Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff is fighting drug trafficking at Georgia’s ports and airports.
In a U.S. Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing last week, Sen. Ossoff pressed Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to ensure the Department is using all available tools and technology to halt drug trafficking at ports of entry, including Georgia’s Port of Savannah and airports across the state.
“I want to focus on the Port of Savannah. In the 2021 strategic plan for DHS Science and Technology, there is research and development of screening systems for CBP to detect illegal drugs, such as synthetic opioids or fentanyl, at ports of entry. What I want is a commitment from you, personally, that you will ensure every relevant office within the Department of Homeland Security is expediting the development of these systems so that we can deploy them at the Port of Savannah, and other ports of entry in Georgia, and protect my constituents from these deadly drugs that are entering the country,” Sen. Ossoff said.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 75,000 people died nationwide from opioid overdoses between April 2020 and April 2021.
Last year, Sen. Ossoff’s bipartisan Rural Opioid Abuse Prevention Act passed the U.S. Senate, which would help ensure that rural communities with a high level of opioid overdoses have the resources they need to respond to the crisis.
Sec. Mayorkas said the Department has maximized use of new inspection technology and said stopping the flow of illegal drugs is a top priority.
Click here to watch Sen. Ossoff’s line of questioning:
Please find a transcript of the exchange below:
SEN. OSSOFF: “I want to talk to you about the synthetic opioids, fentanyl, and other lethal drugs that are entering the United States that are killing and creating addiction and dependence in communities in Georgia and across the country. First of all, and I want to focus on the Port of Savannah. In the 2021 strategic plan for DHS Science and Technology, there is research and development of screening systems for CBP to detect illegal drugs, such as synthetic opioids or fentanyl, at ports of entry. What I want is a commitment from you, personally, that you will ensure every relevant office within the Department of Homeland Security is expediting the development of these systems so that we can deploy them at the Port of Savannah, and other ports of entry in Georgia, and protect my constituents from these deadly drugs that are entering the country.”
SEC. MAYORKAS: “Senator Ossoff, every relevant agency and office in the Department of Homeland Security is indeed committed to that. We have maximized the use of non-intrusive inspection technology. We have maximized the use of what we call forward-operating laboratories to test controlled substances, to ensure their identity as illegal contraband, and we have interdicted more drugs than in the past.”
SEN. OSSOFF: “Thank you.”
###
