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Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi holds press meet to raise awareness about fentanyl epidemic
The Indian-American legislator released a 64-page report summarizing his Committee’s findings and proposing specific policy solutions to aid victims.
Raja Krishnamoorthi speaking during his press conference with Cook County officials on combating the fentanyl epidemic. / Courtesy Photo
Indian-American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi and Toni Preckwinkle, president of the Cook County Health Board of Commissioners, on May.28 held a press conference to tackle the state's fentanyl epidemic. Since his tenure began in 2017, Krishnamoorthi has championed legislation to boost funding for front-line healthcare providers and enhance naloxone availability.
He has also secured financial support for treatment centers and diversion programs in Chicago. Moreover, as the Ranking Member of the Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Krishnamoorthi has been addressing the international dimensions of this crisis.
It is estimated that 97 percent of illegal fentanyl entering the US originates from the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Krishnamoorthi said in a statement.
“That means that if we stop the flow of fentanyl and its precursors – the chemicals specifically used to make fentanyl – from the PRC, it will save lives in Illinois and across the country. That’s why my Committee spent months investigating the CCP’s role in this crisis,” the statement added.
After thorough research, Krishnamoorthi has released a 64-page report summarizing their findings and proposing specific policy solutions to aid victims. His investigation alleged that the CCP has not only ignored PRC companies exporting fentanyl precursors for clearly illicit purposes, even when provided with irrefutable evidence by the US, but has also been directly subsidizing the export of these chemicals.
“That means that CCP policy has been to provide tax breaks to encourage the production of the chemicals fueling the fentanyl epidemic.”
In addition to supporting local efforts to combat the fentanyl epidemic, Congress has a crucial role in cutting off the supply of these deadly drugs, Krishnamoorthi said at the press conference. One of the top legislative recommendations from the investigation was enacting the FEND Off Fentanyl Act.
This act, which was signed into law just a week after the Committee's report called for its passage, is a sanctions and anti-money laundering law. It aims to combat the fentanyl crisis by targeting opioid traffickers and money launderers, making fentanyl less lucrative for traffickers by complicating smuggling and profit-making from trafficking. While there is still much work to be done to end the fentanyl epidemic, the FEND Off Fentanyl Act represents a significant step forward, Krishnamoorthi said.
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