Washington D.C. –U.S. Senator Katie Britt (R-Ala.) today joined with her colleagues in the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs by voting unanimously to support submit the FEND off Fentanyl Actand send the legislation to the entire Senate to be considered by the full Senate.
The Fentanyl Eradication and Narcotics Deterrence (FEND) Off Fentanyl Act is a bipartisan law created to curb the flow of this deadly narcotic into United States by empowering the U.S. Department of the Treasury to pursue, penalize and block the funds of criminal transnational organisations that trade in Fentanyl. Additionally, the proceeds from the confiscation of assets would be used to aid in the work by law enforcement agencies.
Senator Britt is a co-sponsor for the legislation along with Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and the ranking member Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Senate Committee on Armed Services Chairman Jack Reed (D-R.I.) as well as the ranking member Roger Wicker (R-Miss. ) along with a bipartisan team of fifty other senators.
“Truly stopping the flow of this dangerous poison into our schools, communities and families means we must pursue the well-organized, well-financed and well-connected people who profit from the fentanyl trade,” said Senator Britt. “The fact that this bill was approved by the committee in a unanimous vote confirms it is that this Senate is working with bipartisan support to provide our Treasury Department with the tools it needs to protect Americans and hold criminals accountable. I enjoin Senator Schumer to present this legislation on the Senate floor in the fervor this crisis requires. .”
Fentanyl is currently the top cause of death among Americans who are younger than 45. More than 150 people are killed each day of overdoses linked to the drug fentanyl.
As the Chairman of the Homeland Security Subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Senator Britt has conducted hearings regarding Fentanyl and has spoken in opposition to the Biden Administration’s budget proposal to cut funding in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
