Dr. Joyce Op-Ed: The Pandemic Isn't the Only Public Health Crisis Orchestrated by the Chinese Government
The Hill
The Pandemic Isn't the Only Public Health Crisis Orchestrated by the Chinese Government
Congressman John Joyce, M.D.
July 17, 2020
As our nation combats the coronavirus pandemic and its vast economic and health ramifications, we cannot ignore the dangers of another public health crisis wrought at the hands of the Chinese Communist Party. For far too long, China has been the largest primary source for fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances trafficked directly into the United States. This deadly drug, 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine, can kill in tiny traces a terrifying reality facing nearly every neighborhood in America.
This crisis hits close to home. In recent years, fentanyl originating in China has made its way to my community in central Pennsylvania spurring addiction, harming families, and killing too many of my patients, friends and neighbors. Just last week, law enforcement raided a "stash house" in my hometown of Altoona, Pa., and apprehended two drug dealers, 27 bricks of heroin, and 153 grams of fentanyl. This bust, though modest, has the potential to save a number of lives; at the same time, we know that Chinese-produced fentanyl remains on the streets, ready to kill.
Pennsylvanians aren't alone in this fight. Every day, 130 Americans die from an opioid overdose, many victims of illicit drugs that have been trafficked into our nation from China. The opioid crisis has taken a tangible toll, touching every aspect of American communities from the workforce to the education system and law enforcement capacity.
Oftentimes, fentanyl produced in China is shipped to countries like Mexico and trafficked by sinister drug cartels before arriving in our communities. Or, Chinese producers unchecked by safety regulations send fentanyl directly through the U.S. Postal Service. At international mail facilities, illicit drugs can arrive disguised in generic drug packaging, stashed in plastic flip flops, or brazenly packaged in plain sight. Unfortunately, due to longstanding resource shortages and capacity issues, too many of these packages have fallen through the cracks, opening a gateway to our nation's opioid crisis.
After years of federal inaction, President Donald Trump and Congress have made significant strides to end the flow of fentanyl and other illicit drugs into American communities. In addition to support for President Trump's robust border security agenda, Congress passed landmark legislation to combat the opioid crisis and offer hope to American families. The SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act of 2018 took a comprehensive approach to tackling this crisis, providing bipartisan and pragmatic solutions spanning prevention and education to treatment and enforcement.
To combat the pervasive fentanyl trafficking in our own postal system, the legislation included the Synthetics Trafficking and Overdose Prevention (STOP) Act, which bolsters the efforts of agents at our international mail facilities to intercept illicit drugs and prevent them from reaching Americans.
These legislative solutions are a substantial step in the right direction, and Congress must ensure that this legislation is implemented as it was intended. We also must work together to enact additional solutions. On the China Task Force, we recognize the Chinese Communist Party's leading role in the opioid crisis, and we are taking on this regime's callous disregard of American lives and livelihoods.
The China Task Force is pursuing legislative solutions to increase America's diligence of illicit drugs, as well as to identify and sanction the CCP officials responsible for the deluge of Chinese-manufactured fentanyl into the United States.
As we have learned, America cannot stand idly by as our neighbors and loved ones fall prey to the Chinese government-sponsored opioid crisis. The China Task Force is taking steps to bolster our nation's national security and hold the CCP accountable for its actions. We will not allow Chinese fentanyl to continue claiming lives and wreaking havoc on America's streets.
Read the full op-ed at The Hill, and learn more about Dr. Joyce's work on the China Task Force.
###