Letter to Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard, Chair of the Homeland Security Sub-Committee for the House Appropriations Committee and Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, Ranking Member of the Homeland Security Sub-Committee for the House Appropriations Committee - Brindisi: It's Time to Give Federal Law Enforcement the Technology They Need to Stop the Trafficking of Fentanyl--the Deadly Opioid Linked to A Spike in Drug Overdoses in Recent Weeks in The Mohawk Valley & Other Areas
Letter
Dear Chairwoman Roybal-Allard and Ranking Member Fleischmann,
As you begin work on the Fiscal Year 2020 Homeland Security Appropriations bill, we strongly urge you to provide full funding for the International Narcotics Trafficking Emergency Response by Detecting Incoming Contraband with Technology Act or the INTERDICT Act.
While data for 2018 is not yet complete, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) more than 70,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2017. Of the 70,000 overdose deaths, more than 47,000 have been connected to fentanyl or other opioids.
Mexico is the primary source for illicit fentanyl trafficked into the United States. However, China is the principal sorce of the precursor chemicals used to manufacture the drug, as well as a source for finished-product illicit fentanyl and fentanyl analogs, which are often shipped to the United States through the mail and express consignment carriers.
The INTERDICT Act, which passed Congress with near unanimous support and was signed into law by President Donald Trump, authorizes Congress to spend $9 million to provide Customs and Border Protection with the latest in technology to help stop the flow of fentanyl across the U.S. border.
This lifesaving bill will help equip Customs and Border Protection with scanning devices, as well as personnel and scientists, available during all operational hours, to prevent, detect and interdict fentanyl.
The opioid epidemic is a health crisis indiscriminately affecting communities across this country. Funding the INTERDICT Act would be an important step towards stemming the rapid influx of illicit synthetic opioids, including fentanyl.
Thank you for your consideration of this important funding request.
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