U.S. Representative Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09), the Ranking Member of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade, attended a Trade Subcommittee hearing, “The Opioid Crisis: Stopping the Flow of Synthetic Opioids in the International Mail System.” A transcript of Pascrell’s opening statement is provided below.

“Thank you to Chairman Reichert for holding this hearing today, and thank you to Mr. Owen and Mr. Cintron for being here today.

“Every day in the United States, 115 Americans lose their lives to opioids. In 2016, my home state of New Jersey alone experienced 2,056 lives lost to this epidemic. And the New Jersey Attorney General’s office predicts that the number this year could surpass 3,000.

“One of the ways that synthetic opioids make their way into the United States is through the mail. Fentanyl, an illicit synthetic opioid that is extremely deadly, primarily comes from China. Fentanyl is frequently sold online and shipped to the United States in very small quantities, making it hard to detect. These sellers are incredibly easy to find online and there is evidence of multiple fatalities in which the victim received fentanyl through the mail from China.

“Ports of entry are a critical juncture in the flow of synthetic opioids. Just across the river from my district, in New York City, the Postal Service receives international mail at one of its five International Service Centers. The Postal Service receives an astronomical volume of mail, handling an estimated 275 million international packages in 2016.

“Given this high volume of international shipments, more data is needed for international shipments to catch synthetic opioids at the ports of entry before they enter our country and devastate so many of our communities. To address this vulnerability, I was proud to sponsor the “Synthetics Trafficking and Overdose Prevention,” or STOP Act, with my friend Congressman Pat Tiberi and Ranking Member Neal. This bill would require the Postal Service to transmit advance electronic data to Customs and Border Patrol on international shipments into the United States.

“This information typically includes the name and address of the shipper and recipient, as well as the contents of the package. When CBP identifies shipments that may pose a risk, they can place a hold on the shipment and notify carriers that a package must be presented for examination.

“This data will help CBP identify and stop shipments of synthetic opioids coming from China and other countries around the world.

“I understand that CBP and USPS have some concerns with the STOP Act as it currently stands, but I am confident that we can work on bipartisan basis to address these concerns and maintain a robust mechanism that ensures that CBP and USPS are held accountable for collecting data on international shipments.

“The Postal Service and Customs have already put in place a pilot program that has made great progress in the transmission of electronic data. This program began in 2014 at JFK International Service Center in New York and the Postal Service was able to secure data from foreign posts on certain international packages. CBP then targeted a small amount of mail each day for the Postal Service to locate and provide to CBP for inspection.

“I understand that in 2017 the CBP and Postal Service expanded the pilot program and entered bilateral agreements with several foreign posts, including China, which accounts for nearly two-thirds of international mail into the United States.

“In 2017, Customs and Border Patrol seized more than 1,100 pounds of fentanyl. This rate doubled over the year before.

“However, an Office of Inspector General report found in 2016 that, under the pilot program, the Postal Service had only presented around 80 percent of the packages targeted by CBP for inspection. And the majority, more than 60 percent, of international packages received by the Postal Service had no advance electronic data associated with them. Much of the data it did receive from foreign posts was low quality.

“We also know that private carriers like UPS and FedEx are already required to provide advance electronic data, but have separate requirements and receive only around one fourth the volume of packages as the US Postal Service. It is my hope that with the continued progress of the pilot program and subsequently with the STOP Act passage, we can address the remaining vulnerabilities in the system.”