American Cooperation with Our Neighbors Act

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I represent the border State of Arizona. I have heard from families in my community who have lost loved ones to fentanyl overdoses.

This Congress has increased funding to Customs and Border Protection year-over-year and has dedicated historic resources to modernize the inspection equipment and other critical infrastructure at our ports of entry, where most drugs are trafficked through.

However, we need to use every tool we have to combat this epidemic, to stop drugs from coming into our country and to increase prevention and treatment efforts. The Federal Government must leverage the expertise of our partners in local law enforcement, business and civic leaders, NGOs, and faith-based organizations on both sides of the border.

My bipartisan bill, the American Cooperation with Our Neighbors Act, tasks the Department of State and U.S. Agency for International Development with improving cooperation and collaboration between the United States and Mexico because this isn't just an American problem.

Fentanyl is trafficked into the U.S. largely from a single source, Mexican cartels. These criminal enterprises manufacture this very lucrative, very potent, and very hard-to-track drug and fuel rampant corruption and violence in Mexico.

Our bill would foster sustained and strategic collaboration to fight the fentanyl crisis, ensuring that we are using our resources and local expertise wisely.

H.R. 2789 aims to improve coordination between the Federal Government and local leaders, businesses, hospitals, and faith-based organizations that are working to combat the fallout from the opioid epidemic, like organizations treating substance abuse or creating alternatives to gang affiliation, and businesses that make fentanyl testing strips and innovate ways to keep our pharmaceuticals safe.

It also focuses heavily on improving coordination between local law enforcement agencies, State and Federal security forces, and our counterparts in Mexico by sharing data, creating professional development exchange programs, and supporting technical assistance to crack down on fentanyl traffickers.

H.R. 2789 also addresses a critical issue for our neighbors in the Caribbean community: financial access and inclusion. For too long, countries across the Caribbean have struggled with limited access to financial services, curtailing economic growth and prosperity, and their capacity to advance regional security. These challenges have been exacerbated by devastating climate events, high costs of living, and restrictive banking models.

This bill mandates a thorough review by the State Department, in consultation with the United States Treasury, of barriers and solutions to accelerate access to capital and financial services for the people of the Caribbean. This study will help us better understand how we can cooperate with our third border.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Kean for his partnership on these critical issues, and I urge my colleagues to join me in voting ``yes'' on H.R. 2789.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume for the purpose of closing.

Mr. Speaker, this legislation supports two major priorities: tackling the scourge of fentanyl and illicit crime along our southern border and bolstering the economic prosperity of our partners across the Caribbean community. By investing in our border communities in the United States and Mexico, fostering dialogue, training, and exchange with civil society, H.R. 2789 provides law enforcement and community leaders with additional tools to fight back against crime and violence.

It also represents a strategic investment in the United States' third border with the Caribbean, identifying levers to accelerate financial inclusion and barriers that are holding the region back economically.

H.R. 2789 stands for a better future and proposes concrete ways to advance peace, security, and prosperity in the Western Hemisphere. I hope my colleagues will join me in supporting this important bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2789) to direct the Secretary of State to develop a strategy on efforts to strengthen subnational cooperation between the United States and Mexico, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members

may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on this measure.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, fentanyl trafficked over our southern border from Mexico is killing huge numbers of Americans and ravaging our communities.

Synthetic opioids kill about 75,000 Americans annually. That is the equivalent of 25 9/11 attacks every year. Just one kilogram of fentanyl has the potential to kill one-half million people.

In the last 4 years, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has seized more than 66,000 pounds of fentanyl. That is enough to kill the entire population of the United States 45 times over. However, there is obviously much more that is not seized and is infiltrating our communities.

We need all levels of government in Mexico to assist in fighting this urgent crisis.

This bill, H.R. 2789, will require a strategy to strengthen subnational cooperation between the U.S. and Mexico by enhancing law enforcement cooperation, as well as cooperation with local, State, and Federal security forces. Enhancing these partnerships is critical to curbing fentanyl trafficking entering the United States.

This bill also requires a review of access to financing for member states of the Caribbean Community, which is CARICOM, as well as sanctions enforcement laws and compliance standards, narcotics trafficking and finance, and the U.S. diplomatic footprint in the region.

The Caribbean is a key gateway to the United States, and the Chinese Community Party is working to increase its influence in the neighborhood. We must ensure that we are doing what we can to counter their malign influence in our hemisphere.

This bipartisan bill was approved at a markup of the Foreign Affairs Committee, along with a Republican amendment to ensure robust congressional oversight of its implementation.

Mr. Speaker, I support the bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers and reserve the right to close.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, the Biden administration is failing to stop the deadly scourge of fentanyl across the open U.S.-Mexico border.

In my experience as an ER physician, just a short period ago, I experienced about one to four overdoses per night, four patients from the ages of 17 to 36 who I could not revive and who died. Last year in the U.S., there were 75,000 fentanyl deaths.

To address this emergency, we need a better strategy for regional law enforcement and better coordination with our neighbors. I thank the bipartisan authors of this bill, Mr. Stanton and Mr. Kean, as well as Chairman McCaul and Ranking Member Meeks for moving this bill forward.

Mr. Speaker, I support this bill, and I encourage my colleagues to do the same. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I missed three votes today due to contracting COVID-19. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 280, YEA on Roll Call No. 281, and YEA on Roll Call No. 282.

Mr. Speaker, I was not present during today's vote series. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 280, YEA on Roll Call No. 281, and NAY on Roll Call No. 282.

Mr. Speaker, due to unforeseen circumstances, I was unable to cast my vote for H.R. 2789. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 282.