Mom who lost sons to fentanyl gives emotional testimony to Congress
Rebecca Kiessling urges lawmakers to act as she recounts her sons' deaths to fentanyl overdoses. (CSPAN)
EXCLUSIVE: House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green is asking the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to provide updated statistics on the number of Americans who died from a deadly fentanyl overdose as the flow of drugs across the southern border has exacerbated the drug crisis nationwide.
Green, R-Tenn., wrote to CDC Director Rochelle Walensky Wednesday demanding estimates on drug overdose deaths from 2022, specifically related to fentanyl.
The CDC said there were over 72,000 drug overdose deaths in 2019 and approximately 107,000 in 2021.
"America's southern border is a key vector for the influx of fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances. Our border patrol officers are overwhelmed with the volume of encounters they are making, and our ports of entry are understaffed, creating ample opportunity for cartels to smuggle drugs into the country," Green wrote.
BORDER PATROL SEIZES ENOUGH FENTANYL TO KILL 100 MILLION AMERICANS IN UNDER FIVE MONTHS
Texas authorities investigate a suspected fentanyl lab Jan. 30, 2023. (Texas DPS)
"The latest provisional count provided by the CDC is from the 12-month period ending September 2022. It has now been five months since any new data has been published," he continued. "This lack of timely data hinders the ability of Congress to gain a clear understanding of the drug epidemic and how it is evolving."
A spokesperson for the CDC told Fox News Digital: "Dr. Walensky appreciates Chairman Green’s interest in this very important issue and looks forward to future dialogue."
The committee held its first hearing Tuesday to examine Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas' role in the "border crisis."
Rebecca Kiessling testifies to Congress Feb. 28, 2023 regarding the fentanyl epidemic. (Screenshot)
One witness, Rebecca Kiessling who lost her sons Caleb and Kyler to fentanyl poisoning in 2020, gave emotional testimony and urged lawmakers to take action. She said she had been told that the drug which killed them came across the southern border.
"This is a war, act like it! Do something," she exclaimed.
"The Mayorkas border crisis is enriching cartels and human traffickers. Violent cartel and gang activity is significantly increasing throughout the United States, and illegal drugs continue to pour over the border in massive quantities," Green said during the hearing.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents seized over 1.2 million fentanyl pills between two busts on Dec. 29. (U.S. Customs and Border Protection)
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Fentanyl is primarily made in Mexico using Chinese precursors and smuggled across the land border. It is primarily intercepted through ports of entry by CBP’s Office of Field Operations as smugglers attempt to bring it to the country in their vehicles, but it is also sometimes stopped by Border Patrol agents in the field.
Fox News' Adam Shaw contributed to this report.
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