While the Fentanyl Eradication and Narcotics Deterrence (FEND) Off Fentanyl Act has made it into the National Defense bill, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) this week publicly pressed for its enactment and called on the Biden administration for more resources to counter illicit drugs.
FEND Off Fentanyl (S.1271) is both a sanctions-bearing and anti-money laundering bill that targets everything from Chinese chemical suppliers to Mexican cartels. As part of the National Defense bill, it made it through the Senate in July, but the House has yet to reconcile it, after weeks of turmoil caused by the ousting of its speaker and repeated failures to select another. It is among considerations on the docket now that a speaker presides once more.
“Earlier this month, Sheriff Wasylyshyn and I went down to the Southern border as part of our work to stop fentanyl before it can reach Ohio,” Brown said. “We saw firsthand the challenges law enforcement at the border face in stopping the powerful cartels who traffic people and dangerous drugs like fentanyl. Local law enforcement is on the front lines of the fentanyl crisis. They know too well the toll it’s taking on communities across our state. And one of the best ways we can support Ohio law enforcement is to stop fentanyl at its source, before it enters the country and before it reaches our communities.”
Specifically, the bill would designate the international trafficking of fentanyl as a national emergency and subsequently require the president to sanction transnational criminal organizations and drug cartels’ key members engaged in said trafficking. The president would then be empowered to use the proceeds of all forfeited, sanctioned property from these traffickers for law enforcement purposes. The administration would have to report to Congress on any actions taken to reduce drug trafficking.
Additionally, the bill calls for greater ability to enforce sanctions and prosecute those who defy them, including giving the Treasury Department to tap special measures to attack fentanyl-related money laundering.
“On average, Toledo Firefighters render emergency medical care at 125 overdoses a month, with opioids being the leading cause,” Fire Chief Allison Armstrong, Toledo Fire & Rescue Department, said. “As emergency medical first responders, Toledo Firefighters are most often a reactionary force that deals with the aftereffects of fentanyl and opioids. I am hopeful that the sanctions set forth by the FEND Off Fentanyl Act introduced by Senator Sherrod Brown and Senator Tim Scott will ultimately disrupt the unprecedented flow of fentanyl and other illegal drugs into our community.”