IV 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 268 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the trafficking 
of illicit fentanyl into the United States from Mexico and China. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 6, 2017 
Mr. MCKINLEY (for himself, Mr. JOYCE of Ohio, Mr. RYAN of Ohio, and Ms. 
TSONGAS) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on the 
Judiciary, and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently 
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provi-
sions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
RESOLUTION 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regard-
ing the trafficking of illicit fentanyl into the United 
States from Mexico and China. 
Whereas the United States continues to experience a pre-
scription opioid and heroin overdose epidemic that 
claimed more than 33,000 lives in 2015; 
Whereas fentanyl is a synthetic opioid and the euphoric ef-
fects of fentanyl are sometimes indistinguishable from the 
euphoric effects of heroin or morphine; 
Whereas the effect of fentanyl can be up to 50 times stronger 
than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine; 
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•HRES 268 IH 
Whereas although pharmaceutical fentanyl can be diverted 
for misuse, most fentanyl deaths are believed to be linked 
to illicitly manufactured fentanyl and illicit versions of 
chemically similar compounds known as fentanyl analogs 
(collectively referred to in this preamble as ‘‘illicit 
fentanyl’’); 
Whereas illicit fentanyl is potentially lethal even if only a very 
small quantity is ingested or inhaled; 
Whereas across the United States, illicit fentanyl use and re-
lated deaths are rising at alarming rates; 
Whereas illicit fentanyl is cheaper to manufacture than her-
oin and the sale of illicit fentanyl is highly profitable for 
drug dealers; 
Whereas illicit fentanyl is sold for its heroin-like effects and 
illicit fentanyl is often mixed with heroin, cocaine, or 
methamphetamine as a combination product, with or 
without the knowledge of the user; 
Whereas illicit fentanyl is often produced to physically resem-
ble other opioid pain medicines, such as oxycodone, which 
sell for high amounts on the street; 
Whereas drug users often overdose on illicit fentanyl because 
users are unaware that they are ingesting illicit fentanyl 
and do not anticipate the toxicity and potential lethality 
of illicit fentanyl; 
Whereas, according to the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention, between 2014 and 2015, the death rate from 
overdoses caused by synthetic opioids, including illicit 
fentanyl and synthetic opioid pain relievers other than 
methadone and heroin, increased 72 percent; 
Whereas, in 2016, the Drug Enforcement Administration (re-
ferred to in this preamble as the ‘‘DEA’’) issued a Na-
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•HRES 268 IH 
tional Drug Threat Assessment Summary, which found 
that Mexican transnational criminal organizations are— 
(1) the greatest criminal drug threat to the United 
States; and 
(2) poly-drug organizations that use established 
transportation routes and distribution networks to traffic 
heroin, 
methamphetamine, 
cocaine, 
and 
marijuana 
throughout the United States; 
Whereas, in 2016, the DEA issued a National Heroin Threat 
Assessment Summary, which found that ‘‘starting in late 
2013, several states reported spikes in overdose deaths 
due to fentanyl and its analog acetyl-fentanyl’’; 
Whereas the 2016 National Heroin Threat Assessment Sum-
mary found that— 
(1) Mexican drug traffickers are expanding their op-
erations to gain a larger share of eastern United States 
heroin markets; and 
(2) the availability of heroin is increasing through-
out the United States; 
Whereas in 2015, there were more than 9,580 overdose 
deaths in the United States caused by synthetic opioids, 
including— 
(1) illicit fentanyl; and 
(2) synthetic opioid pain relievers other than metha-
done and heroin; 
Whereas the number of deaths attributable to illicit fentanyl 
may be significantly underreported because— 
(1) coroners and medical examiners do not test, or 
lack the resources to test, routinely for fentanyl; 
(2) crime laboratories lack the resources to test rou-
tinely for fentanyl; and 
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•HRES 268 IH 
(3) illicit fentanyl deaths may erroneously be attrib-
uted to heroin; 
Whereas, in March 2015, the DEA issued a nationwide alert 
on illicit fentanyl as a threat to health and public safety; 
Whereas, in October 2015, the Centers for Disease Control 
and Prevention issued a health advisory through its 
Health Alert Network— 
(1) to make public health officials aware of the in-
crease in fentanyl-related overdose fatalities; 
(2) to provide recommendations for improving detec-
tion of fentanyl-related overdose outbreaks; and 
(3) to encourage States to expand access to, and 
training on, naloxone; 
Whereas, in August 2016, the Centers for Disease Control 
and Prevention updated the health advisory issued in Oc-
tober 2015 to make public health officials aware of the 
increasing— 
(1) availability of counterfeit pills containing various 
amounts of fentanyl and fentanyl-related compounds; and 
(2) frequency with which fentanyl-related compounds 
are mixed with, or sold as, heroin; 
Whereas illicit fentanyl has the potential to endanger public 
health workers, first responders, and law enforcement 
personnel who may unwittingly come into contact with il-
licit fentanyl by accidentally inhaling airborne powder; 
Whereas, according to the DEA— 
(1) Mexico is the primary source for illicit fentanyl 
trafficked into the United States; and 
(2) distributors in China are the source of the 
fentanyl analogs and the precursor chemicals to manufac-
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•HRES 268 IH 
ture fentanyl analogs that are found in Mexico and Can-
ada; 
Whereas fentanyl produced illicitly in Mexico is— 
(1) smuggled across the southwest border of the 
United States, or delivered through mail and express con-
signment couriers; and 
(2) often mixed with heroin or diluents in the United 
States and then distributed in the same United States 
markets in which white powder heroin is distributed; and 
Whereas United States law enforcement officials have re-
cently seen— 
(1) an influx of illicit fentanyl into the United States 
directly from China; 
(2) shipments of the equipment to manufacture il-
licit fentanyl, such as pill presses; and 
(3) some illicit fentanyl products being smuggled 
into the United States across the northern border with 
Canada: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep-
resentatives that— 
(1) the use of illicit fentanyl in the United 
States and the resulting overdose deaths are a public 
health crisis; 
(2) the trafficking of illicit fentanyl into the 
United States, especially the trafficking of illicit 
fentanyl by transnational criminal organizations, is a 
problem that requires close cooperation between the 
United States Government and the Governments of 
Mexico and China; 
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(3) the United States Government and the Gov-
ernments of Mexico and China have a shared inter-
est in, and responsibility for, stopping the produc-
tion of illicit fentanyl and its trafficking into the 
United States; 
(4) the United States should— 
(A) support efforts by the Governments of 
Mexico and China to stop the production of il-
licit fentanyl and its trafficking into the United 
States; and 
(B) take further measures to reduce and 
prevent 
heroin 
and 
fentanyl 
consumption 
through— 
(i) enhanced enforcement to reduce 
the illegal supply; and 
(ii) increased use of evidence-based 
prevention, treatment, and recovery serv-
ices; and 
(5) the United States Government, including 
the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, the 
Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Director of 
the Office of National Drug Control Policy, should 
use the broad diplomatic and law enforcement re-
sources of the United States, in partnership with the 
Governments of Mexico and China, to stop the pro-
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•HRES 268 IH 
duction of illicit fentanyl and its trafficking into the 
United States. 
Æ 
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