Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) is introducing a bill on Tuesday that proposes allowing the death penalty for people convicted of distributing fentanyl that results in fatalities, Fox News reported.
The bill, the Deal Death, Face Death Act, proposes amending the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 to say that convicted fentanyl dealers “shall be sentenced, if death results from the use of such substance, to death.”
The Controlled Substances Act, which places all regulated substances into one of five schedules, caps penalties for distribution at life imprisonment.
Roy’s bill also doubles existing fines for fentanyl-related offenses under the law to up to $2 million for individuals and $10 million for non-individual entities.
While fentanyl itself is classified as a Schedule II drug, the Halt All Lethal Trafficking of Fentanyl Act, which President Trump signed into law last July, permanently placed certain fentanyl-related substance substances in Schedule I.
In 2024, an estimated 48,422 Americans died from fentanyl overdoses — down more than 36 percent from the year prior — according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics.
“If a dealer distributes fentanyl or fentanyl-laced drugs and someone dies as a result, that dealer has effectively signed that person’s death warrant,” Roy told Fox News.
“Congress must stand with the families devastated by this crisis and send a clear message: if you deal death, you will face the full weight of justice,” the Texas Republican added.
Roy, who has represented the 21st Congressional District since 2019, is running for Texas attorney general. He advanced to a runoff in the GOP primary by finishing second to state Sen. Mayes Middleton (R) in the initial primary in March.
Early voting in the runoff begins on Monday and concludes May 22. The final day to vote is May 26.
Also Tuesday, the State Department announced that it will impose visa restrictions on 13 individuals affiliated with KS International Traders, an India-based online pharmacy.
In 2024, a federal grand jury indicted the company’s owner, Khizar Mohammed Iqbal Shaikh, on charges of selling counterfeit prescription pills filled with fentanyl and other illicit drugs to Americans. The Treasury Department in October sanctioned Shaikh and his associate, Sadiq Abbas Habib Sayyed.
“This action underscores the United States’ and India’s enduring and shared commitment to dismantling illicit drug entities and disrupting trafficking networks that harm Americans,” State Department spokesperson Tommy Piggott said Tuesday in a release. “Those complicit in poisoning Americans will be denied entry to the United States.”
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