The House Energy and Commerce Committee advanced 8 bills aimed at preventing overdoses and curbing the illicit drug supply.

The details: The bills were the:

• Combating Illicit Xylazine Act, which would classify xylazine as a Schedule III controlled substance
• Strengthening Tools to Outlaw Poisonous (STOP) Nitazenes Act, which would permanently classify nitazenes as Schedule I controlled substances
• Tyler’s Law, which would boost routine fentanyl testing in hospital emergency rooms
• Helping Educators Respond to Overdoses (HERO) Act, which would create a grant program to provide schools with opioid overdose reversal medications
• Advancing Lifesaving Efforts with Rapid Test Strips for (ALERT) Communities Act, which would allow first responder training grants to be used for fentanyl and xylazine test strips and require research on test strips
• Stop Pills that Kill Act, which would increase criminal penalties for the manufacture of fentanyl or counterfeit substances and require the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to create a plan to address counterfeit fentanyl and methamphetamine
• Preventing Rogue Equipment for Synthetic Substances (PRESS) Act, which would make it easier to federally prosecute individuals importing machinery intended for illicit production of counterfeit drugs
• Fight Illicit Pill Presses Act, which would require serial numbers for pill presses and punches to help law enforcement crack down on the production of counterfeit pills

What’s next: The bills go to the full House for a vote.

Read more: Action on illicit drug bills