; Whereas, in 2015, 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) one of the greatest criminal drug threats 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 between 2013 and 2014, there were more than 700 fentanyl-related deaths in the United States; 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 illicit fentanyl has the potential to endanger public health workers, first responders, and law enforcement personnel who may unwittingly come into contact with illicit fentanyl by accidentally inhaling airborne powder; Whereas, according to the DEA— (1) Mexico is the primary source for illicit fentanyl trafficked into the United States