As a sheriff, I saw first-hand how fentanyl has taken lives and devastated communities. As your Congressman, I've made it a priority to take on the fentanyl crisis and keep deadly drugs off our streets.

On the Homeland Security Committee, I'm working to secure our border and ensure our laws are being enforced (more on that in a bit), but our open southern border isn't the only way fentanyl comes into the United States. Cartels and drug traffickers also send fentanyl and its precursor chemicals through the U.S. mail.

That's why Congressman David Kustoff (TN-08) and I introduced the Uniform Postal Data Acquisition for Transparency and Early Detection within the United States Postal Service (UPDATED USPS) Act. Our bill would strengthen enforcement of other laws that prevent drug trafficking through the U.S. Postal Service.

Specifically, our bill ends a loophole that allowed nations like China to evade detection by first shipping fentanyl into other countries before sending it to the United States. Under the UPDATED USPS Act, no countries are exempted from common-sense mail security requirements.

Our bill also requires the USPS to publish statistics about incoming international mail that fails to meet those requirements. This will help law enforcement identify and shut down fentanyl supply chains.

If we're serious about addressing the fentanyl crisis in America, we need to secure every avenue that cartels and traffickers use to sneak drugs into the United States. It's no secret that our southern border is wide-open. You know it, our president knows it, and the cartels know it.

As a member of the Homeland Security Committee, my colleagues and I are holding a series of hearings on Homeland Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas's dereliction of duty.

We have a 55 page preliminary report outlining some of the most egregious aspects of the Biden-Mayorkas border policy, and on Wednesday, we had several former DHS officials join us to testify about their experiences and Mayorkas's failures. You can watch some of their testimony here.

I've been a cosponsor of H.J.Res. 44, the legislation that overturned this rule, since day one, and I'm excited to see it finally passed through the House. 

When my colleagues and I swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution, we promised to defend the entire Constitution—from the preamble to the 27th Amendment and everything in between. This administration wants to wage war on the Second Amendment and take away our rights, but I refuse to stand by and let that happen.

In addition to H.J.Res. 44, your House Republican Majority passed legislation to protect against the left's gas stove bans and to rein in the out-of-control federal bureaucracy. I'm proud to be a part of a majority that is getting things done for the American people, and I'll continue to fight for our conservative values each and every day.

My team and I are always happy to answer your questions or to help you solve a problem with a federal agency. You can call one of my offices below or contact us on our website at ezell.house.gov. 

For more updates from me and my team, you can follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Sincerely,