{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.heitkamp.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=4c1a2091-c077-4504-ab6a-d0f21251accc", "Heitkamp & Bipartisan Group of Senators Press House to Vote on & Pass Bill to Combat Drug Trafficking", "2015-12-07", "2015", "2015-12", "Democrat", "House", "ND", "Heidi Heitkamp", "H001069", "www.heitkamp.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Bipartisan Bill Unanimously Passed the Senate in October  the Third Time the Bill has Passed in the Senate\r\nFARGO, N.D.  U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp pressed leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives to quickly vote on and pass bipartisan legislation to combat drug trafficking  an increasingly dangerous challenge in North Dakotas communities as drug use and abuse have reached crisis levels.\r\nThe legislation aims to prosecute foreign drug traffickers  whose products have often ended up in North Dakota  who attempt to hide behind loopholes in our drug crime laws. Through this effort, Heitkamp is continuing her long fight to stymie the flow of illegal drugs smuggled from foreign countries, an issue that has ballooned in the Minot region with heroin and methamphetamine use growing by 400 and 438 percent over the past year  and across North Dakota  with a significant increase of these two drugs moving into the state from Mexico and other countries.\r\nThe Senate unanimously passed the bipartisan bill in October with Heitkamps strong support, marking the third time the Senate passed the bill without action in the House.\r\nAll of us want our kids to grow up in safe communities without fear of drug crime or abuse, said Heitkamp. But in Minot, as well as communities across North Dakota, heroin and methamphetamine use have grown to epidemic levels in large part because of drug trafficking, ballooning by 400 percent or more this past year. Our bipartisan bill to crack down on drug trafficking and traffickers  has passed three times in the Senate in each of the last three Congresses, but the House has yet to bring it up for a vote. Its past time for responsible action in the House to vote on this bill so we can give law enforcement more tools to prosecute and punish foreign traffickers seeking to bring illegal substances into our communities, and target criminals before they reach our borders.\r\nTogether with nine Republican and Democratic senators, Heitkamp urged leaders of the Judiciary Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives to mark up and pass the Senate-passed bipartisan Transnational Drug Trafficking Act of 2015  which she helped introduce  so that it can be sent to the House floor for approval. The bill is designed to help the U.S. Department of Justice successfully prosecute foreign drug traffickers who concoct or transport substances they believe will be used to sell illegal narcotics in the United States.\r\nClick here to read the letter urging the House to vote on the Transnational Drug Trafficking Act. In addition to Heitkamp, the letter was signed by Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Tom Udall (D-NM), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Chris Coons (D-DE), and Kelly Ayotte (R-NH).\r\nCurrently, traffickers from East Asia  and South and Central America  frequently use Mexican drug trafficking organizations as intermediaries to transport illegal narcotics into the United States  leaving the point of origin drug traffickers several steps removed from the direct importation of either their precursor chemicals or the drugs produced from those chemicals. Heitkamps Transnational Drug Trafficking Act  which unanimously passed in the Senate in October and in December 2014, but was not brought up for a vote in the House before the end of the last session of Congress  seeks to change that by:\r\n \r\nMaking sure that international drug traffickers can be prosecuted when there is reasonable cause to believe that drugs will be trafficked into the United States.\r\n \r\n \r\nImposing penalties on individuals who manufacture or distribute precursor chemicals, including pseudoephedrine, knowing that the chemicals will be used to make drugs or other controlled substances destined for the United States.\r\n \r\nSince serving as North Dakotas Attorney General, Heitkamp has played a leading role in supporting and protecting North Dakota communities, by:\r\n\r\n\r\n \r\nEngaging statewide community in collective fight against drug crime and abuse: This fall, Heitkamp hosted a Strong & Safe Communities Summit with 150 statewide leaders where they discussed ways to combat growing instances of drug crime, particularly in western North Dakota. In September 2014, Heitkamp launched Strong & Safe Communities Initiative, which aims to raise awareness about and find long-term solutions to emerging challenges facing North Dakota, like the increase in drug crime, to make sure North Dakota communities are strong and families are safe in their homes.\r\n \r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.heitkamp.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=4c1a2091-c077-4504-ab6a-d0f21251accc"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5338051598519087, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}