Press Releases
Duarte Introduces Legislation to Combat Fentanyl and Illegal Drugs in the Central Valley and Across the U.S.
Stanislaus County,
February 2, 2024
STANISLAUS COUNTY, CA — Today, Congressman John Duarte (CA-13), along with Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin (MI-7), Congressman David Valadao (CA-22), Congressman Henry Cuellar (TX-28), Congressman Greg Pence (IN-6), and Congressman Gabe Vasquez (NM-2), announced the bipartisan High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Reauthorization Act that provides over $300,000,000 annually to help stop the spread of fentanyl and other illicit drugs in the Central Valley and across the United States. “The Valley, like many communities across our country, has been devastated by the fentanyl and drug epidemic in the United States. Throughout our district, I've seen the toll it's taken on families, children, and our law enforcement. That is why I am proud to introduce this bill to provide both financial support to help law enforcement get these drugs off our streets and judicial resources to put drug traffickers behind bars. “The Central Valley HIDTA has seized 8,800 pounds of methamphetamine in the last year. Over 900 pounds of cocaine, 321 pounds of powdered fentanyl, and over 4.1 million doses of pills of fentanyl. Of the 4.1 million pills of fentanyl pills, 60 to 70% have a fatal level of fentanyl in them. This is a massive impact on our community. In Stanislaus County alone, we seized 58 pounds of powdered fentanyl which is enough to wipe out half of the United States.
“Fentanyl is ravaging this county. We are losing hundreds of people in this county, annually. Our citizens are suffering thousands of life-threatening overdoses annually from this poison. These are people. They are not statistics. It’s our sons. It’s our daughters. It’s our neighbors and loved ones.
“Fentanyl has taken over drug trade. This is a disaster which people are starting to ignore. It’s a plague that people are treating as normal. Everyone we lose are individual tragedies. Every one of these people deserve dignity and justice, and they deserve all of us to respond to it.”
“The nice thing about these funds is the discretion it allows to pay for things of need. We use it to pay for large ticket equipment such as radios and trackers, helmets, vests, gas masks, drug identification equipment for fentanyl, subscription services for trackers, and miscellaneous supplies that are needed to conduct surveillance and process crime scenes. If any funds are left over, it is used as “buy money”. The Sheriff’s Office exhausts all HIDTA funds each year.”
“I urge our members of Congress to stop playing games and pass the High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Reauthorization Act of 2024. Fentanyl is killing our kids and poisoning our communities. Passage of HIDTA will give me and my office the tools we need to fight the current fentanyl epidemic. It’s taking the lives of our youth and robbing them of their future and robbing countless mothers and fathers of their sons and daughters.”
“It is only through our collective effort that we can make a positive impact on the well-being of our community.”
“StanHOPE stands for Stanislaus Healing from Overdose Poisoning through Education. We’re trying to do our part to help stop the stigma and show that this can happen to all kinds of families. They can happen to our family. They can happen to you.
“The HIDTA Reauthorization Act of 2024 is a critical component of our collective effort to fight the fentanyl and drug crisis threatening our nation. For smaller counties like ours in Madera, the Act's emphasis on bolstered funding and strategic enhancements in drug interdiction efforts is a game-changer. It fosters unparalleled collaboration across local, state, and federal agencies, enabling us to extend our reach beyond county lines to combat the major drug trafficking organizations that plague our communities. As Sheriff, I am confident that this legislation will provide our law enforcement teams with essential tools and support needed to help safeguard our citizens and hold traffickers accountable.”
“Fentanyl has continued to plague communities across the nation, especially here in the Central Valley. It is critical that we combat this epidemic with every tool at our disposal to save lives and keep our communities safe. I’m proud to support this bill to ensure our local, state, and federal law enforcement have the tools they need to get fentanyl and other illegal drugs off our streets.”
“Every single day, law enforcement has the unenviable task of telling mother and fathers all throughout America the devastating news that their child or loved one has died from a fentanyl-related overdose. Don’t just take my word for it – sheriffs all throughout the Sixth District of Indiana have told me that fentanyl is the single deadliest drug threat our nation has ever seen. As this lethal drug continues to kill more and more Americans, the Biden administration cannot continue to stand by and watch. Their radical open-border policies have allowed for this flood of illicit fentanyl to enter our nation, and the increase in crime rates, as a result of their soft-on-crime policies, have resulted in a lack of proper resources for police departments and local prosecutors to tackle the fentanyl crisis. Our legislation will aid with reversing these damages. Expanding the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas program will help to stop the spread of deadly fentanyl in this country, save American lives, and make our communities safer, and I am proud to be a co-lead on this important legislation.”
“In a border district with highways that connect our ports of entry with cities all across America, the HIDTA program is essential to cracking down on smuggling dangerous drugs like fentanyl. I’m proud work with Rep. Duarte to reauthorize this program and make sure that our communities have the federal support they need to keep people safe."
Background and Summary of the HIDTA Reauthorization Act
Additional Information |