Opioids, animals and retirement. President Trump signs 3 Rep. Buchanan bills into law
Congressman Vern Buchanan wrapped up an efficient day Friday as President Donald Trump signed three of his bills into law.
The bills, which Buchanan, R-Longboat Key, introduced into the House of Representatives, include more protections for endangered animals, an expansion of retirement plans and stricter penalties on Chinese drug manufacturers that intentionally ship fentanyl and other opioids to drug traffickers in the United States.
Trump spoke to military personnel at Joint Base Andrews Friday evening just before signing the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act into law, which included Buchanan’s Fentanyl Sanctions Act.
“Today’s signing of the 2020 NDAA is a watershed event in the truest sense of the word,” Trump said.
Buchanan’s law, which will place economic sanctions on foreign drug pushers, comes just weeks after a new report revealed that opioid overdoses are once again on the rise in Manatee County.
“For too long, fentanyl and other deadly opioids have continued to wreak havoc on communities in Florida and across the country,” Buchanan said in a statement.
Two other bills were signed into law as part of a larger government funding bill that Trump also approved on Friday.
The Retirement Security for Workers Act, which will allow businesses to provide “multiple employer plans” meant to ease the administrative burden and costs of a retirement plan, has won the support of the AARP.
In a statement, AARP said the law would “make it easier for small businesses to offer employees an automatic savings option.”
Buchanan’s Rescuing Animals with Rewards (RAWR) Act makes it so that the State Department may offer rewards for information leading to the arrest of wildlife traffickers that target endangered species, such as elephants, rhinos and lions.
In a press release, Buchanan said he will continue working across the aisle to pass legislation. In November, Trump also signed Buchanan’s animal cruelty bill into law, which turned animal abuse into a federal crime.
“As co-chair of Florida’s bipartisan congressional delegation, I will continue to work with both parties to advance our shared vision for moving the country forward,” he said. “We need to end the toxic partisan gridlock that has prevented Congress from acting on peoples’ priorities.”
