San Antonio Corridor News

The House of Representatives Monday passed bipartisan legislation introduced by Reps. Monica De La Cruz (R-Texas), Andy Ogles (R-Tennessee), and Brittany Pettersen (D-Colorado) aims to prevent the financing of illegal synthetic drugs.

H.R. 1076 passed the House in bipartisan fashion Monday night, May 22. The bipartisan bill directs the Comptroller General of the United States to study the illicit financing associated with synthetic drug trafficking.

This study will lay out for Congress the business model of the organizations carrying out the trafficking, how they move and hide their illicit gains, and what the U.S. government can do to thwart fentanyl money laundering.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 107,000 people in the United States died from drug overdoses or poisonings in the 12 months ending January 2022, with 67% of those deaths involving synthetic opioids like fentanyl.

"Drug overdoses impact too many families; more and more Americans now know someone impacted," De La Cruz said after the passage of H.R. 1076. "Border communities like those in Texas' 15th Congressional District are on the frontlines, seeing the drug trade's impact on our cities and towns. Knowing how these narcotrafficking organizations conduct their financing and business models will increase our chances of defeating them and saving American lives. We want our communities to be strong and our families to thrive. Getting to the bottom of how cartels run their operations will help end this deadly period in American history. I thank Reps. Ogles and Pettersen for their leadership on this issue, and I look forward to passage in the Senate and the president signing this bill into law."

"We have a fentanyl crisis on our hands as a result of Biden’s border crisis. American families and communities are losing loved ones daily," said Rep. Ogles. "I appreciate Congresswoman De La Cruz’s leadership on this issue and her hard work to advance this important piece of legislation. It is imperative that we not only crack down on the flow of illicit, deadly drugs into our country, but also assess the government’s efforts to combat these activities."

"I know from experience what American families are facing because of our worsening opioid crisis. My mother struggled with addiction for 30 years, and I came to Congress to combat this public health crisis at the source," said Pettersen. "Deaths involving synthetic opioids, such as illicit fentanyl and methamphetamine, increased by 22 percent in 2021, and continue to rise in the U.S. and globally. If we want to reverse the current trends, an important first step is stopping the organizations that are trafficking these drugs into our communities. I introduced this bipartisan legislation alongside Congresswoman De La Cruz so we can shed light on the finances of these organizations, and I was thrilled to see it pass the House tonight."

Original source can be found here.