U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) has unveiled bipartisan legislation that would establish a grant program to help state and local police departments purchase portable screening devices to detect fentanyl and other dangerous drugs.
The U.S. Department of Justice would administer the new grant program established under the Providing Officers With Electronic Resources (POWER) Act, S. 2763. Introduced on April 26 by U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) with Sens. Capito and Rob Portman (R-OH) serving among its five bipartisan original cosponsors, S. 2763 has been referred to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee.
“As the opioid epidemic continues to harm communities in West Virginia, the POWER Act will help detect and stop the flow of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids,” Sen. Capito said. “This legislation will support our local law enforcement — who are often times at the front lines fighting this epidemic — by providing them with the tools necessary to keep these deadly drugs out of our communities. I will continue working with my colleagues to advance solutions like the POWER Act, which will go a long way in saving lives and curbing the drug crisis.”
If enacted, S. 2763 would give state and local law enforcement access to portable chemical screening devices already used by federal authorities to identify drugs at U.S. ports of entry. The high-tech screening devices use laser technology to analyze chemical substances, and some are even capable of detecting substances through packaging. Results are then cross-referenced with a library of thousands of compounds stored within the devices to identify the chemical substance, according to information provided by Sen. Portman’s office.
The bill draws from earlier legislation led by Sens. Capito and Portman, the International Narcotics Trafficking Emergency Response by Detecting Incoming Contraband with Technology (INTERDICT) Act, S. 708. The bill, which President Donald Trump signed into law on Jan. 10, expanded Customs and Border Protection (CBP) access to chemical screening devices to detect and intercept fentanyl and other drugs crossing U.S. borders.
“Fentanyl continues to ravage communities in Ohio and across the country,” Sen. Portman said. “Law enforcement and other first responders need all the tools available to detect and stop fentanyl, which is 50 times more powerful than heroin. The POWER Act will help provide officers with devices to screen and identify fentanyl and other synthetic drugs more quickly and efficiently.”
U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), an original cosponsor of the bill, said the opioid epidemic has not only “taken the lives of so many Americans,” but has also endangered the lives of law enforcers by exposing them to “illegal and fatal substances such as fentanyl.”
The screening devices can quickly and effectively alert officers to dangerous substances in the field, in turn ensuring they can safely test and handle substances like fentanyl, according to Sen. Capito’s office.
“It is our responsibility to protect the men and women who bravely put themselves in harm’s way to ensure the public safety of Americans by providing them with the proper resources to do their job,” Sen. Schumer added. “This bill and these screening devices will help keep law enforcement safe and allow them to work more efficiently while on the front lines fighting the opioid epidemic ravaging our communities.”
The devices also could help reduce the backlog of drugs awaiting laboratory identification and allow law enforcement to more effectively conduct drug investigations and prosecutions, according to Sen. Capito’s staff, which said suspected drugs currently get sent to labs for testing, which may take months to identify and delay the justice system.
Organizations already voicing support for S. 2763 include the National Sheriffs’ Association, Fraternal Order of Police, Major Cities Chiefs Association, Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, National Association of Police Organizations, the International Union of Police Associations, and the National Alliance of State Drug Enforcement Agencies, among others.