Bipartisan WA effort to combat fentanyl continues

MOSES LAKE — Washington’s Congressional delegation is working to combat the fentanyl crisis in the state and nation on a variety of fronts in our nation's capital. Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., Sens. Patty Murray and Sen. Maria Cantwell, both Washington Democrats, all have efforts in place to mitigate the deadly drug’s impacts.  

“Last year, the Drug Enforcement Administration seized more than 80 million fentanyl-laced pills. Creating a way to trace pill press machines and better track illicit manufacturing will provide law enforcement more tools to go after fentanyl traffickers,” Cantwell said in a press release announcing the Fight Illicit Pill Presses Act.  

FIPPA, if passed by Congress and signed into law, will require that all pill presses be engraved with a serial number and would criminalize the removal of that serial number. The bill was introduced by Cantwell in cooperation with Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, in the hopes of fighting counterfeit pill manufacturing. Fentanyl dealers use the presses to make fentanyl pills that often look as though they are legitimate prescription pills — fentanyl may be prescribed by doctors — but the dosage is erratic for the illegal pills and can often lead to overdoses. Cantwell’s press release indicates that 43 states have confiscated illicit pill presses.  

In March, Cantwell also voted in favor of multiple measures allocating $1.69 billion to combat fentanyl and other controlled substances in the U.S. and an additional measure approving $385.2 million to increase security at U.S. ports of entry where illicit substances often come into the country.  

Drugs coming into the country from other sources is a large part of Newhouse’s focus after being appointed to the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party Fentanyl Policy Working Group.  

“We learned from a report that the committee made public in April — a couple things came out of that (which) were just shocking — that 97% of fentanyl comes from China,” Newhouse said in an interview with the Columbia Basin Herald. “It’s illegal to use in China, so 100% of that gets exported to other countries. A large portion of that comes to the United States through Mexico.”  

Newhouse said fentanyl and the precursor ingredients to make it are smuggled in through a variety of means across the country’s southern border. Chemical companies in China reportedly even receive incentives from the CCP to produce those ingredients, even if that isn’t their primary business.  

“For (Chinese) chemical manufacturers, it’s kind of a side hustle,” Newhouse said. 

The goal of the subcommittee is to come up with tangible actions the U.S. government can take to fight the fentanyl crisis, Newhouse said. Trade consequences such as tariffs and similar moves not only against China as a whole, but for those specific chemical and drug companies that produce precursors for fentanyl. 

“(The companies) produce a lot of the drugs we buy throughout the world, so they have a legitimate side of their business,” Newhouse said.  

Legislators within the subcommittee are examining all options, including ensuring the U.S. has sufficient sanctioning authority against specific drug companies and countries that support fentanyl production.  

Newhouse has also formed a task force in Washington state made up of residents, law enforcement, community leaders and other stakeholders to fight the fentanyl epidemic. 

Murray has traveled around the state over the last several months, meeting with first responders, residents and organizations on the proverbial front line of the fentanyl crisis with the idea of getting resources to those who can have the most impact on the problem. 

“This is an issue that communities across our entire state are struggling with — so it’s important for me to hear directly from people on the ground about what you are seeing and how I can work in the Senate to get you the federal resources you need,” Murray said.  

In July 2023, Murray helped push through the Homeland Security funding bill that provided $824 million in funding to stop the flow of fentanyl into the country by providing the Coast Guard and other organizations tasked with securing the border with the tools they need to fight the influx of fentanyl, other drugs and illegal firearms. 

In Washington, that bill provided $130 million to improve the Seattle Coast Guard Base and $579 million for offshore patrol cutters at that base. 

The bill also provided $824 million for the detection and seizure of fentanyl and other narcotics at the nation’s southwestern border.  

Murray has also worked to secure additional funding to help tribal communities fight the opioid epidemic — fentanyl is a synthetic opioid — through additional funding and infrastructure to support recovery and education.  

Newhouse said one of the most shocking things he’s learned during his Congressional tenure is how children are being introduced to fentanyl and other drugs at very young ages. However, education on the negative effects of fentanyl and other controlled substances might be one of the best weapons the public can have in the fight. 

“I think some of the biggest things, in terms of return on investment, might be some of the educational efforts for parents and children,” Newhouse said.  

Editor’s Note: Dan Newhouse is campaigning for reelection against Jerrod Sessler. Maria Cantwell is also running for reelection, facing Raul Garcia. Newhouse, Sessler and Garcia are Republicans while Cantwell is a Democrat. The Columbia Basin Herald does not endorse any candidates. 

    Fentanyl pills, often called by the street name "blues," can appear to be standard prescription drugs. A bill proposed by Washington Congresswoman Maria Cantwell, a Democrat, in cooperation with a Texas Republican may help combat the manufacture of counterfeit pills like those shown here.
  

    A fatal dose of fentanyl - the white substance in the bottom right - shown alongside a penny illustrates how little it takes of the drug to kill a person. The drug is highly addictive.