Congressional Republicans slam White House over new fentanyl proposal that “protects drug traffickers”

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FIRST ON FOX: Leading Republicans in Congress are asking for answers after the White House released a fentanyl proposal they said would hamper the fight against drugs during the opioid epidemic.

In a letter Thursday, senior members of the House and Senate judicial committees made several criticisms of the administration’s interest in ending certain mandatory minimums based on quantity.

“While we support ongoing fentanyl-related substance programming, other aspects of the administration’s proposal would prevent drug traffickers from pushing toxic drugs into our communities rather than holding them accountable by imposing existing penalties.” said Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.

“We are particularly concerned that provisions removing mandatory minimum sentences for fentanyl substance offenses would hamper efforts to prosecute serious drug traffickers, and may even prompt sophisticated criminal organizations to import and make trafficking in fentanyl-related substances. “

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Thursday’s letter was addressed to the White House’s Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), which informed senators of its proposal last week. Attorney General Merrick Garland and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Director Anne Milgram are also listed as recipients.

As Fox News reported last week, not all mandatory minimum sentences would be excluded under the ONDCP proposal. The letter from the office says it would not exempt “FRS offenses from the existing mandatory minimum sentences for cases where death or serious bodily injury may be directly related to the FRS that has been trafficked,” as is the case with any other controlled substance in Schedule I or II under 21 USC 841 (b) (1) (C). “

He added that DOJ “only reported eight cases of SRF [fentanyl-related substances] fees from the time the temporary course programming was adopted in 2018 until December 2020, only a handful of which even included mandatory minimum fees determined by quantity. ”

Grassley and Jordan’s letter, in turn, asked why the administration thought a policy change was necessary “when there have only been a few quantity-based cases.”

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The letters came amid a spike in fentanyl deaths, which some Republicans blamed on the administration’s border policies.

April of this year saw a 233% increase in seizures of fentanyl at the southern border, according to data released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Fentanyl, a dangerous opioid, is significantly more potent than heroin and the related opioid carfentanyl is even more potent than fentanyl.

ONDCP declined to comment on Thursday and has two weeks to meet the September 23 deadline requested by Jordan and Grassley.

GOP leaders also asked for a list of stakeholders who influenced the administration’s proposal as well as a “list of examples in which federal law enforcement authorities have found mandatory minimum sentences associated with fentanyl-related substances have supported criminal investigations to pursue high-level investigations. drug dealers. “

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As stated in the ONDCP letter, members of both parties supported the designation of FSAs as Schedule I drugs under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). Senator Rob Portman, R-Ohio, who praised the White House’s efforts, joined Senator Joe Manchin, DW.Va., in introducing legislation earlier this year.

President Biden and former President Trump temporarily placed FRS in Annex I. The ONDCP proposal would make this change permanent. He added that Congress should approve $ 41 billion in spending for national drug program agencies, as well as continue to work on legislation designed to tackle overdoses.

Portman said: “I am delighted that the Biden administration has brought forward a proposal in line with the bipartisan legislation that I have introduced. Not only is a permanent solution essential in our fight against drug addiction in this country, but it is also vital. to ensure law enforcement continues to protect our communities by bringing criminal charges against the individuals who manufacture, distribute or handle these deadly drugs. ”

Thursday’s letter asks if the administration would continue to support the Schedule I designation if “these fentanyl-related substances are not class-exempted from certain mandatory minimums based on quantity associated with drug trafficking.”

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He also asked “[i]a CSA-listed substance that had mandatory minimum penalties was subsequently removed from mandatory minimum penalties. “

The DOJ and DEA, which are housed within the DOJ, both declined to comment.

Houston Keene of Fox News contributed to this report.

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