U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia applauded the Biden-Harris administration’s new actions to combat fentanyl trafficking.
The steps, which were outlined in a National Security Memorandum yesterday, direct all relevant federal departments and agencies to do more to stop the flow of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids into the United States.
Specifically, it directs more coordination and cooperation across departments and agencies, more intelligence collection, and more actions to disrupt the production and distribution of illicit fentanyl.
“Communities across Virginia and the country have witnessed the tragic impacts of the opioid epidemic, and I have long advocated for a whole-of-government approach to stopping the illicit flow of fentanyl and other substances into the U.S.,” Kaine said. “I’m glad that the administration is taking steps today that build on my Disrupt Fentanyl Trafficking Act, which was signed into law last year to direct increased federal attention to fentanyl trafficking. When I visited the border earlier this month, it was clear that coordination and cooperation across departments and agencies will continue to be key to helping ensure fentanyl doesn’t cross into the United States.”
In July, Kaine met with law enforcement and international partners in Texas to discuss fentanyl interdiction at the southern border. In April, he chaired a Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere hearing on countering transnational criminal organizations in the Western Hemisphere and asked the witnesses about efforts by the U.S. and Mexico to counter fentanyl trafficking across the southern border.
Last year, significant portions of Kaine’s bipartisan Disrupt Fentanyl Trafficking Act were signed into law to increase federal attention to fentanyl trafficking, direct the Department of Defense to develop a fentanyl-specific counter-drug strategy, and strengthen U.S.-Mexico cooperation on drug trafficking. Kaine also helped pass a supplemental national security funding package that included the FEND Off Fentanyl Act, bipartisan legislation cosponsored by Kaine, to strengthen the Treasury Department’s ability to sanction transnational criminal organizations and others that launder money to facilitate opioid trafficking.
Kaine recently voted to pass bipartisan legislation that would help secure the border and increase resources for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and other law enforcement agencies combatting fentanyl, but the bill was blocked by Senate Republicans.
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Rebecca Barnabi
