(Radio Iowa) – The U.S. House has passed a bill co-sponsored by Iowa Congressman Zach Nunn that outlines new sanctions for fentanyl manufacturers in China.  “Tragically, right here in Iowa nearly half of all overdose deaths are related directly to the importation of fentanyl and use in our state,” Nunn says.

The bill would expand the definition of foreign opioid trafficker in federal law. That would give federal officials authority to impose new sanctions on Chinese individuals and organizations that produce, sell or export synthetic opioids, including fentanyl.

It also would require the Trump Administration to determine if top officials in the Chinese government should be designated as opioid traffickers. Nunn — a Republican from Ankeny — says the Chinese Communist Party continues to turn a blind eye to the fentanyl crisis and it’s time to hold bad actors accountable, wherever they may be.

“And while it is made in China, produced and executed in places like Mexico, the results are deadly on the streets across America,” Nunn says. The bill passed the House on a 407 to four vote and now goes to the U.S. Senate for consideration.

Fentanyl is responsible for 70 percent of overdose deaths in the United States and is the leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 18 and 45.