Ernst, Kaine Solution to Fentanyl Crisis Advances in Armed Services Committee

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Joni Ernst (R-IO) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) advanced their bipartisan solution to address the fentanyl crisis as a national security threat in the Senate Armed Services Committee’s National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024.

Fentanyl is a leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-45, and an estimated 196 Americans are dying every single day due to fentanyl, which is about the equivalent of the death total on 9/11 every 15 days. 90% of fentanyl flows through our Southern border, specifically through ports of entry. 

“The danger of fentanyl to our communities is too great to ignore, which is why my colleagues on both sides of the aisle supported our bipartisan action to curb this national security threat,” Ernst said. “The Pentagon must use its tools to stem the fentanyl crisis at its source: Mexican transnational criminal organizations. By engaging Mexico as an active partner in this fight, we can save American lives.”

“I’m glad to have worked with my colleagues on the Senate Armed Services Committee to craft a defense bill that will better support our servicemembers—through pay raises and improved access to mental health care—and better protect our communities,” said Kaine. “The inclusion of our bipartisan Disrupt Fentanyl Trafficking Act in particular is an urgently needed step forward in our work to protect Americans from fentanyl, by utilizing Pentagon tools like counter-drug intelligence and involving Mexico as an active partner to disrupt Mexican cartel activity. I look forward to continuing to work across the aisle to get this bill across the finish line and signed into law.”

The Department of Defense plays a crucial role in the nation’s counter-drug intelligence and monitoring operations, and these operations are meant to provide federal law enforcement with actionable intelligence to further investigations. A lack of interagency cooperation has hampered our government’s counter-fentanyl efforts.

Specifically, the Ernst-Kaine provision:

1. Declares fentanyl trafficking a national security threat stemming from drug cartels in Mexico,
2. Directs the Pentagon to develop a fentanyl-specific counter-drug strategy, including enhanced cooperation with Mexican defense officials,
3. Requires the Secretary of Defense to grow security cooperation with the Mexican military, and
4. Increases coordination efforts between the military and federal law enforcement agencies.

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