Reps. French Hill (R-AR), Max Rose (D-NY), Anthony Brindisi (D-NY) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) recently introduced legislation designed to implore the Chinese government to honor its commitment of making fentanyl illegal while providing tools to address traffickers.
The Fentanyl Sanctions Act mirrors legislation introduced in the Senate. It requires the imposition of sanctions on drug manufacturers in China who knowingly provide synthetic opioids to traffickers and authorizes new funding to law enforcement and intelligence agencies to combat the international trafficking of opioids. It also establishes a Commission on Synthetic Opioid Trafficking to monitor U.S. efforts and report on how to more effectively combat the flow of synthetic opioids from China, Mexico, and other countries.
“Across Arkansas, heartbroken families have told me their stories about how the opioid crisis has claimed the lives of their loved ones,” Hill said. “We can’t allow more families to be destroyed by the opioid crisis, which is killing more than 130 Americans every day. Targeting the source of the world’s largest producers and distributors of fentanyl will begin to stop the flow of these drugs coming across our borders and into our streets.”
Rose said Fentanyl and fentanyl-laced heroin has wreaked havoc in his district.
“We know the majority of Fentanyl-laced heroin is coming from China, and they need to be punished,” he said. “I commend the President for getting them to crack down on fentanyl production, but I don’t trust a damn thing China says. We need to force them to keep their word. It’s time we act.”