Senators seek info on US efforts to block opioid shipments

The leaders of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee are seeking details on federal efforts to prevent shipments of powerful synthetic opioids from entering the United States.

Chairman Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and the panel’s top Democrat, Sen. Claire McCaskill (Mo.), sent letters Monday to the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Postal Service requesting the information.

“The opioid crisis in this country has reached epidemic proportions, and it is a multifaceted problem that demands a whole-of-government approach to resolve,” the senators wrote.