Brown Applauds Expected Final Passage of Portman's STOP Act

Press Release

Today, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) applauded the expected final passage of Sen. Portman's (R-OH) Synthetics Trafficking & Overdose Prevention (STOP) Act, which Brown cosponsored. The STOP Act will work together with Brown's INTERDICT Act, which Portman supported, to stop deadly drugs from reaching Ohio communities. Brown's INTERDICT Act was signed into law by President Trump in March. Portman's STOP Act was included in part of a broader, final addiction legislative package, which has been agreed to by both the House and Senate. The package is set to be passed by both chambers and then sent to President Trump to be signed into law.

"The addiction epidemic has taken too many lives and caused too much devastation in Ohio to become a partisan issue," said Brown. "I'm proud Sen. Portman and I are able to work together to get significant, bipartisan legislation signed into law to stop dangerous drugs at the border and keep them out of Ohio communities."

The STOP Act will require specific information about packages and shipments coming into the U.S. from foreign countries to help Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) better identify packages that may contain deadly, dangerous drugs like fentanyl.

The INTERDICT Act provided new screening devices, laboratory equipment, facilities, and personnel for 24x7 lab support for CBP agents to safely test those packages.

Several state and national law enforcement organizations have endorsed both bills.

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