[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 83 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 83

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

                             March 8, 2017

    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 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 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 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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