Colorado Politics: Colorado's Gabe Evans delivers maiden floor speech ahead of House passage of fentanyl-related bill

U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans delivered his first speech on the floor of the House of Representatives Thursday, speaking in favor of a bill that could lead to harsher sentences for those convicted of trafficking chemical analogues of fentanyl.

The Republican-sponsored legislation, dubbed the HALT Fentanyl Act, easily passed the GOP-controlled House on a 312-108 vote, with all Republicans and 98 Democrats voting in favor. Colorado's delegation, however, split along party lines, with Evans and his three fellow Republicans voting for the bill and the state's three Democratic members who were present voting against it.

"This critical bill will enable law enforcement to get dangerous drug traffickers off of our streets by permanently and responsibly classifying fentanyl analogues as Schedule I narcotics," said Evans, a Fort Lupton Republican and former Arvada police officer serving his first term in Congress.

"We must do more to stop this drug from infiltrating our communities, and that starts with empowering law enforcement," Evans said. He noted that the Drug Enforcement Agency seized enough of the powerful substance last year in the Rocky Mountain region to kill everyone in his congressional district many times over.

Added Evans: "As a Colorado cop for 10 years, I witnessed firsthand how not supporting law enforcement enables traffickers and the flow of fentanyl into our communities. This bill, of which I am a proud introduction cosponsor, gives cops the tools that they need to bring traffickers of this poison to justice."

The bill, which heads to the Senate, would permanently classify fentanyl-related substances as Schedule 1 drugs, a category of drugs with high addiction potential and without accepted medical use, including heroin and marijuana. Chemical copycats of the powerful opiate were placed in the strictest category during the first Trump administration, and lawmakers have extended the classification multiple times. The most recent extension is set to expire on March 31.

The legislation also establishes mandatory minimum sentences for offenses involving fentanyl-related substances.

Fentanyl itself, which has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for medical use, is considered a Schedule 2 drug.

Evans, who was serving in the state House when he ran for Congress last year, made attacks on bipartisan state legislation that relaxed penalties on low-level possession of the synthetic opioid central to his campaign. Evans unseated Democrat Yadira Caraveo, a former state lawmaker and Thornton pediatrician, in one of the closest congressional races in the country.

A version of the bill passed the House last year with President Joe Biden's support but stalled in the Democratic controlled Senate. This year, with Republicans holding a slim majority in both chambers and more Democrats signed on as sponsors in the Senate, its chances of passing appear to have improved.

Democratic critics and others who oppose the bill argue that increasing penalties and imprisoning more people isn't the right way to attack the opioid crisis.

U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette, a Denver Democrat and the ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee's health subcommittee, argued this week during a committee hearing on the bill that it doesn't provide law enforcement or public health agencies with any additional resources to intercept illegal drugs at the border or prevent drug abuse.

“Rescheduling fentanyl as a Schedule I substance in and of itself does not prevent one death,” DeGette said, adding that House Republicans "believe the best way out of this crisis is through incarceration, which simply is not a viable or effective strategy."

Across the aisle, U.S. Rep. Jeff Crank, a Colorado Springs Republican, applauded the House's passage of the bill in a statement.

"Tens of thousands of people die from drug overdoses per year," Crank said. "The HALT Fentanyl Act makes President Trump's class-wide scheduling order for fentanyl-related drugs permanent and will give law enforcement the tools they need to help keep these dangerous drugs off our streets."

During floor debate on the bill, Massachusetts Rep. Jim McGovern, a Democrat, argued that Trump wouldn't have pardoned Ross Ulbricht, the founder of a notorious dark web marketplace who was serving a life sentence on charges that included money laundering and drug trafficking.

“You know what would help end the illegal fentanyl problem here?" McGovern said. "It would have been Donald Trump not pardoning a drug kingpin, essentially, who brought in illegal fentanyl into our country who was sentenced to life in prison in a federal court."

The Drug Policy Alliance, a nonpartisan coalition of advocacy groups representing a range of interests, opposed the legislation in a letter to congressional leaders, calling the bill "counterproductive" because it would preclude testing chemicals similar to fentanyl, potentially preventing research that could discover overdose and treatment medication.

“The only thing the HALT Fentanyl Act will do is halt the health approaches that our communities need to stay alive," said Maritza Perez Medina, the alliance's director of federal affairs, in a statement. "Increasing criminal penalties and expanding mandatory minimums puts more lives at risk."