Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has announced his intention to advance federal legislation that would declare international fentanyl trafficking a national emergency. The bipartisan measure, which will be attached to a must-pass defense bill, aims to provide the President with the authority to impose sanctions on individuals involved in ferrying synthetic drugs, particularly fentanyl, into the United States.
Schumer highlighted the role of Chinese laboratories in producing and trafficking fentanyl, emphasizing the devastating consequences it has on American communities. The proposed bill aims to empower law enforcement agencies to seize funds from drug traffickers, as well as to impose sanctions on drug cartels and criminal organizations associated with fentanyl trafficking.
The legislation also seeks to enhance the government’s ability to enforce these sanctions and requires the administration to provide regular reports to Congress on its efforts to combat trafficking. Additionally, it would enable the US Treasury Department to tackle money laundering related to fentanyl.
Fentanyl, an extremely potent synthetic opioid, has been increasingly mixed with other drugs, such as heroin and cocaine, significantly increasing their lethality. Schumer’s office cited alarming statistics, with approximately 107,000 Americans dying from overdoses between August 2021 and August 2022, with 65% of those involving synthetic opioids like fentanyl. In New York City alone, more than 3,000 people lost their lives to fentanyl-related overdoses last year.
The bill, initially introduced by Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), has garnered bipartisan support. Sen. Scott, along with Senate Banking Chairman Sherrod Brown (D-OH), is working to help pass the legislation.
Schumer highlighted that fentanyl primarily originates from China and Mexico, with Chinese labs serving as the largest producers of the drug and its analogues. The drug is then either directly shipped to the United States or transported to criminal organizations in Mexico, Canada, and the Caribbean. Mexican cartels, including the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels, are major traffickers of fentanyl across the US border, according to the DEA.
Schumer emphasized the urgency of taking strong action to address the fentanyl crisis, stating that the upcoming defense bill (NDAA) presents a vital opportunity to tackle the issue. He called for bipartisan cooperation and highlighted the significance of this issue, particularly for New York, where many lives have been lost or remain at risk.
