Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff’s bipartisan bill to crack down on fentanyl trafficking at the Southern Border passed a key U.S. Senate Committee today.
Today, Sen. Ossoff’s bipartisan Detection Equipment and Technology Evaluation to Counter the Threat of (DETECT) Fentanyl and Xylazine Act passed the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee with bipartisan support to strengthen the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)’s capacity to detect fentanyl and xylazine at ports of entry and better prevent it from crossing the border.
The bipartisan bill, which Sen. Ossoff introduced in June alongside Senators John Cornyn (R-TX), James Lankford (R-OK), and Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), would require the DHS Science and Technology Directorate to research and develop technologies that better detect drug trafficking across the southern border.
The bill will now advance to the full U.S. Senate for consideration.
“Illegal fentanyl trafficking is devastating Georgia families and putting our kids at risk,” said Sen. Ossoff. “Today, we brought Republicans and Democrats together to advance this bill that will strengthen detection and prevention of fentanyl trafficking.”
Between FY 2020 and FY 2023, the amount of fentanyl seized at the southern border increased by 480%. In 2023, CBP seized 400,000 pounds of non-marijuana drugs, including 1,142,859 doses of fentanyl that were seized by the Atlanta Field Office alone.
Sen. Ossoff continues working to secure the southern border and protect Georgia families from drug trafficking.
In April, Sen. Ossoff helped pass the bipartisan Border Enforcement, Security, and Trade (BEST) Facilitation Act through the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee to strengthen border security by providing additional CBP officers to scan cargo for illegal drugs and guns or human smuggling.
In March, the Sen. Ossoff-backed bipartisan Fentanyl Eradication and Narcotics Deterrence (FEND) Off Fentanyl Act became law, which will sanction drug cartels and combat money laundering by the criminal organizations involved in drug trafficking.
Earlier this year, Sen. Ossoff introduced the Deploy Fentanyl Scanners Act of 2024 to help deploy scanners at ports of entry to better identify contraband, including fentanyl, being smuggled across the border through personal vehicles.
In February, Sen. Ossoff joined a group of Senators calling on President Biden to include robust Federal funding for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) drug trafficking prevention initiatives in his FY2025 budget.
In 2022, Sen. Ossoff’s bipartisan Rural Opioid Abuse Prevention Act was signed into law to help rural communities experiencing high rates of opioid overdoses respond to the crisis.
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