FEND Off Fentanyl Act approved by U.S. Senate Banking Committee
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs approved the FEND Off Fentanyl Act – bipartisan legislation cosponsored by Arizona senior Senator Kyrsten Sinema and introduced by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Ranking Member Tim Scott (R-S.C.) to strengthen America’s response to the fentanyl crisis and stop the flow of fentanyl into Arizona.
“Arizona families are too aware of fentanyl’s devastating effects in our communities. We’re cracking down on the illegal flow of fentanyl into Arizona to keep Arizonans healthy and safe,” said Sinema, a member of the Senate Banking Committee and Chair of the Senate Border Management Subcommittee.
In Arizona, more than five people die every day from opioid overdose, with fentanyl ranking as the most commonly reported drug in overdose cases.
The FEND Off Fentanyl Act was the result of bipartisan negotiations between Chairman Brown and Ranking Member Scott that Sinema supported. This legislation requires the U.S. Treasury Department to prioritize the fentanyl epidemic and deploy its sanctions and anti-money laundering authorities to target the illicit funds of criminal cartels.
The bill would declare the international trafficking of opioids to be a national emergency, requires the President to sanction a drug cartel’s key members engaged in the international opioid trade, allows the President to confiscate and deposit drug traffickers’ assets into the Treasury’s forfeiture fund, and extend the statute of limitations from 5 years to 10 years for sanctions violations to increase chances to catch these criminals. Additionally, Sinema’s FEND Off Fentanyl Act would follow the money trail and make it harder for opioid traffickers to engage in money laundering to hide their crimes.
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