As House Energy & Commerce Committee Holds Hearing on Fentanyl’s Role in Opioid Epidemic, ASAP Urges Legislative Action to Close Major Drug Pipeline
STOP Act would provide critical tools law enforcement needs to screen and stop dangerous and illegal packages.
Washington, D.C. – Today the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee is convening an Oversight and Investigations subcommittee hearing, “Fentanyl: The Next Wave of the Opioid Crisis.” As lawmakers focus on fentanyl’s public health threat and examine the federal government’s strategy to combat the synthetic opioid threat, Americans for Securing All Packages (ASAP) urges members of Congress on both sides of the aisle to support the Synthetics Trafficking & Overdose Prevention (STOP) Act. The STOP Act would close a global postal loophole that has created a pipeline for deadly, illicit drugs such as fentanyl to enter the United States without proper screening.
As the committee notes, fentanyl is becoming a leading driver of drug overdose deaths across the country. Recent reports, including a study by the U.S.– China Economic and Security Review Commission in February, have cited China as the primary supply of fentanyl in the United States. But every day, nearly 1 million packages reach the United States from foreign posts without important electronic security data that would allow law enforcement officials to screen and stop packages containing deadly materials, including fentanyl. The STOP Act, which was reintroduced by bipartisan members of Congress in both chambers in February, would require this electronic security data on all packages shipped from foreign posts. Bipartisan support for the bill continues to grow, and the STOP Act now has seven Senate co-sponsors and 49 in the House.
“The STOP Act would give law enforcement critical tools they need to screen and stop illicit drugs like fentanyl from reaching the United States,” said Gov. Tom Ridge, senior advisor to ASAP. “We all must be committed to ending this crisis by stopping the flow of these deadly drugs.”
“We see heartbreaking headlines on the impact fentanyl is having across our country every single day,” said Juliette Kayyem, senior advisor to ASAP. “Lawmakers gathering today to consider the government’s response to this crisis need to consider the drug’s supply chain. The STOP Act would make a real difference in shutting it down, and that’s why it has support from across the political spectrum.”
About Americans for Securing All Packages
Americans for Securing All Packages (ASAP) is a bipartisan coalition composed of health care advocates, national security experts, businesses and nonprofits who believe it is time for the U.S. government to take action and ensure that all packages being shipped to the United States from any foreign postal service are adequately screened before arriving on the doorsteps of unsuspecting Americans.
