Thank you for contacting me regarding combatting the deadly fentanyl crisis. I appreciate hearing from you on this important issue.

I have traveled across the state hearing from individuals and families who have been affected by the opioid and substance use disorder epidemic. To save lives in Wisconsin, we need to stop fentanyl at its source. For that reason, I have called on President Biden to address fentanyl trafficking at the border. Wisconsin families and law enforcement should not be forced to shoulder the burden of Mexico and China’s failures to prevent illicit fentanyl production and trafficking.

To combat the flow of deadly fentanyl into the United States, I helped introduce the Fentanyl Eradication and Narcotics Deterrence (FEND) Off Fentanyl Act (S.1271). This bipartisan legislation aims to combat the country’s fentanyl crisis by targeting the illicit fentanyl supply chain, from the chemical suppliers in China to the cartels that traffic the drugs from Mexico. By strengthening current law and directing the Treasury Department to target, sanction, and block the financial assets of transnational criminal organizations, the FEND Off Fentanyl Act aims to stop the flow of deadly fentanyl into our country by choking off the income source of those who traffic in synthetic opioids. The FEND Off Fentanyl Act passed the Senate as part of our annual National Defense Authorization Act.

Further, the most common way that fentanyl enters the United States is through ports of entry along the southwest border. That is why I am an original cosponsor of the Border Management, Security, and Assistance Act (S.1600). This legislation provides funding for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to increase capacity, personnel, and technology to strengthen security at the southern border. S.1600 also provides new resources for innovative technology and smarter capabilities that improve situational awareness between ports of entry, and significant investments to increase staff and improve technologies at ports of entry, including tools to prevent drug trafficking and other criminal activity.

Similarly, I helped introduce the Stop Fentanyl at the Border Act (S.3591) to increase staffing capacity and technology to detect illicit drugs and other contraband being smuggled through ports of entry along the border. Specifically, the Stop Fentanyl at the Border Act would enable CBP to hire more Officers and Border Patrol Agents to increase capacity to stop illicit smuggling over the border. The bill also provides funding to purchase Non-Intrusive Inspection systems, which scan vehicles and cargo at the border to provide detailed images of their interiors, which leads to the detection of fentanyl and other illicit drugs. Additionally, the bill would create an inspection program to disrupt the outbound flow of illegal firearms, which Mexican cartels frequently purchase in the United States and smuggle into Mexico to support their fentanyl production operations and other violent criminal enterprises.

There is still much more work that we can do in the Senate to combat this growing problem. Please know that your thoughts about addressing the fentanyl crisis will inform my views should legislation relating to this issue come before me in the Senate.

Once again, thank you for contacting my office. It is important for me to hear from the people of Wisconsin on the issues, thoughts and concerns that matter most to you. If I can be of further assistance, please visit my website at www.baldwin.senate.gov for information on how to contact my office.