Aimed at ending the nation’s opioid crisis, U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) on Jan. 20 helped lead a GOP effort that would amend the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act to put fentanyl smugglers in prison for life.
“It’s time to put an end to these senseless deaths by sending a clear message to traffickers: you will be apprehended, brought to justice, and held accountable for smuggling illicit fentanyl into the United States,” said Rep. Fitzpatrick, co-chair of the Bipartisan Addiction and Mental Health Task Force. “As part of our broader approach to tackling the addiction and overdose epidemic, we must address the dramatic rise in fentanyl and fentanyl-laced pill seizures at our ports of entry.”
If enacted, the Fentanyl Trafficker Elimination Act, H.R. 6439, which Rep. Fitzpatrick cosponsored alongside bill sponsor U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN), also would amend the Controlled Substances Act to authorize life imprisonment for certain offenses involving fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is about 50 times as potent as heroin.
“As an EMT and former federal drug prosecutor, I’ve witnessed firsthand the lethal effects of opioids, particularly fentanyl,” Rep. Fitzpatrick said. “Devastatingly, fentanyl has made its way into communities across America, and there is no end in sight.”
H.R. 6439 has been referred for consideration to both the U.S. House Judiciary Committee and the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee.