Senator Brown’s Bill to Crack Down on Fentanyl Traffickers Heads to the President’s Desk

The U.S. Senate today passed U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown’s (D-OH) legislation to crack down on fentanyl traffickers in Mexico and China in an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote. The bill, which is part of the bipartisan national security package, is now headed to the President’s desk where it will be signed into law, finally taking action to expand sanctions to illicit fentanyl traffickers in Mexico and the creators of precursor chemicals in China.

“Fentanyl has taken too many lives and caused too much devastation in Ohio. FEND Off Fentanyl will save lives by going directly after the drug cartels’ billions in illicit profits, targeting the entire fentanyl supply chain and sanctioning illicit opioid traffickers and money launderers in China and Mexico,” said Brown. “This is good news for law enforcement and for families on the front lines who have demanded action for years now. The President needs to sign our bipartisan legislation into law immediately to help stop fentanyl at its source, before it ever reaches our communities. I want to thank law enforcement in Ohio and around the country for working side-by-side with us to get this legislation to the finish line.”

“We recognize the nature of the threat our country is facing, but we must do more if we are to end or mitigate the deadly impact of fentanyl and fentanyl analogs on our citizens. We need a fully comprehensive, national strategy to reduce overdoses, disrupt trafficking operations, attack traffickers and cartels with sanctions, and prioritize anti-money laundering efforts related to the illicit opioids trade,” said Patrick Yoes, National President of the Fraternal order of Police. “The FOP was proud to work with Ranking Member Scott and Chairman Brown to develop what became S. 1271, the ‘Fentanyl Eradication and Narcotics Deterrence (FEND) Off Fentanyl Act.’ The legislation has broad bipartisan support, and we are pleased that this critical and commonsense measure is on its way to the President to be signed into law.”

“Today, with the Senate passage of the FEND Off Fentanyl Act as part of the 21^st Century Peace Through Strength Act, a critical component in the fight against the spread of fentanyl in our communities will be signed into law. This bill targets and sanctions transnational organizations and cartels that traffic fentanyl and its precursors, helping to stop the flow of this deadly poison into our country. We cannot take action only after this drug enters our country; we must fight it before it crosses our borders. NAPO thanks Senators Brown and Tim Scott for their leadership and tireless efforts to enact this important bill,” said Bill Johnson, Executive Director, National Association of Police Organizations.

“Senator Brown is a great advocate for law enforcement, and we are delighted that the Senate has passed his important legislation, the FEND Off Fentanyl Act, and we encourage the President to sign it into law. Fentanyl is ravishing our communities and killing our citizens at an alarming rate, and we must stop the flow at the source immediately. Senator Brown recently saw first-hand the crisis at the border accompanied by Sheriff Wasylyshyn and we commend his thoughtful and expedient response,” said Jonathan Thompson, Executive Director and CEO, National Sheriffs’ Association.

“With the passage of the FEND Off Fentanyl Act in the Senate today, Congress is finally acting to address the fentanyl epidemic from all fronts. This bill will help combat the country’s fentanyl crisis by allowing U.S. agencies to disrupt illicit opioid supply chains and penalize those facilitating the trafficking of fentanyl more effectively. Its passage will help stop the flow of this deadly poison into our country and help us save lives. The OPBA thanks Senator Brown for his efforts to pass this important bill,” said Tom Austin, Executive Director, Ohio Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association.

“Fentanyl is one of the most dangerous illicit substances found on the streets today, posing clear and deadly risks to our communities and to law enforcement officers across the country,” said Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA) President Mathew Silverman. “FLEOA applauds passage of the ‘FEND OFF Fentanyl Act’ and Sen. Brown’s consistent leadership in developing bipartisan solutions to stand against this existential threat to public safety.”

The bipartisan national security legislation also includes critical support to Ukraine and Israel and humanitarian aid to Gaza. Ohio’s defense industrial base plays a critical role in supporting efforts to keep our allies secure, and this package also includes investments in:

• Abrams tanks and Stryker armored vehicles made by workers in Lima, Ohio at General Dynamics’ Joint Systems Manufacturing Center that are providing critical assistance to Ukraine.
• Critical parts of nuclear submarines that are made by BWXT in Barberton, Ohio to deter China from further aggression against Taiwan.

Background:

The FEND Off Fentanyl Act is a sanctions and anti-money laundering bill to help combat the country’s fentanyl crisis by targeting opioid traffickers devastating Ohio communities. The bill will enhance current law so U.S. government agencies can more effectively disrupt illicit opioid supply chains and penalize those facilitating the trafficking of fentanyl. The bill also ensures that sanctions are imposed not only on the illicit drug trade, but also on the money laundering that makes it profitable.

Specifically, the legislation would:

• Declare that the international trafficking of fentanyl is a national emergency.
• Require the President to sanction transnational criminal organizations and drug cartels’ key members engaged in international fentanyl trafficking.
• Enable the President to use proceeds of forfeited, sanctioned property of fentanyl traffickers to further law enforcement efforts.
• Enhance the ability to enforce sanctions violations thereby making it more likely that people who defy U.S. law will be caught and prosecuted.
• Require the administration to report to Congress on actions the U.S. government is taking to reduce the international trafficking of fentanyl and related opioids.
• Allow the Treasury Department to utilize special measures to combat fentanyl-related money laundering.
• Require the Treasury Department to prioritize fentanyl-related suspicious transactions and include descriptions of drug cartels’ financing actions in Suspicious Activity Reports.

More information about the bill can be found here, bill text can be found here.

Senator Brown’s Work to Combat Fentanyl:

Brown has a long history of leadership in fighting to stop the flow of fentanyl into Ohio’s communities. In addition to his bipartisan FEND Off Fentanyl Act, which imposes new sanctions and anti-money laundering penalties targeting the illicit fentanyl supply chain, Brown also is pushing to pass his bipartisan Providing Officers with Electronic Resources (POWER) Act. The POWER Act would establish a new grant program through the U.S. Department of Justice to help state and local law enforcement organizations secure high-tech, portable drug screening devices. This legislation builds off Brown’s INTERDICT Act, which President Trump signed into law and which provides U.S. Customs and Border Protection with high-tech screening equipment and lab resources to detect fentanyl before it enters the U.S.

Brown helped pass the bipartisan Protecting First Responders from Secondary Exposure (PREVENT) Act which allows state and local governments to purchase containment devices to safely store dangerous drugs and preserve them for evidentiary use and provide first responders training to reduce their risk of secondary exposure to lethal substances. He has also introduced the Stop Fentanyl at the Border Act, which increases staffing and technology to detect illicit drugs and other contraband being smuggled through ports of entry or at illegal crossings along the border.