Press Releases

Washington, D.C. - Today, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) delivered the following opening statement, as prepared, during a Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance hearing on "The Fentanyl Crisis in America: Inaction is No Longer an Option:"

"Mr. Chairman, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 100,000 Americans are dying of drug overdoses each year.  Most of these deaths are from fentanyl.  The seriousness of the fentanyl crisis cannot be denied.  That is why Democrats have been working on solutions to address fentanyl trafficking, addiction, and overdose since it emerged as a threat to our communities.  

"Last Congress, under a Democratic majority, we passed multiple bills to address the opioid epidemic.  We passed the Rural Opioid Abuse Prevention Act, which expanded grant eligibility to fund pilot programs in rural areas that focus on reducing overdose deaths.  We passed the bipartisan FENTANYL Results Act, which authorizes two State Department programs that combat global drug trafficking.  
As part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, we enacted two bills that make it easier for providers to offer addiction treatments that combine medication with other services.  And we passed the Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act, which included $430 million to modernize our ports of entry and help improve CBP’s ability to detect illicit drugs.

"Much of this legislation was bipartisan, but the Republicans on this subcommittee seem to have forgotten that work, and some of them actively opposed it.  They titled this hearing, “The Fentanyl Crisis in America: Inaction is No Longer an Option.”  Republicans suggest that there has been no action to address this crisis, but they could not be more wrong.  

"There has been action in Congress and by the Biden Administration.  Republicans would simply prefer different actions.

"Some Republicans want to incarcerate our way out of this problem, but we know from past experience that this simply does not work.  Drug prosecutions generally catch low-level dealers, but very rarely reach the leaders of trafficking organizations.  Since cartel leaders can often recruit new dealers, more arrests and longer sentences for low-level dealers does not stop the flow of drugs into our communities.

"Other Republicans say tough immigration policies and a border wall can stop fentanyl.  But the facts are not on their side.  While it is true that a great deal of fentanyl comes into the United States from Mexico, it is overwhelmingly U.S. citizens—not migrants—who are bringing it in.  Fentanyl is not carried across the border in the middle of the desert; it is driven in commercial trucks and passenger vehicles passing through legal ports of entry.  That’s why Democrats have supported investments in more law enforcement tools to detect illicit drugs.  

"The fentanyl crisis cannot be used as another justification for mass incarceration or an excuse for harsh immigration policies that do nothing to prevent addiction.  While fentanyl is especially deadly, addiction and overdose are not new.  We must learn from the failures of our past and treat the fentanyl crisis not as a crime problem, but as a public health problem.  We must get to the root causes of addiction and substance abuse, or we will end the war on fentanyl only to have a war on the next, even deadlier drug.

"We have begun to better understand the nature of addiction and the public health approach is beginning to take hold.  We have shifted the focus from “how do we lock more people up?” to “how do we save more lives?”  This shift has led us to get overdose prevention drugs like naloxone, or Narcan, to more first responders and more community members.  

"These drugs are saving hundreds of thousands of lives.  We are also making sure that those who do come into the criminal justice system because of their addiction receive appropriate treatment, whether through diversion programs that help people rejoin the community without incarceration, or through treatment while incarcerated.  These programs are not just about helping individuals suffering from addiction; they improve our communities because those who receive treatment are less likely to commit crime and more likely to find employment.

"Fentanyl continues to be a crisis, but it is a crisis that members of both parties are working to address.  Today, I hope we can explore more actions we might take together to prevent addiction and get to the root causes of drug abuse.  I welcome our colleagues’ concern about this issue, and I hope they are sincere in their interest in joining this effort.

"Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I yield back the balance of my time."