; Whereas, in 2016, the Drug Enforcement Administration (referred to in this preamble as the DEA ) issued a National Drug Threat Assessment Summary, which found that Mexican transnational criminal organizations are— (1) the greatest criminal drug threat to the United States; and (2) poly-drug organizations that use established transportation routes and distribution networks to traffic heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine, and marijuana throughout the United States; Whereas, in 2016, the DEA issued a National Heroin Threat Assessment Summary, which found that starting in late 2013, several states reported spikes in overdose deaths due to fentanyl and its analog acetyl-fentanyl ; Whereas the 2016 National Heroin Threat Assessment Summary found that— (1) Mexican drug traffickers are expanding their operations to gain a larger share of eastern United States heroin markets; and (2) the availability of heroin is increasing throughout the United States; Whereas in 2015, there were more than 9,580 overdose deaths in the United States caused by synthetic opioids, including— (1) illicit fentanyl; and (2) synthetic opioid pain relievers other than methadone and heroin; Whereas the number of deaths attributable to illicit fentanyl may be significantly underreported because— (1) coroners and medical examiners do not test, or lack the resources to test, routinely for fentanyl; (2) crime laboratories lack the resources to test routinely for fentanyl; and (3) illicit fentanyl deaths may erroneously be attributed to heroin; Whereas, in March 2015, the DEA issued a nationwide alert on illicit fentanyl as a threat to health and public safety; Whereas, in October 2015, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a health advisory through its Health Alert Network— (1) to make public health officials aware of the increase in fentanyl-related overdose fatalities; (2) to provide recommendations for improving detection of fentanyl-related overdose outbreaks; and (3) to encourage States to expand access to, and training on, naloxone