Ohio senators Sherrod Brown and Rob Portman continue their fight against drugs and helping officers on the front lines.
The latest step is giving them the ability to detect and identify dangerous drugs.
Cocaine, heroin, meth and fentanyl are all dangerous drugs, but fentanyl is considered the worst.
"This is the one drug that when law enforcement comes into contact with, it makes you sick or can even kill you," said Mahoning County Sheriff Jerry Greene.
"Physically, you can't tell the difference between what might be fentanyl and what might be cocaine or some other substance," said Youngstown police chief Robin Lees.
Greene and Lees are two of the people heralding the two senators introducing the Power Act. This act will build on the Interdict Act, which was signed into law by President Trump last year.
That provided drug screening devices at the U.S. border. Potentially getting them to local law enforcement around the country would be a big benefit to drug screening.
"They can test it quickly rather than taking the substance back to the lab and not being able to make the arrest right away," Brown said.
A backlog for crime labs can lead to delays. The Power Act wants to get these handheld devices into the hands of local law enforcement agencies around the nation. This would help identify drugs quicker than they do now.
"There is no reason for anybody to oppose it other than the dollar figure. The dollar figure now is only $20 million, which won't buy nearly as many of these devices as we need," Brown said.
However, it would be a start. The Power Act is supported by law enforcement organizations across the country. It needs to be approved by the House, Senate and President Trump.
