U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) visited Long Island on Saturday to push forward legislation aimed at curbing the amount of opioid overdose deaths in the United States.
The piece of legislation, known as Fentanyl Eradication and Narcotics Deterrence (FEND) Off Fentanyl Act, would declare the trafficking of fentanyl to be a national emergency and allow the president to impose sanctions on key leaders of international criminal organizations that traffic the synthetic opioid from China and Mexico.
“The gang members, and the dangerous drug enterprises [feed] these chemicals and these drugs into our communities with no regard for the safety or well-being of the user,” Gillibrand said. “In fact, I think they intend for our American families to be destroyed.”
Fentanyl use has grown nationwide. In 2023, the Drug Enforcement Administration seized over 386,000,000 doses of fentanyl across the U.S., enough for every American to be supplied a lethal dose.
In addition, the legislation would increase oversight of illegal drugs across the country — requiring more detailed reports to be submitted to Congress. It would also require the U.S. Treasury Department to prioritize suspicious fentanyl-related transactions, and allow the department to use special measures to combat drug trafficking.
The bill is now included in the National Security Act, which passed the Senate last month but is stalled in the House.
"Long Island has been hit hard by the fentanyl crisis,” said Jeffrey Reynolds, president of the nonprofit Family and Children’s Association.
Since 2020, Suffolk and Nassau counties have had some of the highest rates of overdose deaths in New York, according to the latest 2023 annual opioid report from the state Department of Health. “The FEND Off Fentanyl Act is absolutely critical to our local efforts to prevent fentanyl overdoses, and without action, the overdose fatalities will continue to climb,” he said.
Gillibrand blames Republicans in control of the House for holding up the legislation, which has found some bipartisan support. Long Island is home to Reps. Nick LaLota and Andrew Garbarino (R-NY), representing Suffolk County, who have not supported the bill.
Gillibrand blamed House Speaker Mike Johnson for holding up the bill because of immigration reforms that were included in the national security package.
“We took the immigration part out, and we passed just the national security pieces including the FEND Off Fentanyl Act,” she said. “And then he said I can’t possibly have a vote on this unless immigration’s attached.”
“I’m calling on Republicans in the House to pass it as well. We have lost too many lives to the fentanyl crisis, and we have to do everything in our power to fight it,” Gillibrand said.
