Bill to Combat Synthetic Drug Trafficking Cosponsored by Joyce Passes House

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 7990, the Fighting Emerging Narcotics Through Additional Nations to Yield Lasting (FENTANYL) Results Act, of which Congressman Dave Joyce (OH-14) is a cosponsor. The legislation, introduced by Joyce’s colleague on the other side of the aisle, Rep. David Trone (MD-06), aims to increase global cooperation in the fight against synthetic drug trafficking. The bill, which passed the House unanimously, is endorsed by Mothers Against Prescription Drug Abuse, Partnership to End Addiction, Addiction Policy Forum, and the Community Anti-Drug Coalition.

“Over the past several years, I’ve been proud of Congress’ bipartisan work to combat the opioid crisis and prevent the trafficking of lethal, illicit drugs,” said Joyce. “But sadly, that progress is slipping away. Fatal overdoses hit a record high last year and recent data from the CDC shows that more than half of those deaths involved synthetic opioids like fentanyl. We can and must attack this crisis from every angle and this bipartisan legislation will help us do just that. I’m proud to be a cosponsor of the FENTANYL Results Act and look forward to seeing it become law so that we can continue to improve global cooperation in the fight against synthetic drug trafficking.”

Specifically, the bill would:

• require the Secretary of State to prioritize efforts to combat the international flow of fentanyl, fentanyl analogues, other synthetic narcotics, and new psychoactive substances;
• authorize two programs through the State Department that would build foreign law enforcement capacity to detect synthetic drugs and carry out an international exchange program for drug demand reduction experts; and
• create two new sections in the State Department’s International Narcotics Control Strategy Report to specifically track developments with synthetic opioids.

In September, Joyce joined a bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers led by Trone in a historic effort to highlight National Recovery Month in Congress throughout the month of September. This effort included events throughout the month to elevate voices in recovery as well as a Congressional Day of Action on September 16th, where legislators led a virtual ‘Congress Goes Purple’ initiative. In August, Joyce wrote to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and called for Congressional action to combat the recent rise in opioid-related deaths across the country. You can learn more about Joyce’s efforts to combat the opioid crisis here.

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