In 2022, for the second year in a row, U.S. drug overdose deaths exceeded 100,000. The data, released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, also showed that the category of drug deaths involving fentanyl and methamphetamine continued rising. As we work to improve harm reduction strategies on the demand side of this crisis, it is essential that we also take much stronger measures to reduce the supply of these lethal products.
Earlier this month, Speaker Kevin McCarthy appointed me to a new congressional task force focused on combating the deadly Mexican drug cartels. The task force will examine cartel tactics and make policy recommendations to prevent cartels from further infiltrating the United States. The task force will also work to educate the American people on the impacts of cartel violence and hold the Biden administration accountable for policies that have empowered the cartels and created a crisis on our southern border.
This week, former Attorney General William Barr, who served Presidents George W. Bush and Donald Trump, briefed the task force. He was adamant that the United States must focus our resources on the supply chain in Mexico, specifically on four areas: production, financing, leadership, and structure. He indicated that Mexican cartels are comparable to ISIS and should be targeted similarly.
Since taking office in 2021, President Biden’s reckless open-door immigration policies have allowed millions of illegal crossings and thousands of pounds of fentanyl – enough to kill every American several times over – to flood our southern border. The task force will increase pressure on the President, and guide his administration toward new countermeasures to roll back and degrade the power of the deadly cartels.
