February 13, 2024

Manchin’s Bipartisan Fend Off Fentanyl Act Passes U.S. Senate

Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin’s (D-WV) bipartisan Fentanyl Eradication and Narcotics Deterrence (FEND) Off Fentanyl Act passed the U.S. Senate as part of the national security supplemental. The legislation targets the entire illicit fentanyl supply chain, from the chemical suppliers in China to the cartels that transport the drugs in Mexico, by directing the Treasury Department to target, sanction, and block the financial assets of transnational criminal organizations.

“Combatting the devastating drug epidemic that continues to ravage our communities starts with cutting off the deadly flow of fentanyl at the source,” said Senator Manchin. “West Virginia has the highest drug overdose rate in the country and we must target the criminal organizations that supply and transport it into our country. I’m proud our bipartisan legislation was included in the national security supplemental that cleared the Senate by a 70-29 vote and I urge my colleagues in the House to prioritize its swift passage.”

Specifically, the legislation would:

  • Declare that the international trafficking of fentanyl is a national emergency.
  • Require the President to sanction transnational criminal organizations and drug cartels’ key members engaged in international fentanyl trafficking.
  • Enable the President to use proceeds of forfeited, sanctioned property of fentanyl traffickers to further law enforcement efforts.
  • Enhance the ability to enforce sanctions violations thereby making it more likely that people who defy U.S. law will be caught and prosecuted.
  • Require the administration to report to Congress on actions the U.S. government is taking to reduce the international trafficking of fentanyl and related opioids.
  • Allow the Treasury Department to utilize special measures to combat fentanyl-related money laundering.
  • Require the Treasury Department to prioritize fentanyl-related suspicious transactions and include descriptions of drug cartels’ financing actions in Suspicious Activity Reports.

In addition to Senator Manchin, the legislation is cosponsored by Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Jack Reed (D-RI), J.D. Vance (R-OH), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), Katie Britt (R-AL), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), John Kennedy (R-LA), John Fetterman (D-PA), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), Tina Smith (D-MN), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), James Risch (R-ID), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Mark Warner (D-VA), Steve Daines (R-MT), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Susan Collins (R-ME), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Mike Braun (R-IN), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Bob Casey (D-PA), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) Mike Rounds (R-SD), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Angus King (I-ME), Rick Scott (R-FL), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ted Budd (R-NC), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), John Cornyn (R-TX), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Eric Schmitt (R-MO), Tim Kaine (D-VA), James Lankford (R-OK), John Boozman (R-AR), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), John Thune (R-SD), Gary Peters (D-MI), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Edward Markey (D-MA), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), John Barrasso (R-WY), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Mitt Romney (R-UT), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Laphonza Butler (D-CA), and Jon Ossoff (D-GA).

The full text of the legislation is available here.