Trump pushes Senate to pass STOP Act

The House approved legislation to require advance electronic data for all international mail shipments on June 14.

   President Donald Trump in a tweet on Monday aggressively pushed the Senate to pass its version of the Securing the International Mail Against Opioids Act (STOP Act), after the House passed an identical version on June 14.
   “It is outrageous that Poisonous Synthetic Heroin Fentanyl comes pouring into the U.S. Postal System from China,” Trump tweeted. “We can, and must, END THIS NOW! The Senate should pass the STOP ACT — and firmly STOP this poison from killing our children and destroying our country. No more delay!”
   The bill would require the U.S. Postal Service to transmit advance electronic data to
U.S. Customs and Border Protection on at least 70 percent of
international mail arriving in the United States by Dec. 31, and on 100
percent of such mail on Dec. 31, 2020, before such shipments reach the
U.S. border, according to a legislative summary.
   The legislation aims to curb illicit opioid imports.
   Congress on June 8 released a bipartisan, bicameral agreement on the bill. Though the House passed the STOP Act, the Senate bill is part of a legislative package on opioids that would need to go back to the House following any approval by the upper chamber.
   The office of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on when the STOP Act might be raised for a vote on the Senate floor.
   CBP officials at “a single port of entry” this past month discovered more than 30,000 Fentanyl pills, 62 pounds of methamphetamine and 11 pounds of heroin, Trump mentioned during a White House ceremony on Monday honoring CBP and Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, according to a transcript of his remarks.
   “The poisons are flowing across our border, and we’re hitting it from every angle,” Trump said. “But we need new laws. We need border laws. We need immigration laws. We need them fast.”
   During a Cabinet meeting on Thursday, Trump asked Attorney General Jeff Sessions to bring a federal lawsuit against certain companies supplying opioids rather than joining state lawsuits, according to a White House press pool report.
   Trump specifically asked Sessions to look into opioids coming from China and Mexico, and Sessions agreed with a statement by Trump that such shipments are “almost a form of warfare,” according to the report.