A bill to reauthorize the Department of Homeland Security includes new tools to fight shipments of illegal versions of the potent opioid fentanyl from flooding into the U.S.
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee advanced the reauthorization bill Wednesday. It includes two amendments that seek to plug holes in the international mail system that make it easy for drug traffickers to ship synthetic drugs such as fentanyl to the U.S.
“Synthetic opioids like fentanyl are killing Ohioans and people across America, and they’re coming into the country through our own postal service,” said Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio. Portman sponsored the amendments with Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del.
The two lawmakers spearheaded a probe that found it was shockingly easy to buy fentanyl online and have it shipped to the U.S. through the international mail system.
One of the amendments requires Homeland Security to increase counter-narcotic information sharing among the U.S. Postal Service, Customs and Border Protection, and express carriers such as FedEx or DHL.
Another amendment requires Homeland Security to work with the Chinese government to stem synthetic opioid production. A majority of illicit fentanyl shipments come from China.
Fentanyl has exploded in popularity and has been a major driver in recent opioid deaths. In 2016, more than 64,000 people died from drug overdoses, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Of those deaths, 20,145 — almost one-third — were related to fentanyl. That figure has soared from 2013 when fewer than 5,000 deaths were related to fentanyl.
The House passed its version of the Homeland Security reauthorization in July. The Senate committee’s version has not been scheduled for a vote in the full Senate.
