Biden directs agencies to curb fentanyl influx, sends proposal to Congress to close border loopholes

President Biden on Wednesday directed federal agencies to step up efforts to curb the influx of fentanyl and sent Congress a legislative proposal to close loopholes that allow the illicit drug into the U.S.

The president will sign a national security memo that will call on federal agencies and departments to stop the supply of illicit fentanyl and opioids by increasing intelligence information, coordination and disruption efforts.

The new push will spearhead key work with the private sector and create private-public partnerships, according to a senior administration official.

Biden will also send Congress the “detect and defeat” set of proposals that encourages Congress passes legislation that would aim to close key loopholes that drug traffickers exploit. The bill, which the official said incorporates ideas that have been put forward by members of Congress, which would establish a nationwide pill press and tableting registry so law endorsement can keep track of machines used to make fentanyl.

The bill would also create new penalties on drug smugglers and traffickers, would lead to permanently scheduling fentanyl-related substances as Schedule I drugs and would require certain importers provide additional information to Customs and Border Protection officials so they can keep track of packages and better detect those carrying illicit fentanyl precursor chemicals and machinery.

Border officials have seized more than 442 million doses of fentanyl at U.S. borders in the last five months, and in the past two years, officials have seized more fentanyl than in the previous five years combined, the official said.

The president had lobbied Congress for a bipartisan legislation that would have made investments in technology to catch fentanyl and target drug traffickers, but Republicans in the Senate blocked passage of that bill twice after former President Trump urged the GOP to oppose the legislation, suggesting it could give Biden an election year win. 

The president last month issued an executive order to turn away migrants seeking asylum who cross the southern border illegally at times when there is a high volume of daily encounters. Arrests at the U.S.-Mexico border fell by nearly 30 percent in June and reached the lowest level seen during the Biden administration.