Tennessee U.S. Representative Tim Burchett (R-TN-02) recently reintroduced legislation that would increase criminal penalties for trafficking illegal fentanyl in the United States.
H.R.3215, the Fentanyl Trafficker Elimination Act, would “hold fentanyl smugglers accountable for their role in the United States’ opioid epidemic,” according to Burchett’s office. If enacted, anyone convicted of intentionally trafficking fentanyl or fentanyl analogues would be sentenced to life in prison under Burchett’s bill.
The Tennessee congressman introduced his Fentanyl Trafficker Elimination Act last year during the 117th Congress, where the bill failed to pass through committee.
“There are people dying left and right due to fentanyl overdoses, and lots of them are kids or teenagers,” Burchett said in a statement. “We have got to stop this epidemic and I think that making an example out of drug traffickers would be a good start.”
U.S. Representatives Tom Tiffany (R-WI-07), Michael Guest (R-MS-03) Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA-01), Clay Higgins (R-LA-03), Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY-11), Josh Brecheen (R-OK-06), Don Bacon (R-NE-02), Pat Fallon (R-TX-04), and Ralph Norman (R-SC-05) signed onto Burchett’s bill as original cosponsors. U.S. Congressman Harold Rogers (R-KY-05) also signed onto the bill as a sponsor.
Upon introduction, the bill was referred to the House Judiciary Committee and House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 100 times more potent than morphine and can kill a grown adult in two milligrams, approximately the size of a mosquito, according to the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Most fentanyl is mass-produced in Mexico using chemicals from China before being pressed into pills or mixed with other counterfeit drugs.
Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that 57,834 fentanyl-related deaths occurred in fiscal year 2020 and more than 71,238 fentanyl related deaths occurred in fiscal year 2021.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network.
Photo “Tim Burchett” by Tim Burchett.
