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Tennessee Senators Vote to Pass the HALT Fentanyl Act

by | Mar 14, 2025

U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Bill Hagerty (R-TN) voted with the majority to pass the Halt All Lethal Trafficking of Fentanyl Act – or the HALT Fentanyl Act – on Friday.

The HALT Fentanyl Act would permanently place fentanyl-related substances, known as fentanyl analogues, as a class into Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act.

A schedule I controlled substance is a “drug, substance, or chemical that has a high potential for abuse; has no currently accepted medical value; and is subject to regulatory controls and administrative, civil, and criminal penalties under the Controlled Substances Act.”

The U.S. Senate voted 84-16 on Friday to pass the bill, which now heads to President Donald Trump’s desk. The U.S. House voted 312-108 last month to approve the legislation.

The 16 lawmakers who voted against the bill were Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Ed Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Peter Welch (D-VT), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).

Friday’s vote in the Senate to pass the bill comes weeks after a coalition of state attorneys general, including Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, urged senators to pass the legislation, arguing that it would provide law enforcement with the “tools needed to prosecute the sale and use of illicit fentanyl analogues.”

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi also urged Congress to pass the bill, saying, “It’s crucial that we provide our law enforcement officers with the tools and resources they need to combat the fentanyl crisis.”

“Under President Trump’s leadership, we will END the deadly flow of fentanyl into our country and Make America Safe Again,” Bondi added.

The leading cause of death for Americans aged 18 to 45 is fentanyl overdose.

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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Marsha Blackburn” by Marsha Blackburn. Photo “Bill Hagerty” by Bill Hagerty. 

 

 

 

   
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Written By Kaitlin Housler

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