Dear Senators Toomey and Jones,
I am writing on behalf of the members of the Fraternal Order of Police to advise you of our support for your bill, S. 400, the “Blocking Deadly Fentanyl Imports Act.”
Synthetic fentanyl is cheaper than normal opioids and it is 50 times more deadly than heroin, and 50 to 100 times stronger than morphine. Depending on the method of administration and other factors, as little as 2 milligrams of illicit fentanyl-similar in size to just a few grains of salt-can be fatal. While most of the illicit fentanyl is originally sourced from Mexico and China, manufacturers in other countries, such as India, the Netherlands, and Bangladesh, have the potential to become increasingly involved in supplying illicit synthetic opioids and their precursors to the United States.
Your bill would modernize the Foreign Assistance Act (FAA) by adding countries that are significant sources of illicit fentanyl and similar synthetic opioids to the annual “Majors List.” This list, issued by the President each year, identifies those countries found to be major sources of illicit heroin, cocaine, and marijuana. Countries that land themselves on the ‘·Majors List” could be at risk of losing access to certain U.S. assistance if they fail to undertake critical counternarcotic steps: I) adopt and utilize emergency scheduling procedures similar to the U.S. system; 2) take significant steps to prosecute criminals for the manufacture and/or distribution of illicit fentanyl and analogues; and 3) make a “good faith” effort to require the registration of pi 11 presses in a manner similar to the U.S.
On behalf of the more than 350,000 members of the Fraternal Order of Police, I am proud to offer our support for this legislation. If I can be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me or my Executive Director, Jim Pasco, in my Washington office.
Sincerely,
Patrick Yoes
National President