WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Mike Braun and Joe Manchin introduced Tyler’s Law, a bill directing the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to provide hospitals with guidance on how emergency rooms can implement fentanyl testing in their routine drug screens.
The bill is named for Tyler Shamash, a teenager who lost his life to a fentanyl overdose in part because — unbeknownst to the physician — he was not tested for fentanyl upon being checked into the emergency room. Fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances are the leading cause of drug overdose deaths, with almost 70 percent of all overdose deaths last year being related to fentanyl.
“Fentanyl and other synthetic opioids have become the leading cause of drug overdose deaths, devastating communities all over the United States. Passing Tyler’s Law is imperative, so emergency rooms across the nation are directed to screen for fentanyl and we can put a stop to these preventable deaths.†— Sen. Braun
“In the last year, more than 109,000 Americans and 1,490 West Virginians died from drug related overdoses. It’s heartbreaking to lose so many lives to this devastating epidemic and Congress must take comprehensive, meaningful action to address the crisis. I’m proud to introduce this bipartisan legislation with Senator Braun to direct emergency rooms to screen for fentanyl in their patients, and I encourage my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this commonsense step to combat drug overdose deaths.†— Sen. Manchin
Currently, many drug screenings in emergency rooms only test for marijuana, cocaine, amphetamines, opiates, and phencyclidine (PCP) – but not fentanyl. Since fentanyl is a synthetic opioid, it does not show up on most rapid drug screenings. Adding fentanyl to routine drug screenings in emergency rooms could prevent many fentanyl-related deaths, which increased 97-fold in the United States from 1999-2021, according to HHS. U.S. Representatives Ted Lieu (D-CA), Bob Latta (R-OH) and Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA) introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives.
The bill would direct the Secretary of HHS to:
Complete a study to determine how frequently emergency rooms are currently testing for fentanyl when patients come in for an overdose, as well as the associated costs and benefits/risks, and
Issue guidance to hospitals on implementing fentanyl testing in emergency rooms.
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China, and it’s dictator Xi Jinping, is #1 source for fentanyl manufacturing entering the US and through China’s cooperation with Mexico, it flows into the United States – not smuggled across the border mind you, instead in plain sight, in plain-old commercial systems like regular shipping channels.
No less than the former, and One-Term President, Donald Trump counts Chinese dictator Xi Jinping as his personal friend and admirer. Trump, this year, in plain sight at a GOP rally in Iowa, “Xi Jinping is an exceptionally brilliant individual.” Unbelievable. UNBELIEVABLE!
Nothing can stop Chinese dictator Xi Jinping from continuing this. He is a dictator, and he can do anything he wants. With Trump’s repeated admiration for global dictators like China’s Xi Jinping, and Russia’s Vladmir Putin, both of those regimes find it thrilling when Trump’s fans cheer him on.
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