Manchin pressures Biden administration to hold China accountable for fentanyl flowing into US
Eden Villalovas
Video Embed
Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Mike Rounds (R-SD) have written a bipartisan letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, calling for action against China for its part in the illegal trafficking of synthetic opioid drugs.
“Congress is fully aware that disruption of the supply chain is only one of the necessary steps we must take to combat this crisis,” the letter states. “We must also continue to disrupt illicit fentanyl-related financial flows linked to the PRC if we want to see progress in saving lives.”
EPA TO PROPOSE MAJOR CRACKDOWN ON COAL AND GAS PLANT EMISSIONS
The senator’s efforts on Thursday aim to address the opioid crisis in the nation by targeting the People’s Republic of China because it is the source of chemicals used by the Mexican drug cartels that manufacture opioids coming into the U.S.
The letter urges the Department of State to work with the nation’s overseas allies who are undergoing a similar crisis because China has refused “to regulate its pharmaceutical and chemical sectors.”
The senators write that if China does not comply with the U.S. in fighting off synthetic drugs, the department should take action to sanction pharmaceutical and chemical companies that are contributing to the surge of fentanyl and other illegal drugs being smuggled into the states.
The synthetic opioid crisis in the U.S. has resulted in an increase in overdose deaths, partly as a result of the widespread use of fentanyl. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported more than 74,000 overdose deaths between November 2021 and November 2022 from synthetic opioids, mainly fentanyl-related substances.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The rise in overdoses has prompted lawmakers to push for more public health initiatives and push for measures to increase security at the border. California has experienced some of the worst drug outbreaks in the nation’s history, and Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) has invested more than $1 billion to tackle the fentanyl and opioid crisis. The GOP blames the spike in overdoses on migrants, and some Republican leaders have called for military force against the Mexican cartels.
The senators incentivized China “to expand its anti-money laundering efforts in order to see robust progress in improved cooperation and accountability to save the lives of American citizens affected by this blight. More importantly, we must continue to utilize every international platform to call out the PRC’s bad behaviors and hold them accountable for their role in this global crisis.”