Interagency task force created to combat illicit opioids

On October 23, U.S. Representative Evan Jenkins (R-W.Va.) introduced legislation aimed at combating the opioid epidemic. The Fentanyl and Heroin Task Force Act creates an interagency task force focused on eradicating the illicit fentanyl and heroin trade.

Representative Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) co-sponsored the legislation. In her remarks, Rep. Clark spoke about how the opioid crisis has ravaged communities, saying “We hear it in the painful cries of ailing newborns, we see it on the faces of desperate parents, and we grieve it in our ever-expanding cemeteries.”

The task force would be made up of representatives from multiple U.S. government and law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Agency, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, and the Office of National Drug Control Policy, among others. The task force would also work with state and local law enforcement agencies.

For more information about this task force, please follow the link below.
Rep. Jenkins Introduces Fentanyl and Heroin Task Force Act, United States Congressman Evan Jenkins
H.R.4090 – Fentanyl and Heroin Task Force Act, Congress.gov