth Van Duyne (TX-24), Rep. Barry Moore (AL-02), Rep. Byron Donalds (FL-19), Rep. Mary Miller (IL-15)", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T20:21:00Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://boebert.house.gov/FentanylWMDAct"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9556347504258156, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}