04.23.24

Senate Sends Cantwell-Cosponsored FEND Off Fentanyl Act to Biden’s Desk

Legislation declares international fentanyl trafficking a national emergency, aims to reduce fentanyl supply by targeting criminal organizations; WA experiencing the fastest increase in drug OD deaths in the nation

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Senate passed a national defense package that included the FEND Off Fentanyl Act, which will help U.S. government agencies disrupt opioid supply chains and penalize fentanyl traffickers. The bill also declares international trafficking of fentanyl – and the precursors used to make it – a national emergency.

U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and cosponsor of the bill, delivered a floor speech ahead of the vote:

“[This bill] declares that fentanyl is a national emergency. This enables the president to impose sanctions on fentanyl traffickers, enabling the U.S. Treasury to better fight fentanyl-related money laundering,” Sen. Cantwell said. “These issues have been clearly outlined in my state -- by communities, health providers, law enforcement, and others who want help in stopping the traffickers. Part of the solution is stemming the flow of fentanyl. And this supplemental would allow the proceeds of those seized assets by those narco-traffickers to be used by law enforcement in our local communities to fight this fentanyl scourge. We must give our communities all the tools they can to stop this product from flooding across our borders, and this legislation will do just that.”

Video of Sen. Cantwell’s speech can be viewed HERE; a transcript is HERE.

For the past year, Sen. Cantwell has been touring Washington state convening roundtables with local leaders, first responders, health care providers, and folks with lived experience of addiction to learn about how the fentanyl crisis is hurting communities. More details about those roundtables are available HERE.

As chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation – and senator of the state currently experiencing the fastest increase in reported drug overdose deaths in the nation – Sen. Cantwell has been a leader on legislation that reduces the quantity of illegal drugs entering the United States.

In March, Sen. Cantwell voted in favor of a series of federal funding  bills that would allocate $1.69 billion to combat fentanyl and other illicit drugs coming into the United States, including an additional $385.2 million to increase security at U.S. ports of entry.

In November, Sen. Cantwell held a briefing on the fentanyl crisis with her colleagues on the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Briefers included officials from the Department of Homeland Security, the Office of National Drug Control Policy, and the Department of Commerce. The Senator also released a statement on the Biden Administration’s announcement of China’s agreement to help stop fentanyl chemical precursors from reaching the U.S.

The Senate previously passed the FEND Off Fentanyl Act as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) in July 2023, but the House blocked including the bipartisan bill in the final version of the NDAA that became law. The Senate also passed the FEND Off as part of the National Security Act in February. The version of the FEND Off Fentanyl Act in the legislative vehicle passed by the Senate today has now been passed by both chambers and heads to President Joe Biden for his signature.