Rep. Sykes Votes to Pass Stop Chinese Fentanyl Act of 2025

Rep. Sykes Votes to Pass Stop Chinese Fentanyl Act of 2025

WASHINGTON, D.C.- Today, U.S. Representative Emilia Sykes (OH-13) voted to pass the Stop Chinese Fentanyl Act of 2025, legislation that seeks to amend the Fentanyl Sanctions Act by enabling the U.S. government to impose sanctions on Chinese individuals and organizations involved in the production, sale, financing, or transportation of synthetic opioids or their precursor chemicals. Entities that fail to cooperate with U.S. counternarcotics efforts or neglect to implement adequate "know-your-customer" procedures would be designated as foreign opioid traffickers under this act. Earlier this year, Rep. Sykes voted to pass the Halt Fentanyl Act which permanently places fentanyl-related substances as a class into Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act.

"The opioid epidemic has devastated individuals, families, and communities across Ohio's 13th Congressional District, and the rise of fentanyl has only made this crisis worse," said Rep. Sykes. "By holding Chinese individuals and organizations accountable for selling, financing, and transporting fentanyl to the United States, this legislation will improve law enforcement's ability to pursue fentanyl-related offenses and help keep our community safe."

In Ohio, the Stop Chinese Fentanyl Act of 2025 will bolster efforts to combat the opioid crisis, where overdose deaths have been declining since 2021, which was Ohio's highest year of unintentional overdoses. According to the Ohio Department of Health, there were 4,452 unintentional drug overdose deaths in 2023. This was a 9% decrease in the number of deaths from 2022 and the second consecutive year for decreases in Ohio unintentional drug overdose deaths. From 2021 to 2022, there was a 5% decrease in the number of unintentional drug overdose deaths.