A bill written and backed by Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) to help stop the financing of illegal synthetic drugs has been signed into law.

On Monday, Sen. Cornyn released a statement after the Preventing the Financing of Illegal Synthetic Drugs Act was signed into law.

The bill was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives last year, introduced in part by Rep. Monica De La Cruz (R-Texas).

“Fentanyl is an unprecedented crisis that continues to take the lives of innocent children and adults across our country, and we must combat it at all levels,” Cornyn said. “This law will help law enforcement better understand narcotrafficking organizations’ illegal financing and business models, increasing our chances of defeating them and helping save American lives.”

More than 107,000 people died from drug overdoses in 2023, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reporting that nearly 75,000 of those deaths were related to synthetic opioids like fentanyl.

“Keeping Nevadans safe is one of my top priorities, and I’m proud to pass my bill to help us go after drug traffickers spreading dangerous synthetic drugs like fentanyl into our communities,” Cortez Masto said. “This bill will improve our understanding of how drug cartels finance their operations to better prevent fentanyl money laundering and crack down on drug trafficking.”

The act directs the Comptroller General of the United States to study the illicit financing related to synthetic drug trafficking and provide information on their business model and what the government could do to prevent the funding to Congress within the next year.