Senators Hassan, Toomey Introduce Bipartisan Amendment to Stop Countries From Turning a Blind Eye to Illicit Fentanyl Exports

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Pat Toomey (R-PA) introduced a bipartisan amendment to this year's National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to help stop the influx of illegal fentanyl into the United States from drug traffickers. 

“When I visited China, I pushed Chinese officials to take aggressive action to crack down on fentanyl trafficking. Fentanyl trafficking out of China has helped fuel the substance misuse crisis in New Hampshire and across the country,” Senator Hassan said. “Fentanyl is a dangerous, addictive drug, and the United States should publicly report which countries are pushing this lethal drug to our borders. I am glad to partner with Senator Toomey on this measure to help stem the flow of deadly drugs into our communities.”

“Illicit fentanyl is seeping into the United States and killing tens of thousands of Americans every year. Countries, like China, that are the primary sources of illicit fentanyl must take action or face consequences for their tacit role in the distribution of this deadly synthetic opioid,” said Senator Toomey. “This amendment to the NDAA would pressure these countries into taking commonsense measures to stop the flow of illicit fentanyl into the United States.”  

The amendment would require the United States to publicly identify countries that are major producers or traffickers of illicit fentanyl—something that the government already does for heroin, marijuana, and cocaine but has not yet done for fentanyl. Illicit fentanyl-exporting countries would risk losing certain American taxpayer-funded foreign aid unless they schedule fentanyl and its analogues as a class and take steps to prosecute drug traffickers within their borders.

Senator Hassan is focused on stemming the illegal flood of drugs such as fentanyl that have helped fuel the substance misuse crisis. In 2019, the Senator traveled to China to stress the importance of strengthening efforts to combat fentanyl trafficking from China. Senator Hassan also attended the White House signing ceremony in 2018 for the bipartisan INTERDICT Act, which she cosponsored, to help ensure that U.S. Customs and Border Protection have the tools to help detect and intercept fentanyl being smuggled into the United States – much of which originated in China. Senator Hassan also secured a provision in the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act to curb the shipment of deadly fentanyl and other synthetic drugs being sent through the mail to drug traffickers here in the United States. Last year, bipartisan legislation cosponsored by Senator Hassan became law to help prevent opioid trafficking by further ensuring that personnel at the Department of Homeland Security can more easily detect synthetic opioids like fentanyl. Additionally, the Senator recently joined a bipartisan group of Senators in reintroducing that Providing Officers with Electronic Resources (POWER) Act to provide law enforcement officers with better technology to detect and identify synthetic opioids such as fentanyl.

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