Americans for Securing All Packages Calls on White House to Formally Endorse STOP Act, Close Postal Drug Loophole to Fulfill Stated Commitment
As the Trump Administration unveils its opioid plan, coalition urges President Trump to work with Congress to close international drug pipeline
WASHINGTON – Following the release of President Trump’s opioid plan yesterday, Americans for Securing All Packages (ASAP) applauds President Trump for renewing his campaign promise to stop the flow of drugs through international mail. ASAP now calls on the Administration to issue an executive order and formally endorse the Synthetics Trafficking & Overdose Prevention (STOP) Act.
In the plan released this week, President Trump’s newly announced Opioid Initiative vows to “crack down on international and domestic illicit drug supply chains devastating American communities” by requiring “advance electronic data for 90 percent of all international mail shipments (with goods) and consignment shipments within three years, in order for the Department of Homeland Security and other agencies to “identify and inspect high-risk shipments.” However, if passed, the STOP Act would require advance electronic data on all inbound international packages, giving federal law enforcement agencies the tools they need to identify packages containing hazardous materials before they reach the U.S.
The new plan builds on the President’s longstanding commitment to stop the influx of drugs from abroad. During a 2016 campaign speech in New Hampshire, President Trump said his administration would “crack down on the abuse of the loopholes in the Postal Service to literally mail fentanyl and other drugs to users and dealers in the United States.” And in its final report, the President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis recommended President Trump support the STOP Act.
“We know just how deadly synthetic opioids are – and we know they’re coming to the U.S. through the mail,” said ASAP senior advisor Gov. Tom Ridge. “I applaud President Trump’s renewed commitment to keeping Americans safe by identifying the need to close the dangerous pipeline of opioids into the country through the global postal system. Now, we urge his administration to issue an executive order and work with Congress to pass the STOP Act to keep these deadly drugs out of our country.”
“Just last week, I read about a 14-year-old boy who died after ingesting fentanyl,” said ASAP senior advisor Juliette Kayyem. “Fentanyl is a dangerous, synthetic, manufactured drug – there’s no reason why it should be getting into the hands of our kids. We need to cut off the supply of deadly drugs coming into our country – and that starts by working in a truly bipartisan manner to pass the STOP Act and close the loophole that’s letting these poisons in from abroad.”
According to a year-long investigation by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, 318 million packages reach the United States each year without advance electronic data. While private carriers are required to provide this information under the Trade Act of 2002, the U.S. Postal Service has not been held to the same standard, making the Postal Service the preferred carrier for illicit drugs into the United States.
As Customs and Border Protection officials report finding 43 percent of inbound international shipments noncompliant with U.S. standards, the loophole in the global postal system is the subject of mounting pressure from Congress and federal law enforcement alike.
The STOP Act has gained widespread bipartisan support in both chambers of Congress with 30 cosponsors in the Senate and 260 in the House of Representatives. It’s also been widely endorsed by national security experts, public health advocates, and first responders alike, including the American Medical Association and the Fraternal Order of Police.
