[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 40 (Wednesday, March 8, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1692-S1693]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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SENATE RESOLUTION 83--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING THE 
TRAFFICKING OF ILLICIT FENTANYL INTO THE UNITED STATES FROM MEXICO AND 
                                 CHINA

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

                               S. Res. 83

       Whereas the United States continues to experience a 
     prescription opioid and heroin overdose epidemic that claimed 
     more than 33,000 lives in 2015;

[[Page S1693]]

       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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