Bipartisan Legislation to Combat Opioid Epidemic Passes Senate Unanimously

Strategic Insights -

The US Senate has passed the bipartisan DHS Opioid Detection Resilience Act by unanimous consent, sending the bill to the President's desk to be signed into law. The legislation, co-led by Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), aims to enhance the ability of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) personnel to detect synthetic opioids, including fentanyl, at US borders. The bill requires DHS to develop a database to track newly identified synthetic opioids and ensures that chemical screening devices can detect synthetic opioids with purity levels of 10% or less.

Key Takeaways:

  • The bipartisan DHS Opioid Detection Resilience Act, spearheaded by Sen. Jacky Rosen and Sen. John Cornyn, aims to reduce the flow of illegal substances into the United States and combat the opioid epidemic.
  • The bill requires U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to implement a strategy to ensure its chemical screening equipment can detect synthetic opioids with purity levels of 10% or less, a critical threshold as most fentanyl seized at the US southwest border has a purity level under 10%.
  • The legislation also mandates that DHS develop a centralized database of newly identified synthetic opioids, which will be essential for field detection devices to accurately identify suspected drugs in the field.
  • Sen. Jacky Rosen has been a long-standing advocate for policies to combat the opioid epidemic, having previously fought for VA funding to combat the crisis and voted for a bill that added over $3 billion to fight the opioid crisis.
  • The bill now heads to the President's desk for signature, marking a significant step forward in the efforts to combat the opioid epidemic and protect the health of Americans.

Statistics:

  • The US Senate passed the DHS Opioid Detection Resilience Act by unanimous consent.
  • The bill was previously passed in the House of Representatives by a vote of 393-1.
  • The legislation aims to provide law enforcement officers with the tools needed to detect and identify dangerous synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl.
  • The bill requires DHS to develop a centralized database of newly identified synthetic opioids.
  • Most fentanyl seized at the US southwest border has a purity level under 10%.

Sources:

  • "Statement of U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV)" (released by Jacky Rosen's office)
  • "Bill overview: S.3250 - A bill to require the Secretary of Homeland Security to ensure that the Department of Homeland Security is equipped with adequate chemical screening devices for the detection of synthetic opioids"
  • "House Passes Bill to Help Stop Fentanyl and Synthetic Opioids from Entering US"
  • "National Drug Threat Assessment" (Drug Enforcement Administration, 2018)