A pair of Republican lawmakersĀ authored new legislation to ban federal taxpayer dollars from funding crack pipes, needles and other drug paraphernalia, following a firestorm over aĀ viral reportĀ that alleged theĀ BidenĀ administration would be funding crack pipes for addicts.
Reps.Ā Lauren BoebertĀ of Colorado and Dan Bishop of North Carolina said in an exclusive joint interview with Fox News Digital that the Biden administration got caught “red-handed” trying to fund crack pipes as part of a $30 million grant program and that legislation is needed to stop the “ridiculous” proposal. The White House has denied the grant would fund crack pipes.
“Congressman Bishop and I are standing up and saying, heck no,” Boebert said. “Our tax dollars should not be funding the death and destruction of crack addicts. Democrats are always putting the American taxpayer last and Republicans just want to give people in need a good job. Democrats want to give them crack pipes.”
They’ve introduced the Halting the Use of Narcotics Through Effective Recovery Act this week, dubbing the bill the HUNTER Act, in reference to President Biden’s son,Ā Hunter Biden, who has openly struggled with drug addiction.
“I like the HUNTER Act,” Boebert said in an interview, “because it was a better acronym than Stop Paying to Subsidize Biden’s Sonās Drug Addiction act. That didn’t really flow. I think tax dollars have been on the hook for Hunterās addictions long enough.”
Bishop also took aim at more progressive drug policies such as safe injection sites, needle trade-ins, and safe smoking kits. He said such programs try to “remove all stigma” from drug use, when “actually stigma is not a bad thing.”
“The HUNTER Act is a means of encapsulating how ridiculous public policy can become when it’s in the hands of the woke,” Bishop said.
The hubbub over crack pipes originated from a $30 million new “harm reduction” grantĀ proposal the Biden administration announced through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), which is a branch of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
The stated purpose of the program funded through the Democrats’ American Rescue Plan is to prevent overdose deaths and reduce health risks associated with drug use. AĀ list of suppliesĀ that can be purchased with the grant funds included overdose reversal medications, safe-sex kits with condoms, fentanyl test strips, syringes, as well as “Safe smoking kits/supplies,” according to grant documents.
TheĀ Washington Free Beacon reportedĀ that such kits will provide pipes for users to smoke crack cocaine, crystal methamphetamine and “any illicit substance.”
The outlet acknowledged an HHS spokesman declined to specify what is included in the smoking kits. It also mentioned other efforts to distribute safe smoking kitsĀ didn’t provideĀ pipes, but mouthpieces to prevent glass cuts, rubber bands to prevent burns and filters to minimize the risk of disease.
The paper has stood by its crack pipe reporting, despite pushback from the Biden administration… More
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