What They’re Saying: Senator Bob Casey is Fighting Back Against the Fentanyl Crisis with His Bipartisan FEND Off Fentanyl Act

March 1, 2024

ABC27: “ U.S. Senator Bob Casey Wants to Give Law Enforcement the Tools to Stop [Fentanyl Trafficking] and Fight Back.”

CBS Pittsburgh: “Sen. Casey Said the FEND Off Fentanyl Act Would Crack Down on the Fentanyl Supply Chain by Going After the Bad Guys and Hitting Them Hard.”

PENNSYLVANIA – U.S. Senator Bob Casey is leading the fight to end the devastating fentanyl crisis in Pennsylvania by cracking down on fentanyl trafficking from China and Mexico. He has traveled across Pennsylvania to meet with local law enforcement and surviving family members of overdose victims.

Read What They’re Saying:

In Northeast Pennsylvania:

Scranton Times-Tribune: ‘Talk is cheap:’ Casey calls for House action on anti-fentanyl legislation

Recounting her family’s pain at the loss of a son and brother, Maryann Veno joined U.S. Sen. Bob Casey and other officials Monday at a press conference at Scranton police headquarters calling on the House of Representatives to pass the Fentanyl Eradication and Narcotics Deterrence (FEND) Off Fentanyl Act.

“And it’s just not good enough for a politician in either party to say you want to stop fentanyl trafficking — you want to find and take the steps that we need to take to stop fentanyl at the border or anywhere else — that’s not good enough,” Casey said. “Talk is cheap here. You have to vote for FEND Off Fentanyl and vote for the investments and the screening technology at the border.”

Fox 56: Senator Casey, law enforcement, and community mark FEND Off Fentanyl Act’s passing

Senator Bob Casey says they have to act to stop fentanyl trafficking, and the best way to do that is to pass (FEND) Off Fentanyl.

“The combination is the tough measures of sanctions and anti-money laundering in (FEND) Off Fentanyl. More investment in those screening machines at the border, and then also combined with other measures at the border and to help families who have someone suffering from opioid addiction,” he added.

Hitting home in Scranton, one mother shared her story of losing her 22-year-old son, 6 years ago. “It is a nightmare to find your child, as a parent to find your child unconscious, and trying to bring him back to life, and as a family, it is heartbreaking to see the battle he had but then he lost,” said Maryann Veno, AJ’s mother.

“Wherever you go in the States, there are families like Maryanne who have suffered grievously, and all they are asking us is to do something,” added Casey.

In South Central Pennsylvania:

PennLive: Casey touts bill to boost technology, number of agents to stop the flow of fentanyl over the border

In a good policy makes good politics moment, U.S. Sen. Robert P. Casey Jr. came to Pennsylvania State Police headquarters Friday to tout a proposal he says will help U.S. customs agents build a tighter filter on the flow of fentanyl across America’s border with Mexico.

With his new proposal and the pending bill being negotiated in Washington this week that ties upgraded border security with new American military aid for Ukraine, Casey said lawmakers have a rare chance to make serious inroads into the fentanyl pipeline.

ABC27: Fentanyl overdoses on the rise in PA; Bob Casey wants to fix that

Every day, fentanyl overdoses claim the lives of Pennsylvanians and the numbers are staggering. And U.S. Senator Bob Casey wants to give law enforcement the tools to stop it and fight back.

So Senator Casey is pushing the stop of fentanyl at the border act. He says the chemicals come from China, assembled in Mexico, and come in through ports of entry in the southwest U.S.

Casey’s bill would spend $5 billion to fund more law enforcement and support staff at the border and pay for technology that can scan vehicles and cargo and detect fentanyl.

Casey said, “For those who talk and talk about border security it’s about time for them to vote. Vote for legislation this week vote for my bill if we do both of those we’ll be much further down the road to stopping fentanyl and prosecuting and putting in jail the traffickers.”

Pennsylvania Capital-Star: Casey touts Fend Off Fentanyl Act in visit to Pa. state police headquarters

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) joined state law enforcement officials on Monday to garner support for federal legislation that he says would stop fentanyl traffickers from bringing the deadly drug into the country.

“If you’re a serious public official, and you want to do something about securing our borders, you should vote for the funding that would stop the fentanyl,” Casey said. “That’s what this has to be about — stopping fentanyl.”

In a letter to Biden last month, Casey urged the administration to address the ongoing fentanyl crisis in the U.S. with Chinese officials, arguing that China was the “primary source for all fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances trafficked into the United States.

To stop the flow of fentanyl into American communities, we must stop it at the source,” Casey wrote.

In Western Pennsylvania:

TribLive: Fentanyl killed their kids. Now these moms are supporting Casey’s fight against the deadly opioid

Casey said that the FEND Off Fentanyl Act would extend and increase sanctions and enhance anti-money laundering laws meant to disrupt fentanyl supply chains. He said that more action must be taken to combat the fentanyl crisis in Western Pennsylvania.

Janet Morrison-Heberling of Pine, who joined Casey and Heidish at Allegheny County Police Department headquarters in Green Tree, understands the toll all too well. She lost her daughter, Brianna Sanner, 30, in 2022 to a fentanyl overdose and is now part of Stop the Judgment Project, a Franklin Park-based advocacy group raising social awareness of addiction. […] Morrison-Heberling thanked Casey for listening to her story and advocating on behalf of overdose victims. She said more legislation is needed to fight the crisis locally and nationally.

Casey said the FEND Off Fentanyl Act is meant to punish fentanyl dealers and smugglers by hurting their bottom line with sanctions and allow the U.S. Treasury Department to combat the money laundering that run rampant in fentanyl dealing.

Casey urged the U.S. House to pass the package, not just to provide funding for Ukraine and others, but also to address the growing overdose deaths that have hit Southwestern Pennsylvania particularly hard.

WTAE: Sen. Casey joins law enforcement, survivors of overdose victims backing ‘Fend Off Fentanyl Act’

Two local parents who lost their children to overdose deaths joined Casey for his news conference. They’ve been working with Casey to press for the passage of the legislation.

Mother Janet Morrison-Heberling shared her family’s story. “My daughter Brianna Sanner – as you know, she died April 5, 2020, at the age of 30. She was my only child, and obviously, part of my heart and soul are gone with her […] She was a beautiful person and she was way more than her drug addiction. Most of all, I’m here today to celebrate Sen. Casey. He never stopped his efforts to get this act through the Senate,” Morrison-Heberling said.

CBS Pittsburgh: Families and law enforcement praise U.S. Senate passing FEND Off Fentanyl Act

Local families directly impacted by fentanyl and law enforcement are celebrating after a bill passed the U.S. Senate.

U.S. Senator Bob Casey made a stop at the Allegheny County Police Department on Monday to meet with law enforcement and two local mothers to highlight the importance of the U.S. Senate’s recent passage of the FEND off Fentanyl Act.

Sen. Casey said the FEND off Fentanyl Act would crack down on the fentanyl supply chain by going after the bad guys and hitting them hard.

“We have to put in place and implement after it’s passed, God willing, to sanction and get tough on the bad guys and to crack down on this. But we have a long way to go on this issue. But finally, finally we’re getting some bipartisan cooperation to move this forward,” said Sen. Casey.

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