Treasury Secretary to Visit Atlanta, Launch Plan to Combat Fentanyl Trafficking

On Thursday, Yellen will begin her day by highlighting a new public-private partnership that brings together law enforcement, the Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department as well as banks and other financial institutions to share information. This initiative allows these organizations to collaborate on ways to curb the flow of fentanyl into cities where opioid abuse has been most acute.

After a roundtable discussion with banks and law enforcement officials, Yellen will stop for a lunch meeting at the Metro Atlanta Chamber. In the afternoon, she will visit Grady Memorial Hospital to learn more about its rehabilitation efforts focused on opioid addiction.

Overdose deaths linked to fentanyl and other synthetic opioids have skyrocketed in recent years. Because the drugs are so powerful, small amounts can be deadly. The increase in fentanyl-related deaths has been attributed to its presence in street and counterfeit narcotics, while others point to the drug’s flow outside the United States.

Gov. Brian Kemp recently signed a bill making naloxone, an anti-opioid drug, more readily available in schools and government buildings.