Fentanyl Killed His Brother. Now He Works in Congress to Protect Other Families From Same Pain

The Daily Signal

News, Daily News, Politics, Government

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🗓️ 26 January 2026

⏱️ 21 minutes

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Summary

Adversaries of the U.S. could launch a nuclear weapon at America, or they can achieve the same goal by flooding the nation with fentanyl, says Rep. Addison McDowell, R-N.C., who has introduced a bill cracking down on fentanyl imports. Over the past decade, roughly 500,000 U.S. lives have been lost to synthetic opioid overdoses, mainly fentanyl, according to the National Institutes of Health. McDowell on Wednesday introduced a bill aimed at blocking drug traffickers from bringing a tool called a pill press into the U.S. The process of fentanyl entering the U.S. is “coordinated,” McDowell explains. China, for example, “will ship a pill presser” to a drug dealer in the U.S. to cut “pure fentanyl, ... pressing it down into ... something that looks like a pill,” he said. The Preventing Rogue Equipment for Synthetic Substances, or PRESS, Act, criminalizes the “intentional importation of unlisted precursor chemicals and related equipment, including tableting machines, encapsulating machines, press punches, die systems, and gelatin capsules, that will be used to manufacture controlled substances,” according to the congressman’s office. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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0:00.0	This episode is brought to you by Vanta.
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0:29.7	About a decade ago, I was working at the time on the Ted Bud for Congress campaign before he was in the U.S. Senate
0:36.0	and got a call that my 20-year-old brother had
0:39.7	passed away from a fentanyl poisoning. And it, you know, I've described it like this to people
0:44.8	before. It's like losing a limb. This is not natural, but you have to go through the rest of your
0:48.7	life without it. You know, I decided that I want his legacy to continue to live on through me and through the service that I provide.
0:56.0	12 years ago, no one was talking about fentanyl.
0:59.0	Had you even heard of fentanyl at that point?
1:01.0	I can't say that I knew a lot about fentanyl specifically.
1:04.0	This 18 or 19 year old died of a drug overdose that I went to high school with.
1:08.0	That's bizarre.
1:09.0	You know, and you start hearing about it more and more. As the Biden administration just let all of these criminals and drugs into our country and they weren't doing anything about it, no one was talking about it, right? But, you know, President Trump started to and thank God that he did. Well, I am so privileged to be sitting here with Congressman Addison McDowell of North Carolina. Congressman, thanks for taking the time to come into the studio today. You got it. I was, happy to be here. Well, you know, I was interested in for those listening who might not know every member of Congress, you guys have a website, and then you have an About tab. And that's where you can list your background, accomplishments, things you've done, or really want the public to
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