WASHINGTON — Just days after several people lost their lives to overdoses in just a short period of time in Kalamazoo, Congressman Bill Huizenga is calling for the Biden administration and Congress to take action to prevent the drug from reaching the U.S.
"I think all of our hearts go out as a community to these families that are losing loved ones, and that just shows the evil behind this drug that is hitting our streets, and we've got to get serious about addressing this. It's about prevention, but it's also about enforcement," Huizenga said in an interview with 13 ON YOUR SIDE.
On Friday, the Biden administration announced sanctions against two entities in China, along with individuals from China and Guatemala. According to the Department of the Treasury, those who were sanctioned supplied "the precursor chemicals to drug cartels in Mexico for the production of illicit fentanyl intended for U.S. markets."
Huizenga applauded the administration for those actions, and encourages the White House to levy further sanctions. Huizenga says that committees he's a part of have been working to stop the flow of fentanyl into the U.S. through sanctions.
"We've tried to beef those sanctions up. We've tried to make sure that they are painful to the companies that are doing this," Huizenga said.
"Going after the sources of their money is how you hurt them. They're in this to make massive profits, and they don't care what carnage it creates. They are there to make money. So what we do oftentimes is through the banking system, we lock that down, and since almost everybody's banking systems run, at some point, through the United States, that gives us the nexus to be able to go after that."
Huizenga is also calling on both Democrats and Republicans to work together to secure our country's southern border to Mexico, which has been a point of contention for years.
"Sadly, we haven't been able to come together to figure out the border situation so far, and maybe it is going to take continued tragedies like this in virtually every state and every community across the country to get everybody's attention," he said.
"This is about integrity at the border - knowing who and what is coming across our border. That is not political. It really shouldn't be, at least."
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