On June 20, the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) announced the formation of a bipartisan Fentanyl Policy Working Group, led by Rep. John Moolenaar and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, to tackle China’s involvement in America’s fentanyl epidemic.
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To address China’s involvement in the fentanyl pandemic, the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has formed a bipartisan working group.
The panel declared on June 20 that the Fentanyl Policy Working Group would be in charge of drafting laws and educating the public through committee events to reveal the CCP’s involvement in the US fentanyl issue and counter the menace.
“China has programs in place to reward companies with subsidies for exporting fentanyl and other drugs illegal under Chinese law to the United States. The chairman of the committee, Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.), stated in a news release that “it is now abundantly clear that the CCP is not just turning a blind eye to the fentanyl crisis, it is causing it.”
The working group was formed, as stated by Mr. Moolenaar and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), the top Democrat on the committee. “To determine what must be done to seek justice for the hundreds of thousands of victims and hold the CCP responsible for funneling this poison into American communities,” Mr. Moolenaar stated in his formation of the group.
The committee’s April report, “The CCP Role in the Fentanyl Crisis,” found that Beijing directly subsidizes the production of fentanyl and exports the deadly drug to the US, causing hundreds of thousands of American deaths in an attempt to weaken and undermine the US, will be the group’s initial area of focus.
“Fentanyl is the leading cause of death for people ages 18-45 in the United States, and we now know the Chinese Communist Party is the force behind that crisis,” Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.) said. “From funding the manufacturing and export of illicit fentanyl precursor chemicals to holding ownership interest in companies tied to drug trafficking, the CCP is not only an active participant in the drug trade—they are directly incentivizing it,” he added.
“While the CCP continues to economically enrich themselves at the expense of the health and safety of millions of Americans, it is imperative that the United States sends a clear message: the buck stops here.”
To stop fentanyl trafficking, the working group wants to “codify, strengthen, and impose sanctions on entities involved in the fentanyl trade” as well as undertake trade and customs enforcement measures. Additionally, it aims to “close regulatory and enforcement gaps” that are taken advantage of by Chinese fentanyl traders and money launderers.
The working group, which also includes Reps. Neal Dunn (R-Fla.), Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.), Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), and Michelle Steel (R-Calif.), will be led by Mr. Newhouse and Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.).
In February, Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Oklahoma) presented the Countering Communist China Act, which includes a proposal to address the fentanyl issue in the United States. In addition to encouraging Americans whose family members died from fentanyl overdoses to sue Chinese officials, the legislation includes sanctions against Chinese officials and organizations accountable for the country’s importation of synthetic opioids.
CCP Tax Subsidies, Grants
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that in 2023, fentanyl overdose deaths would account for close to 75,000 deaths, or 200 deaths each day. 24 times as many individuals have died as did 3,105 in 2013 as a result of synthetic opioids. China-made chemical precursors are used in the manufacturing of most of the medications that cause those deaths in Mexico.
According to the committee’s April report, the CCP is providing large tax subsidies and grants to businesses that produce and sell these pharmaceuticals to the Americas, even though the majority of the chemicals in question are prohibited in both China and the United States. Additionally, it was discovered that the CCP owns stock in a few drug trafficking-related businesses.
Although the Chinese government has prosecuted and executed drug dealers domestically through the use of its extensive monitoring and censorship system, it is actively fostering the expansion of those who export their illegal wares abroad.
According to data gathered by the Drug Enforcement Administration, ninety-seven percent of the fentanyl found in international mail in 2017 originated in China.
The investigation also found that producers of fentanyl and its precursors are routinely not prosecuted by Chinese authorities. Chinese security agencies have been charged with leaking American inquiry targets, rather than assisting American law enforcement.
Last year, GreatGameIndia reported that the US government plans to spend $5 million on a ‘Safe Injection’ study program conducted by New York University and Brown University. The program aims to provide users with needles for injecting fentanyl in a controlled and supervised environment.