Preventing the Financing of Illegal Synthetic Drugs Act

Floor Speech

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Mrs. BEATTY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me time, and I thank my colleagues on the other side of the aisle for their bipartisan support.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in support of the Preventing the Financing of Illegal Synthetic Drugs Act, H.R. 1076.

Mr. Speaker, as the ranking member of the Financial Services Subcommittee of National Security, Illicit Finance, and International Financial Institutions, our jurisdiction tends to focus abroad, but make no mistake, the epidemic of synthetic drug overdoses impacts each and every congressional district and every community throughout our country. For example, Ohio ranks third in the overall number of drug overdose deaths, which we are not proud of.

According to the most recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 107,000 people in the United States have died from drug overdoses or drug poisoning in the past 12 months.

Mr. Speaker, 5,000 of those individuals were right there in my district.

Let me also share, as my colleague and our chair of the committee has stated to us, under the bill, the GAO would examine these illicit financial flows from and to foreign nations, including China, and will review the business of the trafficking of synthetic drugs and related illicit finance, such as participation in transnational criminal organizations and behaviors.

If we are going to stop the flow of illicit drugs like fentanyl and meth and the tragic loss of lives they bring with them, then we need to know more about the who, the where, and the how of the illegal trafficking trade.

Mr. Speaker, that is why I am honored to support what I call a commonsense, bipartisan piece of legislation. Again, I thank the chair, our ranking member, the bill's sponsors, and, certainly, our Financial Services Committee, and I urge my colleagues to join in support.

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