Senators introduce bipartisan bill expanding government powers to target opioid traffickers with sanctions

Top members on the Senate Banking Committee introduced bipartisan legislation on Tuesday to expand the federal government’s power to levy sanctions against opioid traffickers, with a specific focus on fentanyl.

The FEND Off Fentanyl Act, which was introduced by Banking Chairman Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and ranking member Tim Scott (R-S.C.), would declare a national emergency over fentanyl trafficking and require the president to sanction members of transnational criminal organizations involved in trafficking of fentanyl or other opioids.

“Fentanyl takes the lives of far too many young Americans, stripping a whole generation of the opportunity to contribute to their communities and achieve their dreams,” Scott said in a statement. “This legislation takes decisive action to cut off the deadly flow of fentanyl at the source.” 

Nearly 107,000 Americans died from drug-related overdoses in 2021, of which more than 70,000 involved synthetic opioids like fentanyl, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

The proposed legislation also would allow the Treasury Department to target potential money laundering related to opioid trafficking.

“This bipartisan bill will add effective new sanctions to target the illicit fentanyl supply chain, from China through Mexico, to help stop increasingly dangerous forms of this drug before they ever reach our communities,” Brown added in a statement.