[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 535 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 535

Expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the trafficking of illicit 
         fentanyl into the United States from Mexico and China.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 14, 2016

    Mr. Markey (for himself and Mr. Rubio) submitted the following 
  resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the trafficking of illicit 
         fentanyl into the United States from Mexico and China.

Whereas the United States continues to experience a prescription opioid and 
        heroin use epidemic that claimed almost 30,000 lives in 2014;
Whereas fentanyl is a synthetic opioid and the euphoric effects of fentanyl are 
        sometimes indistinguishable from the euphoric effects of heroin or 
        morphine;
Whereas the effect of fentanyl can be approximately 50 times stronger than 
        heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine;
Whereas although pharmaceutical fentanyl can be diverted for misuse, most 
        fentanyl deaths are believed to be linked to illicitly manufactured 
        fentanyl and illicit versions of chemically similar compounds known as 
        fentanyl analogs (collectively referred to in this preamble as ``illicit 
        fentanyl'');
Whereas illicit fentanyl is potentially lethal even if only a very small 
        quantity of illicit fentanyl is ingested or inhaled;
Whereas across the United States, illicit fentanyl use and related deaths are 
        rising at alarming rates;
Whereas illicit fentanyl is cheaper to manufacture than heroin and the sale of 
        illicit fentanyl is highly profitable for drug dealers;
Whereas illicit fentanyl is sold for its heroin-like effects and illicit 
        fentanyl is often mixed with heroin, cocaine, or methamphetamine as a 
        combination product, with or without the knowledge of the user;
Whereas illicit fentanyl is often produced to physically resemble other opioid 
        pain medicines, such as oxycodone, which sell for high amounts on the 
        street;
Whereas drug users often overdose on illicit fentanyl because users are unaware 
        that they are ingesting illicit fentanyl and do not anticipate the 
        toxicity and potential lethality of illicit fentanyl;
Whereas, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, between 
        2013 and 2014, the death rate from the use of synthetic opioids, 
        including illicit fentanyl and synthetic opioid pain relievers other 
        than methadone, increased 80 percent, and those deaths are largely 
        attributable to fentanyl rather than other prescription synthetics;
Whereas, in 2015, the Drug Enforcement Administration (referred to in this 
        preamble as the ``DEA'') issued a National Drug Threat Assessment 
        Summary, which found that Mexican transnational criminal organizations 
        are--

    (1) one of the greatest criminal drug threats to the United States; and

    (2) poly-drug organizations that use established transportation routes 
and distribution networks to traffic heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine, and 
marijuana throughout the United States;

Whereas, in 2016, the DEA issued a National Heroin Threat Assessment Summary, 
        which found that ``starting in late 2013, several States reported spikes 
        in overdose deaths due to fentanyl and its analog acetyl-fentanyl'';
Whereas the 2016 National Heroin Threat Assessment Summary found that--

    (1) Mexican drug traffickers are expanding their operations to gain a 
larger share of eastern United States heroin markets; and

    (2) the availability of heroin is increasing throughout the United 
States;

Whereas between 2013 and 2014, more than 700 fentanyl-related deaths in the 
        United States were attributable to illicit fentanyl;
Whereas the number of deaths attributable to illicit fentanyl may be 
        significantly underreported because--

    (1) coroners and medical examiners do not test, or lack the resources 
to test, routinely for fentanyl;

    (2) crime laboratories lack the resources to test routinely for 
fentanyl; and

    (3) illicit fentanyl deaths may erroneously be attributed to heroin;

Whereas, in March 2015, the DEA issued a nationwide alert on illicit fentanyl as 
        a threat to health and public safety;
Whereas illicit fentanyl has the potential to endanger public health workers, 
        first responders, and law enforcement personnel who may unwittingly come 
        into contact with illicit fentanyl by accidentally inhaling airborne 
        powder;
Whereas the 2015 National Drug Threat Assessment Summary found that--

    (1) Mexico is the primary source for illicit fentanyl trafficked into 
the United States; and

    (2) distributors in China are the source of the fentanyl analogs and 
the precursor chemicals to manufacture fentanyl analogs that are found in 
Mexico;

Whereas fentanyl produced illicitly in Mexico is--

    (1) smuggled across the southwest border of the United States, or 
delivered through mail and express consignment couriers; and

    (2) often mixed with heroin or diluents in the United States and then 
distributed in the same United States markets in which white powder heroin 
is distributed; and

Whereas United States law enforcement officials have recently seen--

    (1) an influx of illicit fentanyl into the United States directly from 
China; and

    (2) shipments of the equipment to manufacture illicit fentanyl, such as 
pill presses: Now, therefore, be it

    Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
            (1) the use of illicit fentanyl in the United States and 
        the resulting overdose deaths are a public health crisis;
            (2) the trafficking of illicit fentanyl into the United 
        States, especially the trafficking of illicit fentanyl by 
        transnational criminal organizations, is a problem that 
        requires close cooperation between the United States Government 
        and the Governments of Mexico and China;
            (3) the United States Government and the Governments of 
        Mexico and China have a shared interest in, and responsibility 
        for, stopping the trafficking of fentanyl into the United 
        States and all 3 countries should develop joint actions to 
        attain that goal;
            (4) the United States should--
                    (A) support the Governments of Mexico and China in 
                the efforts of the Governments of Mexico and China to 
                stop the trafficking of illicit fentanyl into the 
                United States;
                    (B) take further measures to reduce and prevent 
                heroin and fentanyl consumption through the use of 
                evidence-based prevention, treatment, and recovery 
                services; and
                    (C) provide access to treatment and rehabilitation 
                to help individuals with substance use disorders 
                recover; and
            (5) the United States Government, including the Secretary 
        of State, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Homeland 
        Security, and the Director of the Office of National Drug 
        Control Policy, should use the broad diplomatic and law 
        enforcement resources of the United States, in partnership with 
        the Governments of Mexico and China, to stop the trafficking of 
        illicit fentanyl into the United States.
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