[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 209 (Thursday, December 21, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8209-S8211]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             INTERDICT ACT

  Mr. BROWN. Madam President, as we await Senator Markey's and Senator 
Johnson's remarks, I wish to set the stage. The CDC released a new 
report last night showing a massive increase in the number of Americans 
dying from drug overdoses.
  My State is second to the Presiding Officer's State. It has the 
second highest rate of deaths per capita in the country. In my State of 
Ohio, unfortunately, far too many people die from opioid overdoses than 
any other State in country. Families are torn apart. Children lose 
parents. Parents lose sons and daughters.
  The CDC pins much of the blame of this epidemic on this relatively 
new deadly synthetic fentanyl. Fentanyl is 50 times stronger than 
heroin. Senator Capito knows that, as do Senators Johnson and Markey. 
All of us in the Senate are aware of that.
  This drug is being illegally trafficked into this country from Mexico 
and China. We have a bill to stop this today. The INTERDICT Act. I want 
to thank Senator Markey for his leadership on this bill and also my 
colleague Senator Portman for his support. Senator Portman and I have 
been working on a number of issues across party lines for months and 
months. It would provide more funds for Customs and Border Protection 
to screen packages effectively and safely, to stop fentanyl whenever 
possible before it reaches Akron, Toledo, Dayton, or the smaller cities 
of Chillicothe, Mansfield, and Zanesville.
  This passed the House with only two or three negative votes. It has 
the support of major law enforcement organizations, including sheriffs 
and police officers. Our law enforcement officials, better than 
anybody, see the devastation that fentanyl causes our communities. They 
know the risk our officers face dealing with this deadly substance. 
That is why this bill needs to pass into law.
  Just this week, the National FOP, the Federal Law Enforcement 
Officers Association, the Police Assisted Addiction Recovery 
Initiative--a recent phenomenon, unfortunately--all publicly asked us 
to pass the bill.
  Americans are dying in record numbers. Life expectancy in our 
country--I believe, for the first time in the lifetimes of any of us--
actually dropped last year. Think about that.
  We have made progress, as I mentioned, in this body. I wear a pin on 
my lapel of a canary in a bird cage. The mine workers in West Virginia, 
Ohio, and elsewhere would take this canary down to the mines. If the 
canary died, the mine worker was on his own. He didn't have a union 
strong enough or a government that cared enough to help him. In those 
days, people lived 45 years on average--for a person born in the United 
States in 1900.
  Today we live 30 years longer for a whole host of public health 
reasons--from Medicare to Medicaid, to safe drinking laws, to clean 
air, to minimum wage--all the things that we do. For the first time, I 
believe, in our lifetime, life expectancy actually has dropped because 
of drug overdoses for the second year in a row, and it is in large part 
because of these overdose deaths.
  Why shouldn't we take steps today to stop this? We can do this by 
putting the INTERDICT Act on the President's desk, immediately giving 
law enforcement the tools they need to keep fentanyl out of the country 
and off our streets.
  Mr. MARKEY. Will the Senator yield?
  Mr. BROWN. Of course.
  Mr. MARKEY. I thank the Senator for yielding, and I thank the Senator 
from Ohio for talking about this very important issue.
  Fentanyl is a killer that is descending upon every single community 
in the United States. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 50 times 
stronger than heroin and 100 times more powerful than morphine. 
Fentanyl is the Godzilla of opioids.
  Senator Brown represents Ohio; I represent Massachusetts. The 
fentanyl epidemic has a bull's-eye on Ohio and a bull's-eye on 
Massachusetts. The deaths from fentanyl are skyrocketing. In 2016, 
upwards of 70 to 75 percent of all of the opioid deaths in 
Massachusetts were because of fentanyl. Fentanyl was found in the blood 
system of those people who died. Last year, 2,000 people in 
Massachusetts died of overdoses. Three-quarters of them had fentanyl. 
If the epidemic had been hitting the rest of the country at the same 
rate that it has been hitting Massachusetts, last year 75,000 people 
would have died with fentanyl in their blood systems.
  Last night, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released 
shocking new numbers on drug overdose deaths in the United States. 
These numbers show the spike in deaths caused by fentanyl and other 
synthetic opioids.
  Here are the new numbers nationwide. More than 42,000 Americans died 
from an opioid overdose last year. That is a 27-percent increase over 
the number of Americans who died from an opioid overdose in 2015. It 
went up 27 percent from 2015 to 2016. Of the 42,000 lives lost to 
opioids last year, nearly half of them nationwide--just over

[[Page S8210]]

19,000--can be directly attributed to fentanyl and other synthetic 
opioids. The number is a much higher percentage in Massachusetts.
  Fentanyl is overrunning our communities, laying waste to them. There 
is no easy solution, but we know that we must staunch the flow of this 
drug before we lose an entire generation to this terrible killer. That 
is why I introduced legislation with Senator Brown and Senator Rubio to 
help those on the frontlines stop this deadly drug from ever getting 
into our communities. The bill is called the INTERDICT Act. It provides 
badly needed high-tech equipment and other scientific resources to U.S. 
Customs and Border Protection to catch illicit fentanyl being 
trafficked into the United States, mainly from China and Mexico.
  When U.S. Customs and Border Protection detects a suspicious package 
or substance, it has had very good success identifying an illicit drug 
like fentanyl with the help of high-tech, hand-held chemical screening 
devices. Using these devices, Customs and Border Protection agents can 
detect, identify, and seize illicit drugs like fentanyl on the spot. 
Those rapid results provide vital information for border agents to 
continue their investigation and, if appropriate, proceed with seizure 
and arrest.
  What is more, these devices and their ability to immediately identify 
fentanyl and other hazardous illicit substances also serve to safeguard 
the health and well-being of Customs and Border Protection agents so 
they are not accidentally exposed to fentanyl. That is what these 
devices help to make possible.
  So we introduced the INTERDICT Act with Sherrod Brown of Ohio; 
Senator Capito, the Presiding Officer in the Senate today; Senator 
Rubio; and we have added another 16 Senators from both sides of the 
aisle.
  Mr. BROWN. Madam President, will the Senator yield?
  Mr. MARKEY. Madam President, I would be glad to yield.
  Mr. BROWN. Madam President, I thank Senator Markey for his leadership 
on this issue. This has gotten this far because of his efforts in so 
many ways.
  I want to enter into the Record three letters that are dated 
yesterday and today. Actually, one is from the National Fraternal Order 
of Police, signed by Chuck Canterbury, their national president, in 
support of this bill, with a very persuasive, passionate laying out of 
reasons it matters. The second is a letter from the Federal Law 
Enforcement Officers Association, signed by Dominick Stokes. Mr. Stokes 
is a longtime friend of mine. The third letter is from the Police 
Assisted Addiction Recovery Initiative group, signed by Frederick Ryan, 
all making endorsements for this bill.
  I ask unanimous consent those three letters be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                           National Fraternal Order of Police,

                                Washington, DC, December 20, 2017.
     Hon. A. Mitchell McConnell, Jr.,
     Majority Leader, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
     Hon. Charles E. Schumer,
     Minority Leader, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
       Dear Senators McConnell and Schumer: I am writing on behalf 
     of the members of the Fraternal Order of Police to urge the 
     Senate to consider H.R. 2142, the ``International Narcotics 
     Trafficking Emergency Response by Detecting Incoming 
     Contraband with Technology (INTERDICT) Act,'' which passed 
     the House 412-3 in October.
       Heroin and prescription opiates have created a devastating 
     epidemic across our country, and now these overdoses 
     outnumber gunshot deaths and motor vehicle deaths. This 
     epidemic has worsened with the influx of synthetic opiates 
     like fentanyl from foreign countries, especially China and 
     Mexico. For example, synthetic fentanyl is cheaper than 
     normal opiates bought on the street and it is 50 times more 
     deadly than heroin.
       Our law enforcement officers at the United States Customs 
     and Border Protection (CBP) are on the forefront of stopping 
     the deadly influx of synthetic fentanyl into our communities 
     from these foreign countries. The CBP needs all the resources 
     they can get to stop this devastating flow of drugs into our 
     country.
       This legislation will ensure that CBP will have additional 
     portable chemical screening devices at ports of entry, mail 
     and express consignment facilities, and more fixed chemical 
     screening devices at CBP laboratories. The bill will also 
     provide CBP with sufficient resources, personnel, and 
     facilities, including scientists to interpret the screening 
     test results from the field.
       With all the additional resources CBP will be better 
     equipped on all fronts to thwart the deadly flow of synthetic 
     opiates across our borders.
       On behalf of the more than 330,000 members of the Fraternal 
     Order of Police, I want to thank you for helping fight 
     against the heroin and opioid epidemic and fighting every day 
     to rid our communities of these drugs. If I can be of any 
     additional help to you. please feel free to contact me or my 
     Senior Advisor, Jim Pasco, in my Washington office.
           Sincerely,
                                                 Chuck Canterbury,
     National President.
                                  ____

                                           Federal Law Enforcement


                                         Officers Association,

                                Cabin John, MD, December 21, 2017.
     Hon. A. Mitchell McConnell, Jr.,
     Majority Leader, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
     Hon. Charles E. Schumer,
     Minority Leader, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
       Dear Senators McConnell and Schumer: I am writing on behalf 
     of the members of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers 
     Association (FLEOA) which is a professional organization 
     representing more than 26,000 federal officers and agents in 
     65 law enforcement agencies including the United States 
     Customs and Border Protection (CBP). FLEOA has endorsed H.R. 
     2142, the ``International Narcotics Trafficking Emergency 
     Response by Detecting Incoming Contraband and Technology 
     (INTERDICT) Act'' which passed the House with a 412-3 vote. I 
     urge the Senate to consider this bill for passage.
       Probably the most serious crisis facing law enforcement is 
     the proliferation of heroin and opiate drugs, which are 
     causing more deaths from overdoses than ever experienced 
     before. In fact, synthetic opiates like fentanyl are now the 
     leading cause of overdoses because they are cheaper and 
     dramatically stronger than heroin.
       The INTERDICT Act will provide CBP with portable screening 
     devices at ports of entry and mail facilities. In addition, 
     it will increase detection devices at CBP testing facilities 
     and laboratories. The Act will also provide CBP with 
     additional staffing and resources. This will allow CBP to 
     successfully diminish the importation of synthetic opiates 
     into the United States.
       FLEOA applauds your assistance in helping CBP and the other 
     federal agencies in their efforts to reduce the plague these 
     illegal substances have induced on our country.
           Sincerely,
                                                  Dominick Stokes,
     FLEOA V.P. for Legislation.
                                  ____

                                                   Police Assisted


                                Addiction Recovery Initiative,

                                Gloucester, MA, December 21, 2017.
     Hon. A. Mitchell McConnell, Jr.,
     Majority Leader, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
     Hon. Charles E. Schumer,
     Minority Leader, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
       Dear Senators McConnell and Schumer: The Police Assisted 
     Addiction Recovery Initiative (PAARI) is a nonprofit 
     organization that trains and supports more than 360 law 
     enforcement agencies that have launched programs that serve 
     as a pre-arrest bridge to treatment. PAARI was pleased to 
     offer its strong support for S. 708, the bipartisan INTERDICT 
     Act, which was introduced by Senators Markey, Rubio, Brown, 
     and Capito. This bill will expand U.S. Customs and Border 
     Protection's ability to use technology to detect fentanyl and 
     other narcotics coming into the United States from abroad and 
     which are causing a public health epidemic in our 
     communities.
       While the Senate has yet to act on S. 708, the House of 
     Representatives took action and on 25 October 2017, passed 
     companion legislation HR 2142, by a vote of 412-3. As this 
     year draws to a close, we urge the Senate to take up and pass 
     the House version of INTERDICT this year.
       Drug overdose is the leading cause of accidental death in 
     the United States, with more than 54,000 overdose deaths 
     reported in 2015. Almost 33,000 of those overdose deaths--
     roughly 60 percent--involved opioids, including prescription 
     opioid pain relievers, heroin, or the synthetic opioid 
     fentanyl. In particular, as the CDC's recent report has just 
     shown, fentanyl and its analogs are becoming increasingly 
     responsible for these overdose deaths.
       Fentanyl is up to 50 times more powerful than heroin and 
     100 times more powerful than morphine. It is dangerous and 
     potentially life-threatening to simply touch or accidentally 
     inhale the white powdery substance. Sometimes, unbeknownst to 
     the user, fentanyl is often mixed with heroin or other 
     substances, or formed to resemble prescription opioid pills. 
     Most illicit fentanyl comes to the United States from China 
     and Mexico, delivered through the mail or express consignment 
     carriers, or smuggled across the southwest border of the 
     United States. The INTERDICT Act will help the United States 
     better identify and stop these dangerous substances from 
     landing in communities across America.
       Now is the time to act. This holiday season too many seats 
     at too many tables are empty due to the unrelenting flow of 
     fentanyl into the United States. We must give our law 
     enforcement personnel the tools necessary to stop this flow. 
     We can do that, in part, by getting the INTERDICT Act to the 
     President's desk this year. That is why PAARI strongly 
     supports this important legislation which will give U.S. 
     Customs and Border Protection the additional resources it 
     needs to fight the flow of fentanyl and other deadly drugs 
     into the United States.
           Sincerely,
     Frederick Ryan,

[[Page S8211]]

       Chief of Police, Arlington Massachusetts,
                             PAARI Board of Directors Co-Chairman,
                           PAARI National Police Council Chairman.

  Mr. BROWN. I think it is pretty clear how important this is. This 
bill got, I believe, 2 or maybe 3 negative votes out of 400-some in the 
House of Representatives. There is no organization I know of that 
opposes it. I hear from people in my State consistently about how 
important this is, from police organizations to parents, to individual 
police officers and county sheriffs and all, and deputy sheriffs.
  There is just no reason we shouldn't be able to do this before we go 
home for Christmas. There are a lot of things we should do before we go 
home for Christmas, including the Children's Health Insurance Program, 
but this is one we know we can do. There seems to be no substantive 
disagreement from any large number of groups or individuals that I can 
see, so I am hopeful we can move forward with this in the next few 
minutes.
  Mr. MARKEY. Will the Senator yield?
  Mr. BROWN. Yes.
  Mr. MARKEY. Madam President, I thank the Senator for yielding.
  Can I just list the names of the organizations that support this bill 
so the police can interdict, stop the fentanyl from coming into our 
country?
  It is the National Fraternal Order of Police, it is the Federal Law 
Enforcement Officers Association, it is the National Border Control 
Council, it is the Police Assisted Recovery Initiative, it is the 
National Sheriffs' Association, the National Tactical Officers 
Association, the National Association of Police Organizations, the 
National Narcotics Officers' Associations' Coalition, the Sergeants 
Benevolent Association, the American Legion, the International Union of 
Police Associations, the Major Cities Chiefs Association, the Major 
County Sheriffs of America, and the Massachusetts Coalition of Police. 
So it is pretty much every single law enforcement agency at all levels 
in the country saying: Please give us this tool now so we can detect 
this incredible killer in our country.
  Three former Commissioners of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, 
appointed by both Democratic and Republican Presidents, support the 
INTERDICT Act. President Trump's nominee to head the agency, Kevin 
McAleenan, testified that he supports getting more of these high-tech 
scanners into the hands of Customs and Border Patrol.
  Despite working for months with Senate leadership to try and secure 
authorization for funding, we just can't seem to get this over the 
finish line so that in the new year they have these devices. The way it 
works is, you just put the device up next to a package, and it will 
tell you if it has got fentanyl or not. Right now, many law enforcement 
agencies will not even allow one of their police dogs to sniff for 
fentanyl because it will kill the police dog. That is how dangerous 
fentanyl is, and that is why these electronic devices are so important. 
It ensures that we have minimized the exposure of our officers to these 
substances and, at the same time, dramatically increase the likelihood 
that we are going to identify the fentanyl in a package and, as a 
result, deter these people from China or from Mexico who bring it into 
our country and are killing us by the thousands.
  At 42,000 deaths last year, it is now approximating the total number 
of deaths in the war in Vietnam throughout its entire history. That is 
just 1 year, 42,000 people--1 year. That is a terrorist attack of a 
magnitude on our own streets that is unimaginable.
  With these devices, we don't completely solve the problem, but we put 
more weapons in the hands of our law enforcement officials, detection 
devices that can minimize the likelihood that these terrible people 
from China, from Mexico, principally, can bring this stuff into our 
country.
  So this is a huge issue. It goes right to the heart of the 
seriousness of dealing with this issue. My only hope is, we have an 
ability to be able to move this thing forward in a way that lets the 
American people say: We understand the issues you want us to work on, 
and the opioid crisis is at the top of the list. It is indiscriminate. 
It affects potentially every family. No one is immune to addiction. No 
family is immune from addiction. It could hit any family at any time, 
and fentanyl is the ultimate killer.
  I thank the Senator.
  Mr. BROWN. Madam President, I thank Senator Markey and hope we can 
work things out with Senator Johnson on this issue.

                          ____________________