U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) on May 16 sponsored bipartisan legislation that would require the U.S. State Department to develop and maintain an international diplomatic and assistance strategy aimed at ending the flow of illegal opioids into the United States.
“As a representative of a border state and the former chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, I know well the many threats to the great state of Texas,” said Rep. McCaul, ranking member on the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee. “Chief among these are the illicit drugs, including opioids, flowing across our southwest border and into our local communities.”
Rep. McCaul introduced the Saving American Families Everywhere (SAFE) from Illicit Opioids Act, H.R. 2780, with U.S. Rep. Albio Sires (D-NJ) to develop a strategy that would identify benchmarks and objectives toward reducing both the global demand and production of opioids.
If enacted, Rep. McCaul said H.R. 2780 would prevent foreign market distribution of such illegal drugs; would bolster the capacities of other countries to detect and stop opioid threats; and could protect funding for international anti-opioid efforts and law enforcement.
H.R. 2780 also would ramp up foreign government targeting of online sales, related financial flows, and the use of postal and shipping services, while enhancing the international legal framework for drug control, according to the lawmaker.
“These drugs threaten the health and safety of our families and have created a public health crisis that spans from Texas’ 10th district to across the globe,” Rep. McCaul said on Thursday.
“Addressing the deadly opioid epidemic requires a holistic approach, including a clear-cut foreign policy strategy that goes beyond our borders and stops these dangerous drugs at the source.”
According to the congressman’s office, an estimated 130 Americans die daily from opioid overdoses.
“I will not accept that statistic,” Rep. McCaul said. “The only way to tackle this crisis is head-on.”
H.R. 2780 is under consideration by the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee.