Combatting the opioid epidemic

Living in Central Washington means you’re pretty much as far as you can get from the southern border while remaining in the land of the free, so it’s easy to think President Biden’s open-border policies don’t affect us. Unfortunately, that couldn’t be further from the truth.

President Biden’s open-border policies have allowed fentanyl to flow across the southern border and into our communities. In FY21, there was a 134% increase in the amount of fentanyl found by Customs and Border Protection. The 11,201 pounds of fentanyl that were seized by our border patrol agents are enough to kill every American nearly eight times over. It makes one wonder, how much didn’t get caught?

In 2021, U.S. drug overdoses due to fentanyl skyrocketed, and it is now reported to be the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-45. There have even been instances right here in Central Washington in which law enforcement officers have inadvertently come into contact with fatal doses of fentanyl in the line of duty and were only saved through the quick use of naloxone, an FDA-approved drug that reverses the effects of opioids by blocking their uptake in the bloodstream. Two weeks ago, I met with several local law enforcement leaders, and a top issue plaguing their departments is the uptick in overdoses.

Unfortunately, Speaker Pelosi and Congressional Democrats are more concerned with catering to the progressives in their party than addressing this crisis. Just last week they blocked the HALT Fentanyl Act, which would ensure current and future fentanyl-related substances remain Schedule I drugs, to ensure law enforcement can continue to prosecute the sale and use of these substances.

While I’m disappointed in the Democratic leadership for refusing to consider nonpartisan legislation that will improve the health and safety of our communities, I am leading other legislation to provide more resources for our officers to help combat this epidemic. After meeting with local officers in Central Washington and discussing their concerns, I introduced the Law Enforcement Officers Preventing (Drug) Abuse Related Deaths or LEOPARD Act. This bill authorizes rural community response pilot grant programs to allow state and local law enforcement agencies to purchase naloxone, an effective tool to prevent and reduce opioid overdose deaths, and it directs at least 50% of the programs’ grant funding to rural communities.

State and local law enforcement are often the first ones on the scene in the event of an overdose. Unfortunately, lack of availability and high costs of the necessary personnel, training, and the drug itself are prohibitive to law enforcement agencies — whose budgets are already and increasingly constrained — seeking to develop effective Naloxone deployment programs. Initiating a pilot grant program will allow our local police departments to utilize already-existing federal funds, access this highly effective tool, and develop best practices for successful deployment efforts.

While Congress absolutely must address the influx of fentanyl and other dangerous substances coming across our southern border, I am working to enable our local law enforcement to save lives and protect their fellow officers. Providing our law enforcement officers with the tools they need to prevent and reduce overdose-related deaths is vital to helping our communities combat the opioid epidemic.