Washington, D.C. — Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) and Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) today introduced the Protecting Americans from Fentanyl Trafficking Act. The legislation would make permanent the DEA’s temporary controls on fentanyl analogues to control the deadly substance. The bill is also co-sponsored by Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky), Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas), Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Senator Josh Hawley (R-Missouri), Senator John Kennedy (R-Louisiana), Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah), and Senator Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina). Bill text may be found here.
“Illicit fentanyl is made with the intent to create addicts and to kill. Granting the DEA permanent control of this deadly drug and its analogues will provide law enforcement the tools needed take these dangerous drugs off the streets,” said Senator Cotton.
“Ms. Rebecca Kiessling testified before Congress yesterday that when it comes to fentanyl we’re at war and we need to act like we’re at war. She tragically lost both her sons to fentanyl overdoses from a single pill laced with enough fentanyl to kill an individual four times over. Her sons bought what they thought to be Percocet, and it turned out to be pure fentanyl. They both died from the ingestion. Fentanyl is the leading cause of death among 18-45 year olds in America. More Americans die from fentanyl poisoning than car accidents and gun violence combined! Under President Biden, we’ve lost complete operational control of the border. Fentanyl is flooding into our country. We should be going after Mexican drug cartels and other transnational criminal organizations who deal this deadly drug by designating them as foreign terrorist organizations – giving us even more tools to combat this epidemic. I will be working with my colleagues on the Senate Judiciary Committee to dramatically increase the punishment for fentanyl distribution, including charging the crime of murder if an overdose death occurs as a result. Bottom line: The Biden Administration response to the fentanyl epidemic has been lacking. I intend to do all I can to make them change course,”said Senator Graham.
Background:
Senator Cotton first introduced the Protecting Americans from Fentanyl Act in April of 2021 and called for its passage by unanimous consent, but Senate Democrats objected to the motion.