Brown Statement on Bipartisan National Security Deal
Legislation Includes Brown’s Bill to Crack Down on Fentanyl Suppliers in China and Mexico
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) released the following statement on the bipartisan border bill released by Senate negotiators. The legislation includes Brown’s bipartisan Fentanyl Eradication and Narcotics Deterrence (FEND) Off Fentanyl Act, which would impose new sanctions and anti-money laundering penalties targeting the illicit fentanyl supply chain, from the chemical suppliers in China to the cartels that transport the drugs in from Mexico.
“We need to come together to secure the southern border and prevent fentanyl from reaching Ohio communities. This bipartisan bill is a major step forward to protect our national security, secure our border, and stop the flow of dangerous fentanyl that is devastating our state and taking far too many lives in Ohio. A key part of this deal is my bill to go after the entire fentanyl supply chain – targeting the chemical suppliers in China and the Mexican drug cartels for their deadly role in trafficking fentanyl in our country,” said Brown.
“When it comes to the border and the fentanyl crisis, Washington has failed over and over again. Ohioans cannot afford to wait any longer. The time for action is now – I urge my colleagues to put politics aside and come together to protect our country and protect Ohioans from fentanyl.”
Brown has a long history of leadership in fighting to stop the flow of fentanyl into Ohio’s communities and pushing for more technology, personnel, and resources at the southern border. The FEND Off Fentanyl Act passed the Senate in the annual defense bill last summer with overwhelming support from both parties, and Brown continues to push through every possible avenue to get it signed into law. In January, Brown brought artist and philanthropist Jason “Jelly Roll” DeFord to deliver powerful testimony in support of the bill at a hearing of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee.
Law enforcement in Ohio and around the country have called for passage of Brown’s bill, and have urged Senate and House leaders to get the FEND Off Fentanyl Act to the president’s desk. The Fraternal Order of Police wrote that “[t]he FEND Off Fentanyl Act correctly identifies that the international trafficking of fentanyl is a national emergency that poses a direct threat to American lives,” and the National Association of Police Organizations wrote that Brown’s bill “will be a critical component in the fight against the spread of this deadly poison in our communities by helping to stop the flow of fentanyl into our country.”
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