Protecting Ohio from fentanyl trafficking

By U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown
D-Ohio

Our local law enforcement officers are on the front lines of the fentanyl crisis. They know all too well the toll it’s taking on communities across our state.

One of the best ways we can support Ohio law enforcement is to stop fentanyl at its source, before it enters the country and before it reaches our communities.

That’s why I am pressing the administration for answers on its strategy to go after the fentanyl supply chain, from the chemical suppliers in China to the cartels trafficking the drugs from Mexico into the U.S.

I’m calling on Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to lay out specific benchmarks on the administration’s efforts to combat fentanyl trafficking and the opioid crisis, and to ensure accountability from the governments of China and Mexico. It's the Treasury Department’s job to go after the financing that powers the fentanyl drug trade, and the money laundering and illegal profits of the cartels and suppliers.

The administration has said it has commitments from China to help stop the flow of precursor chemicals used to make fentanyl. But we know that China can’t be trusted. They’ve made promises before, and not followed through.

In addition to supplying precursor chemicals, Chinese actors have come to play an increasing role in laundering money for Mexican cartels, including the largest distributors of fentanyl to the U.S.

The Treasury Department has said that by some estimates, drug trafficking alone generates nearly $100 billion a year that flows through the U.S. financial system. We need to go directly after those billions. And my FEND Off Fentanyl Act would do just that, hitting these cartels directly where it hurts by imposing new, more powerful, sanctions targeting the illicit fentanyl supply chain.

The FEND Off Fentanyl Act has already passed the Senate, but the House needs to pass it, so we have the most powerful tools available to combat fentanyl trafficking.

I will keep fighting to do everything we can to stop the flow of these drugs in Ohio.