WASHINGTON, D.C. – House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee Chairman David Reichert (R-WA) announced today that the Subcommittee will hold a hearing entitled “The Opioid Crisis:  Stopping the Flow of Synthetic Opioids in the International Mail System.” The hearing will focus on efforts to improve the detection of synthetic opioids in the international mail system and prevent them from entering the United States. The hearing will also examine bipartisan legislative solutions to address vulnerabilities in the international mail system that have allowed synthetic opioids to go undetected.  The hearing will take place on Wednesday, April 25, 2018, in 1100 Longworth House Office Building, beginning at 2:00 PM.

Chairman Reichert said:

“We must do more to detect and prevent synthetic opioids like fentanyl from entering the United States, particularly through international mail. Last year, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seized more than 1,100 pounds of fentanyl at and along our borders, and those numbers are on the rise. Our hearing will provide an opportunity to explore efforts by CBP and the United States Postal Service to detect opioids in international mail shipments, as well as to discuss bipartisan legislation that would address and cure vulnerabilities in the international mail system. So many Americans are caught up in the crisis of opioid addiction, and we owe it to them to find effective solutions to stop synthetic opioids from crossing our borders through the mail.”