[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 268 Introduced in House (IH)]
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115th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 268
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the
trafficking of illicit fentanyl into the United States from Mexico and
China.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 6, 2017
Mr. McKinley (for himself, Mr. Joyce of Ohio, Mr. Ryan of Ohio, and Ms.
Tsongas) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the
Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on the
Judiciary, and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives 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 overdose epidemic that claimed more than 33,000 lives in 2015;
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 up to 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 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
2014 and 2015, the death rate from overdoses caused by synthetic
opioids, including illicit fentanyl and synthetic opioid pain relievers
other than methadone and heroin, increased 72 percent;
Whereas, in 2016, 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) the greatest criminal drug threat 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 in 2015, there were more than 9,580 overdose deaths in the United States
caused by synthetic opioids, including--
(1) illicit fentanyl; and
(2) synthetic opioid pain relievers other than methadone and heroin;
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, in October 2015, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued
a health advisory through its Health Alert Network--
(1) to make public health officials aware of the increase in fentanyl-
related overdose fatalities;
(2) to provide recommendations for improving detection of fentanyl-
related overdose outbreaks; and
(3) to encourage States to expand access to, and training on, naloxone;
Whereas, in August 2016, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated
the health advisory issued in October 2015 to make public health
officials aware of the increasing--
(1) availability of counterfeit pills containing various amounts of
fentanyl and fentanyl-related compounds; and
(2) frequency with which fentanyl-related compounds are mixed with, or
sold as, heroin;
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, according to the DEA--
(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 and Canada;
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;
(2) shipments of the equipment to manufacture illicit fentanyl, such as
pill presses; and
(3) some illicit fentanyl products being smuggled into the United
States across the northern border with Canada: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives
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 production of illicit fentanyl and its
trafficking into the United States;
(4) the United States should--
(A) support efforts by the Governments of Mexico
and China to stop the production of illicit fentanyl
and its trafficking into the United States; and
(B) take further measures to reduce and prevent
heroin and fentanyl consumption through--
(i) enhanced enforcement to reduce the
illegal supply; and
(ii) increased use of evidence-based
prevention, treatment, and recovery services;
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 production of
illicit fentanyl and its trafficking into the United States.
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