Ossoff pushes bill to cut fentanyl flow through southern border
WASHINGTON (WRDW/WAGT) - U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff is introducing bipartisan legislation to curb fentanyl trafficking across the southern U.S. border.
The Georgia Democrat is working with John Cornyn, R-Texas; James Lankford, R-Okla; and Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz.
The legislation would require the Department of Homeland Security to research and develop technologies that help detect and prevent drug trafficking across the southern border.
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“Illegal fentanyl trafficking is devastating Georgia families and putting our kids at risk,” Ossoff said. “This is why alongside Senators Cornyn, Lankford, and Sinema, we are introducing this bipartisan bill to strengthen detection and prevention of fentanyl trafficking.”
Between the 2020 and 2023 fiscal years, the amount of fentanyl seized at the southern border increased by 480%.
In 2023, U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized 400,000 pounds of non-marijuana drugs, including 1.14 million doses of fentanyl that were seized by the Atlanta Field Office alone.
The announcement of the legislation came a few days after Ossoff visited the border in Texas and Mexico, calling for security measures to keep terrorists from sneaking through.
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