The U.S. House of Representatives on June 15 approved bipartisan legislation introduced by U.S. Rep. John Katko (R-NY) aimed at ending the nationwide influx of heroin and synthetic drugs.
“The threats synthetic drugs pose to our communities and law enforcement must be stopped,” Rep. Katko said on the House floor prior to the vote, which drew support from U.S. Reps. French Hill (R-AR) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA).
The House approved on a 239-142 vote the Stop the Importation and Trafficking of Synthetic Analogues (SITSA) Act of 2017, H.R. 2851, which Rep. Katko introduced on June 8, 2017. U.S. Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-NY) was an original cosponsor of the bill. The U.S. Senate received H.R. 2851 on June 18 and referred it to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee.
“H.R. 2851 takes a big step towards eradicating these harmful substances and protecting our communities,” said the congressman. “The bipartisan SITSA Act will give local, state and federal law enforcement the necessary tools to target synthetic substances and the criminals who traffic them.”
Also under consideration by the Senate Judiciary Committee is the same-named bipartisan S. 1327, introduced by U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) on the same day as Rep. Katko’s version. U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) cosponsored the measure.
If enacted, the bill would amend the Controlled Substances Act to allow for faster action by law enforcement to halt the importation and distribution of dangerous synthetic drugs. The update to the statute would clarify how controlled substance analogues would be regulated by increasing from five to six the number of schedules of controlled substances, among other provisions, according to draft text of H.R. 2851 in the congressional record.
Additionally, H.R. 2851 would permit the U.S. Attorney General (AG) to quickly and temporarily schedule a new harmful drug, and would require the AG to work with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to ensure synthetic drugs are studied by qualified researchers analyzing addiction and developing the latest cures for serious illnesses, according to information provided by the lawmaker’s office.
Rep. Katko authored the proposal in response to the rising numbers of overdoses last year in central New York attributed to toxic synthetic drugs, according to his staff, who said in a June 15 statement that such substances are designed to mimic street drugs like marijuana, LSD, cocaine and Ecstasy, but they can be more potent and deadlier.
“In May of last year, over 15 individuals had overdosed on synthetic drugs and were taken to the ER in the span of 24 hours,” said Rep. Katko during his floor speech. “Unfortunately, stories like this have become the new normal.”
H.R. 2851 also gained inspiration from the anti-synthetic drug advocacy of Teresa Woolson, an Oswego, N.Y., resident in Rep. Katko’s district who lost her son Victor in 2012 when he drowned after using synthetic drugs he purchased legally at a local head shop, according to the statement.
“I’m very excited about the passage of the SITSA Act,” said Woolson, who runs and operates the non-profit named in her son’s honor, the Victor Orlando Woolson Foundation Inc. “The SITSA Act has several components that will help save lives, including a measure that will allow the temporary scheduling of an identified deadly drug.”
Woolson also applauded Rep. Katko “for his diligent efforts on this very important subject. This is what I have been fighting many years for and couldn’t be more pleased with this outcome. Congressman Katko is not only a great representative in Washington, but his knowledge, expertise and compassion are truly appreciated.”
Another constituent of Rep. Katko’s also is happy with the House action on H.R. 2851.
“This legislation would establish tougher restrictions and penalties to those responsible for bringing these substances into our community,” said City of Syracuse Police Chief Frank Fowler. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to target the criminals responsible for trafficking these substances in hopes of making our community a safer place.”
Rep. Katko noted that “the potency and danger of synthetic drugs do not only threaten users, we are now seeing local law enforcement and first responders put in harm’s way simply by coming in contact with these often lethal substances.”
Nationwide, he added, numerous such cases also have resulted in emergency personnel getting severely sick and even dying while responding to overdoses from synthetic drugs.
In fact, Rep. Hill said he was proud to support H.R. 2851 particularly because it provides “more resources to law enforcement to stop killer drugs from coming into the United States.”
“The opioid epidemic is plaguing Arkansas and our nation,” said Rep. Hill, who voted to pass H.R. 2851. “With 45,000 deaths last year and more than 100 people dying each day, we in the House are acting because we can’t let another Arkansas family be devastated by this crisis.”
The congressman added that H.R 2851 also is a good compliment to his bill, the Ending the Fentanyl Crisis Act of 2018, H.R. 5459, which Rep. Hill introduced on April 10 to increase chemical screening device resources for the U.S. Postal Service.
Rep. Fitzpatrick also joined the bipartisan majority of the House to pass Rep. Katko’s bill, which he cosponsored. H.R. 2851, he said, “would ensure law enforcement has the necessary authorities to remove these illicit opioids from circulation.”
“I’m grateful for Rep. John Katko and our colleagues in the Problem Solvers Caucus for working in a bipartisan fashion to tackle the issue of fentanyl entering our communities as part of our larger strategy to combat this national crisis,” added Rep. Fitzpatrick, vice chairman of the Bipartisan Heroin Task Force and a former federal drug prosecutor.
In January, bipartisan legislation authored and cosponsored by Rep. Fitzpatrick aimed at combating the opioid epidemic was signed into law by the president. The International Narcotics Trafficking Emergency Response by Detecting Incoming Contraband with Technology (INTERDICT) Act, H.R. 2142, provides U.S. Customs and Border Protection with the latest in chemical screening devices and scientific support to detect and intercept fentanyl and other synthetic opioids.