[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 55 (Wednesday, March 24, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1734-S1736]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                            Opioid Epidemic

  Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, as we all know, over the last year, 
COVID-19 has taken center stage as the No. 1 public health crisis 
facing our Nation. No community has been spared from the devastation 
caused by this virus, which has claimed more than 540,000 American 
lives.
  But beneath the surface, the problems we were facing before the 
pandemic still exist, and, in many cases, they are getting worse. A 
year of stress, isolation, and loss has taken a serious toll on 
America's mental health and has led to increasing rates of anxiety and 
depression.
  These same factors have led to an increase in domestic violence as 
families have spent more time at home, often while battling the stress 
of job losses, financial difficulties, and virtual learning.
  And, of course, there is the opioid epidemic, which continues to 
destroy communities across our country.
  In 2019, there were more than 70,000 overdose deaths in America--
70,000. We are still waiting on the complete figures for 2020, but 
preliminary data shows that things are trending in the wrong direction. 
From June 2019 to May of 2020, more than 81,000 Americans have died 
from overdoses.
  We know a significant portion of those deaths involve heroin--roughly 
20 percent of those who overdosed in 2019. According to the Drug 
Enforcement Agency's ``National Drug Threat Assessment,'' the vast 
majority of that heroin comes from Mexico, a staggering 92 percent.
  As we have discussed the crisis at the border, I have talked about 
ways the surge of unaccompanied children affects Customs and Border 
Protection's ability to carry out its other missions, including 
stopping the flow of these illegal drugs. Time spent processing and 
caring for children means less time on the frontlines catching or 
deterring the cartels from moving their poison across the border into 
the United States.
  A Bloomberg report last year brought another aspect of this epidemic 
to light: the fact that chemicals made in the United States by U.S. 
companies were key ingredients in the manufacturing of heroin in 
Mexico. One of those companies is Avantor, a Fortune 500 company that 
supplies chemicals and lab materials and services across a number of 
industries. Avantor produces millions of products, including everything 
from medical masks to high-quality chemicals for pharmaceuticals, to 
kits for science labs in schools. But the focus here is on one 
particular chemical--acetic anhydride.
  This is an 18-liter jug of acetic anhydride, and you can see 
Avantor's name on the label. Avantor sells this through a subsidiary 
known as J.T. Baker into Mexico. Now, there are legitimate uses for 
acetic anhydride. It is used to make cigarette filters and chemicals 
used for photographic films, but this wasn't a photo taken in a 
chemical lab or a manufacturing plant here in the United States. This 
was taken by a Bloomberg reporter in Mexico who was able to purchase 
this chemical online, no questions asked. This should have never 
happened. Why? Because acetic anhydride is a highly regulated chemical, 
at least in the United States and, actually, around the world. Some 
companies even bar the importation of acetic anhydride because of its 
use in manufacturing illegal drugs.
  But the reason it is regulated is it is a precursor in the production 
of heroin. That is why many countries ban the importation outright. 
Without this chemical, it is virtually impossible to transform opium 
from a poppy seed into the more lethal drug of heroin.
  Acetic anhydride, as I said, is one of the most tightly controlled 
chemicals worldwide and has been for some time. The International 
Narcotics Control Board has been sounding the alarm on this dangerous 
chemical since the

[[Page S1735]]

2000s. In fact, its annual report has described horrific examples of 
the dangerous precursor chemical being diverted from legitimate uses to 
illegitimate uses, like making heroin.
  But the fact is, Mexico did not sign on to the International 
Narcotics Board protocol for this dangerous chemical until 2018, and 
even then, the enforcement, oversight, and control of this precursor 
was lax, at best. Even now, given the controls the cartels exert over 
large swaths of Mexico, I have no confidence that any controls on this 
chemical are effective in stopping illicit uses in that country.
  The Bloomberg investigation brought to light how easy it was for the 
cartels to get hold of this chemical. The reporters were able to 
purchase this 18-liter jug online or at a medical supply store. It 
didn't take any special requirements. You can imagine how easy it was 
for the cartels to get their hands on this chemical.
  While the controls, oversight, and enforcement of this chemical are 
much tighter in the United States and have been for years, it presents 
a constant challenge when Mexico does not have the same standards and 
enforcement.
  It presents an additional hurdle for the safety of our communities 
when U.S. companies, like Avantor, avail themselves of foreign 
subsidiaries to create and manufacture the precursor chemical in a 
cartel's own backyard, thereby facilitating the manufacture and sale of 
the deadly drug known as heroin.
  Of course, the winners in all of this are the cartels, in addition to 
their criminal network of smugglers, who move the drug across our 
border. The losers are our communities here in the United States and 
our loved ones who have been tragically affected by the opioid 
epidemic.
  This is an open-air drug lab in Sinaloa State, the home of El Chapo's 
drug empire. Cartels can use this single jug of 18 liters of chemical 
to make heroin in this drug lab that is concealed in a rural part of 
Mexico. They can make out of that one jug about 80 pounds, or 90,000 
hits, of heroin out of one jug. Of course, one hit is enough to destroy 
a life, but think of the pain that one 18-liter jug can inflict on an 
entire community, and Avantor knows that these jugs in this size can be 
easily concealed in something like the trunk of a car.
  One container of this chemical costs $324. The street value of the 
heroin that it will yield is at least $3.6 million. One jug at $324 can 
produce $3.6 million worth of street value in heroin. If this doesn't 
make your blood boil, you are not paying attention. After all, it is 
simply impossible to believe that Avantor, which is a Fortune 500 
company that is publicly traded here in America, was selling large 
quantities of this chemical--banned in many countries of the world 
because of its use in illegal drug manufacturing--and had no idea that 
it was being used for illicit purposes in Mexico. I don't think anybody 
would believe they didn't know.
  Bloomberg reports that this has been going on for at least the last 
10 years, when photos like this surfaced of the J.T. Baker line of 
product showing up in drug busts by the Mexican authorities.
  Unfortunately, the bad news doesn't stop there. The nominee for the 
third highest ranking position at the Department of Justice has 
profited to the tune of millions of dollars from Avantor stock. Vanita 
Gupta has been nominated to serve as the Associate Attorney General, 
and she is a very large shareholder in this publicly traded company. 
She owns millions of dollars of Avantor stock, parked in her own 
accounts and in the various trusts she has identified in her financial 
disclosures. This isn't just a blind investment in a mutual fund; this 
is the family business. Ms. Gupta's father is Avantor's chairman of the 
board.
  Following Ms. Gupta's confirmation hearing in the Judiciary 
Committee, Senators submitted questions for the record. One question 
was submitted by Senator Grassley, the ranking member. He asked Ms. 
Gupta if she were aware that Avantor was producing and selling chemical 
precursors used in the illegal heroin trade in Mexico.
  She said:

       I am aware of the allegations.

  The next question from Senator Grassley was about her financial 
holdings. Since she owns upwards of $55 million in Avantor stock, he 
asked if she had profited financially from this chemical trade of 
acetic anhydride by Avantor in Mexico.
  Ms. Gupta said:

       As a shareholder with no role in Avantor, I am not able to 
     say whether and how much I have profited from the various 
     parts of Avantor's business.

  I generally believe witnesses who testify under oath at Judiciary 
Committee hearings if there is no reason not to believe them, but it 
pains me to say that Ms. Gupta had already established a clear pattern 
of deception or of flat-out lying during her confirmation process.
  Ms. Gupta wrote an op-ed piece in the HuffPost on November 4, 2012. 
At that time, she said that States should decriminalize the possession 
of all drugs--not just marijuana but all drugs--for personal use.
  In the article, she said:

       States should decriminalize simple possession of all drugs, 
     particularly marijuana, and for small amounts of other drugs.

  That is a quotation. You can see that here. That would include 
decriminalizing fentanyl, methamphetamine, and other highly addictive, 
deadly drugs, including, of course, heroin.
  Well, that wasn't her answer at her confirmation hearing. When asked 
whether she advocates for the decriminalization of all drugs, she 
didn't mince words.
  She said:

       No, Senator. I do not.

  Now, I understand that it is natural for people to change their 
minds, especially in light of new information or new experiences. In 
Ms. Gupta's case, she noted that her experience at the Department of 
Justice and with addiction in her own family had led her to evolve her 
position on these issues.
  Yet, in responding to Senator Grassley's written questions, she 
wrote:

       I have never advocated for the decriminalization of all 
     drugs, and I do not support the decriminalization of all 
     drugs.

  That is demonstrably false. It is not true. She obviously held the 
view and felt so strongly about it at the time that she penned an op-ed 
piece in a national publication to advocate for the decriminalization 
of all drugs.
  When a person has been nominated for a leadership position at the 
Department of Justice, that person has a duty to be honest and 
forthright. If you have learned any new information and have changed 
your mind, that is fine, but you can't flat-out mislead about not 
having held beliefs that you clearly held in the past, especially when 
those beliefs could interfere with your ability to do the very job for 
which you have been nominated.
  It is not just with decriminalization that Ms. Gupta has misled the 
Judiciary Committee. As to qualified immunity, defunding the police, 
and the death penalty, Ms. Gupta has offered misleading statements on 
each of these issues. Policy differences, I can accept, but a lack of 
candor is disqualifying, especially for th Office of the Associate 
Attorney General.

  So when Ms. Gupta said she was unaware that Avantor was profiting or 
that she was profiting from the illicit manufacturing of heroin in 
Mexico, I do not find that credible. It is just another example of 
saying whatever you need to say to get confirmed by the Senate.
  The Department of Justice is the highest law enforcement Agency in 
the country, and Ms. Gupta has been nominated to serve as third in 
command. If confirmed, she will oversee the Civil Division, which will 
make major decisions about who will be investigated, who will be 
charged, and who will face punishment. Some of those potential targets 
include opioid companies, drug manufacturers, or perhaps even companies 
that are diverting precursor chemicals to the cartels. If you look at 
the work at the moment of the Civil Division of the Department of 
Justice, you will see a number of civil actions already related to the 
diversion of opioids and companies involved in illegal schemes. What 
does this say about her ability to supervise those kinds of cases?
  The Department requires professional detachment from even the 
appearance of impropriety, and this conflict of interest of Ms. Gupta's 
goes far beyond simple appearance. Ms. Gupta has financially benefited 
from the sale of this chemical to cartels in Mexico.

[[Page S1736]]

She has financially benefited whether she knew it at the time or not, 
but she won't even admit it. As a result, any case that has a nexus to 
drugs brought by the Department of Justice while she is at the helm 
will have a giant cloud cast over it.
  Finally, what I find most troubling, in addition to her lack of 
candor, is that Ms. Gupta has shown absolutely no remorse for the harm 
done by Avantor in facilitating the manufacture and sale of heroin here 
in the United States. I estimate that, in the last 10 years, more than 
100,000 Americans have died of drug overdoses associated with heroin. 
So I cannot support the nomination of Ms. Gupta to serve as Associate 
Attorney General, and I urge all of my colleagues to oppose her 
nomination as well.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Tennessee.