Half the House Democratic Caucus Just Joined the House GOP to Expand Mandatory Minimum Sentences

As someone who tracks every recorded vote in DC, I can say that there are three types of bipartisanship:

(1) The rarest: bipartisanship that actually leads to some positive solution to a real problem

(2) Very common: bipartisanship in support of non-controversial, not far-reaching legislation to address a minor problem in a non-systemic way

(3) Far too common: bipartisanship in support of deregulating Corporate America or expanding the carceral state / military-industrial complex

As I wrote earlier, the Senate’s cryptocurrency votes demonstrated #3 well. But so did the House’s vote on doubling down on the failed drug war.

I wrote about the HALT Fentanyl Act earlier this year when the House passed it the first time, before it then passed the Senate.

The House and Senate have negotiated a final version of the bill, which the House took up yesterday.

As a reminder of what the bill does: It would permanently classify all fentanyl-related substances in Schedule I, disregarding whether the drugs are helpful or harmful and hindering the ability to develop treatments for overdoses. Moreover, it would expand mandatory minimum sentencing for manufacturing, importing, or possessing fentanyl-related substances with intent to distribute, eliminating judicial discretion.

As Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) said about the bill the other day,

“The United States has made tremendous progress in the fight to protect our communities from fentanyl, and while there is still much more to be done, the HALT Fentanyl Act is far too broad and ignores all medical uses of ‘fentanyl-related substances.’ These substances need to be controlled — but when prescribed and used as directed, many of them serve as critical pain management tools for countless Americans.

“This legislation is just another performative overreach by Republicans to say that they know better than doctors about what is best for their patients. We don’t need to criminalize care and expand harsh mandatory minimum sentencing requirements. We need well-thought-out and meaningful solutions that address the root causes of addiction, expand resources to help those struggling, and work with medical professionals.

“But that’s not what President Trump and Republicans are doing. Instead of expanding funding for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) — which supports naloxone programs, treatment programs, and prevention efforts — President Trump has essentially dissolved the agency, firing more than a third of its staff and proposing a budget that cuts $1 billion of its funding. Republicans are also working to cut at least $600 billion from Medicaid, which will seriously undermine our ability to address the opioid epidemic. If President Trump and Republicans were serious about addressing these issues, there are proven solutions we can act upon to save lives — but the HALT Fentanyl Act is not one of them.”

Nonetheless, it passed 321 to 104. 217 Republicans and 104 Democrats voted for it. 103 Democrats and 1 Republican (Tom Massie) voted against it.

Here are the 104 Democrats who voted for it: