Romney: Fentanyl-Related Deaths are a Human Tragedy

U.S. Senators Mitt Romney (R-UT) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Ranking Member and Chair of the Senate Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs (HSGAC) Emerging Threats and Spending Oversight Subcommittee respectively, today led a bipartisan hearing to discuss how the U.S. government can stop the flow of fentanyl, and the precursor chemicals used to make fentanyl, into the United States. The Subcommittee heard from experts on ways to strengthen international law enforcement cooperation and encourage China and Mexico to increase efforts to stop fentanyl trafficking stemming from their countries.

Opening Statement:

Thank you, Chair Hassan, for holding this hearing. Appreciate those of you who are here today to educate us and inform us as to what steps might be taken to reduce the tragedy of fentanyl in our country and, frankly, globally. I don't have to recount to you the statistics—even in my state of Utah—the numbers between 2019 and 2020 showed fentanyl-linked deaths increased by 128%.

It continues to be a human tragedy across our country and across the world. And the question is, what can we do? Is there any one place, any choke points we can we can focus on and say, if we can just get this group here or this country here to take the following steps, why then we're going to be able to dramatically reduce the tragedy of fentanyl?

China has made commitments, as the Chair indicated, and I don't believe they have fully lived up to those commitments. Had there been the same kind of concern about fentanyl in China as there is here in the U.S., my expectation is that there had been a much tougher approach taken there. That hasn't happened. And I'm interested in your perspective on whether there's prospect for that occurring in the future.

Likewise, with regards to Mexico, we have not had as much support in fighting organized crime and the cartels in Mexico as we might have hoped. A new administration suggests that we'll have a better relationship and perhaps more ability to make a difference there. But I guess where we're all recognizing what the problem is, we just don't know how to solve it.

And you have experience in this regard that we would consider highly valuable. That's why we decided to hold this hearing. We want to hear your perspectives and potentially see what you think as well about the legislation, which Senator Lankford and Senator Hassan have proposed. And see if there are other steps that you think we might take to make it more likely that we will be able to restrict the scourge of fentanyl. With that, Madam Chair.