The Senate on Friday approved legislation that would make permanent strict controls and harsh criminal penalties on fentanyl-related drugs. Several Democrats joined all Republicans in approving the bill, which because of minor changes now must pass the House again before it goes to President Trump’s desk.
The bill, which passed the Senate by a vote of 84 to 16, is just the second legislative victory for the new G.O.P.-controlled Congress. It would permanently list fentanyl analogues — copycat drugs that are chemically similar to fentanyl but different enough to sidestep current federal laws — as Schedule I controlled substances, a designation that mandates severe prison sentences for highly addictive, nonmedicinal chemicals like heroin and L.S.D.
Fentanyl-related drugs have been temporarily classified as Schedule I since 2018, but the designation was set to expire at the end of March. The House voted 312 to 108 last month to send the bill making the designation permanent to the Senate, with 98 Democrats joining nearly all Republicans. Similarly broad approval of the revised bill is expected when it votes again on the Senate changes.
“No longer do drug enforcement agencies need to play this game of Whac-a-Mole every time a cartel comes up with a new fentanyl knockoff,” Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa, said in a floor speech before the vote. “It’s a nightmare for law enforcement. So no longer will Congress be kicking the can down the road with temporary extensions.”
The bipartisan vote reflected agreement among Republicans and a solid bloc of Democrats that stiffening penalties for fentanyl-related drugs is a necessary component of the continued federal response to the nation’s overdose crisis.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were roughly 76,000 synthetic opioid overdose deaths in 2023, with fentanyl being a main culprit. Notably, the country saw a remarkable decline in overdose deaths in 2023, although policymakers and treatment experts say drug-related deaths are still alarmingly high.
As they did on the 2024 campaign trail, Republicans have used illicit fentanyl trafficking as a justification for cracking down on immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Senator John Thune, Republican of South Dakota and the majority leader, said in a floor speech Tuesday before a procedural vote on the bill that “getting this crisis under control requires targeting that flow of drugs. That starts, of course, with securing our southern border so the cartels can’t hide behind a flood of illegal immigration.”
Mr. Thune added that permanently classifying copycat fentanyl drugs as “the most deadly type of drug” would give law enforcement agencies “the greatest flexibility to combat the scourge of fentanyl and hold accountable those who trade in destroying lives.”
The 16 “no” votes came primarily from members who have advocated for overhauls of the criminal justice system and in the past have voted against measures that could increase incarceration rates, such as Senators Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Tammy Duckworth of Illinois.
“I understand some of the reservations about it,” said Senator Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut, who was one of 31 Democrats who voted to support the measure. He described fentanyl as a “public health menace” that Americans expect their lawmakers to help fight. “I just think that we’re at a precipice of losing a generation.”
Many Democrats, along with public health and civil rights groups, note that harsh sentences for fentanyl-related drugs have driven up incarceration rates and disproportionately affected people of color. Critics of the measure argue that further criminalizing such drugs will only worsen the crisis and have called for a public health response that includes better public education, more addiction treatment and recovery services, as well as overdose prevention.
“Families are asking us to do something about the fentanyl crisis, and rather than do that, we are simply enabling a political stunt at the expense of real solutions,” Senator Ed Markey, Democrat of Massachusetts, said in a statement. He argued that the measure represented “outdated war-on-drugs solutions that do not work” and ultimately voted against the bill.
Currently under Schedule I, a person caught trafficking 10 grams of a fentanyl analogue would receive a minimum prison sentence of five years, while a person carrying 100 grams would receive a minimum sentence of 10 years. The legislation approved Friday would end up lowering those thresholds further, according to experts, because of the way it defines a “fentanyl-related substance.” Under the new bill, even a trace amount of fentanyl analogue appearing in a 10-gram sample would trigger the five-year mandatory minimum sentence.
The legislation makes exceptions for drugs already listed elsewhere — such as fentanyl itself, which, as an ingredient in various federally approved medicines, appears on Schedule II — and for institutions researching fentanyl analogues for potential beneficial use.
But Democrats have previously raised concerns that the bill contains no instructions for delisting fentanyl-related drugs later found to be beneficial, or reducing or vacating the sentences of people convicted of related offenses.
A version of the bill passed the Republican-controlled House in 2023 with support from Democrats, but it stalled and later died in the Democratic-controlled Senate.
Karoun Demirjian contributed reporting.
