CONGRESSMAN PAT RYAN’S “STOP CHINESE FENTANYL ACT” PASSES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Congressman Pat Ryan’s “Stop Chinese Fentanyl Act” Passes House of Representatives

Last night, Congressman Ryan’s “Stop Chinese Fentanyl Act” passed the House of Representatives with bipartisan support 

Ryan is urging the Senate to pass the bill and send it to the President’s desk

Ryan’s legislation sanctions opioid manufacturers in China and holds the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) accountable for their role in fueling the deadly opioid crisis plaguing American communities 

WASHINGTON, DC  –  Last night, Congressman Pat Ryan’s “Stop Chinese Fentanyl Act” passed the House of Representatives with bipartisan support. Ryan first introduced the “Stop Chinese Fentanyl Act” – which sanctions opioid manufacturers in China and holds the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) accountable for their role in the deadly opioid crisis plaguing American communities – in the 118th Congress.  

Ryan is urging the Senate to pass the bill and send it to the President’s desk.

“Passing the Stop Chinese Fentanyl Act through the House is a big win and a critical next step in the fight against the opioid crisis in the Hudson Valley and across the country,” said Congressman Pat Ryan. “Opioid manufacturers in China are pumping deadly fentanyl into America, and it’s time to hold the CCP accountable for their role in devastating our communities. I am encouraged to see this commonsense legislation pass the House with bipartisan support, and am urging my Senate colleagues to send it to Trump’s desk. I’ll continue fighting every day to get fentanyl off our streets and hold drug traffickers fully accountable as we all work for a safer Hudson Valley.”

Ryan’s “Stop Chinese Fentanyl Act” would amend the “Fentanyl Sanctions Act” and enable the U.S. government to impose sanctions on Chinese officials and organizations involved in the production, sale, financing, or transportation of synthetic opioids or their precursor chemicals. Entities that fail to cooperate with U.S. counternarcotics efforts would be designated as foreign opioid traffickers.

Congressman Ryan has been a consistent voice in the fight against drug trafficking, specifically when it comes to the spread of deadly fentanyl into American communities. Most recently, the “HALT Fentanyl Act” – which Ryan pushed relentlessly to get to the floor alongside all three NY-18 County Sheriffs – was signed into law, marking a significant blow against the fentanyl crisis. Ryan was one of only two Democrats to co-sponsor the resolution, which built on Congressman Ryan’s record by increasing law enforcement’s ability to track and prosecute fentanyl related offences, and protecting American communities from the flow of the deadly illicit substance. It also safeguards the ability to prosecute any fentanyl-related substances, so that suppliers cannot get off on a loophole of slightly altering the formula.  

Ryan has delivered major investments to combat drug trafficking and use in Hudson Valley communities, including $400,000 for the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office crisis intervention ORACLE team that tackles drug trafficking, addiction, and the overdose epidemic in Ulster County. Ryan has repeatedly called for increased funding to address drug trafficking and use, in particular the opioid and fentanyl crisis currently gripping Hudson Valley communities. Congressman Ryan has been adamant that border security legislation must include funding to combat the trafficking of illicit fentanyl across the border, including demanding that $800 million be included in H.R. 2, the border bill passed by House Republicans that failed to include any mention of illicit fentanyl. He cosponsors the “HALT Fentanyl Act,” which is now law, and the “END FENTANYL Act.” Ryan also pushed for a vote on the Fend Off Fentanyl Act last Congress, and introduced the “Public Safety and Community Support Act” to use Byrne-JAG funds for deflection and pre-arrest diversion programs to help local law enforcement combat drug addiction.

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