AUSTIN – U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) released the following statement after the Fentanyl Eradication and Narcotics Deterrence (FEND) Off Fentanyl Act, led by U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) and cosponsored by Sen. Cornyn to crack down on the fentanyl supply chain by financially targeting opioid manufacturers and traffickers, was signed into law as part of the national security supplemental package:

“The fentanyl crisis is devastating communities in Texas and across the country, and those who fund and profit from it must be held accountable,” said Sen. Cornyn. “By targeting the financial assets of Chinese precursor manufacturers and Mexican cartels, this law will kneecap the supply chain of this deadly drug and help save American lives.”

Background:

In 2021, nearly 107,000 Americans died from an overdose, and 65% of overdose deaths were caused by fentanyl. The following year, the Drug Enforcement Administration seized more than 379 million deadly doses of fentanyl, which is enough to supply a lethal dose to every American.

To disrupt the flow of illicit opioids into the United States, the FEND Off Fentanyl Act would:

• Declare the international trafficking of fentanyl 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, 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 U.S. Department of the Treasury to utilize special measures to combat fentanyl-related money laundering;
• Require the U.S. Department of the Treasury to prioritize fentanyl-related suspicious transactions;
• And include descriptions of drug cartels’ financing actions in Suspicious Activity Reports.