Hearings to examine interdicting illicit drug trafficking, focusing on a view from the front lines.
Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee
2025-02-26
Source: Congress.gov
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Good morning. The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation will come to order. Today, we're here to talk about stopping deadly drugs from crossing our maritime borders. But you cannot stop illegal drugs from crossing a border if you don't believe in having them. The Biden administration and former DHS Secretary Mayorkas deliberately ignored the painful connection between their open border policies and the devastation wrought by illegally trafficked drugs on families, communities, and our country. Trying to have a country without borders led to an influx of illegal aliens, drug smuggling, sex trafficking, and tragically far too many American lives lost. That dereliction of basic sovereignty left the Coast Guard in an impossible position. The Coast Guard has admitted it missed opportunities to intercept drugs because it was overwhelmed chasing and catching illegal immigrants. Despite the Biden administration's lack of interest in border security, Republicans were able to make some progress. In the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2022, I secured funding for a blimp-based radar system at South Padre Island to combat drug runners, poachers, and human traffickers. Today, it is still protecting South Texas. Similarly, my provision requiring data sharing between CBP and the Coast Guard is streamlining interdiction in the southern maritime border, halting illegal incursions into the United States. In contrast to Democrat ambivalence about the border crisis, President Trump and congressional Republicans are making real gains in border security through the Coast Guard. In the last month, the Coast Guard interdicted an historic amount of illegal drugs. Just last week, it offloaded 37,000 pounds of seized cocaine worth $279 million.
That's going to make a real difference in keeping communities safe from criminals and addiction. But protecting Americans from deadly illicit narcotics extends beyond our borders. We also need to reverse the Biden administration's dangerous policies in the Middle East, where maritime drug running bankrolls Iran's malign activities. Coast Guard cutters recently caught advanced weapons originating in Iran and bound for the Houthis in Yemen, as well as hundreds of kilograms of methamphetamines, heroin, and other illegal drugs from Dow in the Arabian Sea. The Coast Guard and other federal agencies have been catching and releasing Iranian drug runners, meaning there was no consequence beyond losing cargo for financing terrorism. Let me be clear. Catch and release is a disgrace and an insult to those who've lost their lives to Iranian terrorism. That's why I've included language in the Coast Guard Reauthorization Act of 2025 to empower the Coast Guard and the Navy to respond forcefully to DAOs running drugs and weapons when they've helped finance Iranian terror. Under President Trump's leadership, we need to pass the Coast Guard Reauthorization Act and end the catch-and-release approach to Middle East drug enforcement. That legislation, which has broad bipartisan and bicameral support, would also close a loophole in the ability to prosecute cartels for drug smuggling on remotely operated drone ships like the one in the hearing room today. We also need to enact the Pay Our Coast Guard Act, which I will reintroduce this week, along with Senator Cantwell, Sullivan, Baldwin, Wicker, and Blunt Rochester, to ensure that the Coast Guard is no longer the only armed service that goes unpaid during a government shutdown. As I've said before, the Coast Guard deserves to be paid without question and without delay.
Finally, Today we will hear powerful testimony from the unthinkable damage caused by illicit drugs like fentanyl to American families. Texan Jenna Eliger will testify about the effects this crisis had on her own family. I'm grateful she is here today as she works to turn tragedy into progress, and I look forward to hearing from Mrs. Eliger and the rest of our witnesses about what law enforcement needs to protect our communities. Another American lost to fentanyl is one too many. I know that ranking member Cantwell agrees with me on this point, and that's why we're working together on legislation to stop illicit fentanyl smuggling in the United States. I'm grateful for her partnership in this endeavor, and now turn to her for her opening statement.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you for having this very important hearing on fentanyl and what our committee and committee jurisdiction can do to stop the scourge of fentanyl. I very much appreciate the witnesses being here, Police Chief of Spokane, Chief Hall, and Mrs. Ellinger, I'm so sorry for your loss of your son, Jake. You are such a brave advocate, and thank you. There are many brave advocates, like Laura Lynch, who talks in Seattle about the loss of her dollar. Brilliant. And you are making a difference, so thank you for being here today. And I look forward to working with you, Mr. Chairman, as we fight. this scourge and work within our committee jurisdiction. Of the 10 states with the highest number of drug-related overdoses, they all host major intermodal hubs. That is to say, states like mine, Washington, and yours, Texas, are clear nexuses to transportation networks. I think we're going to hear from Chief Hall about how those networks allow for the distribution of fentanyl once they are across the border. And overdose deaths continue to rise in most Western states, up 14% in Washington just last year. The supply chain is clear.
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