Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) - Montana Senator Steve Daines told the story of Reilly Schrapps to the U.S. Senate on Wednesday, dead at the age of 24 from a fentanyl overdose.

After addressing the Senate about the failed southern border policies of the Biden administration, Daines brought the story back home to Montana, and a grieving family in Butte.

Daines said the Father of the Overdose Victim was his Guest at the State of the Union

“Today, what I really want to tell you about is one person I want to tell you about Reilly Schrapps from Butte, Montana,” began Daines. “Reilly was born November 6, 1997. We have four children. Our youngest of four was born in 1996, so this all hits way too close to home. You see Reilly loved his mother and his father Tom. Incidentally, Tom was my guest at the State of the Union address earlier this year.”

Daines described the short life of a young man from Montana who enjoyed all the state had to offer.

Daines said Reilly Schrapps Loved all Montana had to Offer

“In fact, according to those who knew him best Reilly was an avid fisherman,” he said. “He was a sportsman much like most Montanans, and he spent his free time enjoying the great outdoors in Montana with family and friends; floating the Big Hole River, skiing at Discovery Basin, and camping at Canyon Ferry. Reilly was also an artist. He enjoyed all these things and more until July 30, 2020, to the day Reilly died taking a pill laced with fentanyl. Reilly was in Montana when this happened. He was just 24 years old.”

Daines pointed to the alarming rise in fentanyl overdose deaths in Montana, from drugs that came across the uncontrolled southern border.

“Reilly should be alive today,” he said. “Fentanyl overdoses quickly became the leading cause of death for 18 to 45-year-olds in our country. It's a fast-acting poison; 50 times more powerful than heroin; 100 times more potent than morphine and is taking children away from their parents and spouses away from their partners. In fact, we lost over 75,000 people just last year.”

Fentanyl Overdose is now the Leading Cause of Death for 18 to 45-Year-Olds in US

Daines told the heartbreaking story of hosting Reilly’s father Tom at the State of the Union address.

“When Tom Schrapps joined me at the State of the Union address earlier this year, he said, even though talking about what happened to Reilly is so painful that if he could just save one person, one family from the pain that he's gone through, the pain would be worth it,” he said. “So I'm here talking about this and urging the administration of my colleagues to secure the southern border, change the policies that once were working that this President rescinded. We need to do everything to prevent more families from feeling this pain.”

Daines was one of several U.S. Senators that pressed the Biden Administration to secure the southern border and stem the flow of fentanyl and methamphetamine coming into the U.S.

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