Prevent Exposure to Narcotics and Toxics Act of 2021

Floor Speech

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Mr. JOYCE of Ohio. Madam Speaker, with over 108,000 Americans dying from a drug overdose last year, all of us are uniquely aware of the opioid crisis ravaging our country.

Similarly, Americans have watched as the crisis at our southern border has turned into an outright catastrophe. There is a threat that both these crises pose, and it has gone unaddressed for far too long: secondary exposure to fentanyl. Secondary exposure occurs when an individual is unintentionally exposed to fentanyl and the drug enters the bloodstream through accidental absorption.

This happened in my home State of Ohio. A police officer overdosed after brushing fentanyl off his uniform following the arrest of a drug dealer.

The threat of secondary exposure is consistently faced by one group in particular: Customs and Border Protection agents. CBP officers have seized over 340,000 pounds of drugs this fiscal year, including 5,300 pounds of fentanyl. That is enough to kill 2.4 billion people.

Madam Speaker, today, I am calling on my colleagues to pass my bill to better protect those working to secure our borders: H.R. 5274, the Prevent Exposure to Narcotics and Toxics Act. Known as the PREVENT Act, my bill would require CBP to issue containment devices to all frontline border security personnel and provide training on their proper use.

Congress already requires CBP to provide Narcan to all officers at risk of secondary exposure, making this legislation a simple but necessary extension of the tools we provide those who defend our borders. Containment devices are a critical safety technology that allows first responders to safely store fentanyl and other dangerous substances in a secure device.

They not only protect agents from secondary exposure, but also better preserve narcotics for forensic analysis, improving the integrity of investigations and the chances of further legal action against traffickers.

The crisis at our southern border has exploded to unprecedented levels, and with it, we have seen a shocking rise in the amount of fentanyl flowing into the United States. While those of us in Congress may differ on how we believe this crisis should be solved, we can agree that the men and women working to stop deadly drugs from reaching our communities deserve to be protected on this job. The PREVENT Act provides them with that protection.

Madam Speaker, I am proud to have introduced this bill and will always have the backs of the CBP agents working to keep our country safe. These men and women put their lives on the line every day. The least Congress can do is ensure they have what they need to do their jobs as safely as possible.

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