House Passes Barr’s Stop Chinese Fentanyl Act to Hold CCP Accountable

Washington, D.C. - Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed U.S. Congressman Andy Barr's (R-KY-06) legislation, the Stop Chinese Fentanyl Act, to hold the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its affiliates accountable for fueling America's fentanyl crisis.

Barr's legislation cracks down on CCP fentanyl manufacturers by amending the Fentanyl Sanctions Act to expand the definition of "foreign opioid trafficker," empowering the U.S. government to impose sanctions on Chinese individuals, organizations, and government officials who:

• Produce, sell, finance, or transport synthetic opioids or precursor chemicals;
• Fail to implement "know-your-customer" procedures; or
• Refuse to cooperate with U.S. counternarcotics efforts.

This legislation also requires the President to determine whether senior leaders in the Chinese government - including the heads of the National Narcotics Control Commission, the Ministry of Public Security, the General Administration of Customs, and the National Medical Products Administration - should be designated as foreign opioid traffickers.

"The Chinese Communist Party has played a key part in the deadly fentanyl crisis plaguing Kentucky and our entire country - from manufacturing fentanyl in China to laundering the products through the cartels and into the country," said Congressman Barr. "President Trump is securing our border after the chaos of the last four years under Joe Biden and border Czar Kamala Harris. The STOP Chinese Fentanyl Act will help President Trump and his team clean up the border by exerting maximum financial pain on the Chinese producers of this deadly drug."

"Before President Trump took the oath of office, Communist China had taken advantage of Joe Biden's border crisis and poured fentanyl across our southern border," said House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast (R-FL). "This legislation will further support the Trump Administration's efforts to stop the spread of these opioids across our borders and to hold accountable every individual involved in manufacturing, distributing, and selling these illicit drugs."

"China rewards companies with subsidies for exporting fentanyl and other drugs illegal under Chinese law to the United States," said House China Select Committee Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI). "It is now abundantly clear that the CCP is not just turning a blind eye to the fentanyl crisis, it is causing it."

"Fentanyl is the leading cause of death for people my age down to my college daughter's age," said Rep. Zach Nunn (R-IA) who cosponsored and voted for the bill. "The Chinese Communist Party continues to turn a blind eye as its entities fuel the fentanyl crisis. I'm proud to pass this bill to hold bad actors accountable, whether they are across our border or across the globe."

"Kentucky's Fraternal Order of Police applauds Congressman Andy Barr for leading the charge to stop fentanyl right at the source," said Berl Perdue, the Sheriff of Clark County and the President of the Kentucky Fraternal Order of Police. "Kentucky police officers have responded to too many crimes and too many tragedies because of this deadly poison. Congressman Barr has our back."

"Fentanyl is the leading cause of overdose deaths in Kentucky and across the nation. Congressman Barr's legislation targeting Chinese Communist Party-linked fentanyl producers is a critical step forward, and we commend his leadership in this fight," said Ron Lafferty, President of the Kentucky Narcotics Officers' Association.

Background on the Fentanyl Crisis

• Fentanyl is now the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18 to 45, responsible for nearly 70% of drug overdose deaths.
• In 2022, 73,838 Americans lost their lives to synthetic opioid overdoses.
• From September 2023 to August 2024, nearly 58,000 Americans died of an opioid overdose, including 1,984 Kentuckians in 2023 alone.
• The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) estimates that a majority of fentanyl is sourced from China.
• In the past two years, the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control has sanctioned more than 300 entities for drug trafficking.