Securing America’s Borders Against Fentanyl Act

Securing America's Borders Against Fentanyl Act

This bill requires research and reports on technology to address illicit drug trafficking.

For example, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) must develop a program to measure how technologies and strategies have helped federal agencies address the illicit trafficking of fentanyl and its precursors into the United States. Under the program, DHS must periodically report to Congress an analysis of technologies used in drug interdiction. The Government Accountability Office must periodically report to Congress on recommendations for improving the data collected and metrics used under the program.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8316 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8316

  To require reports, evaluations, and research by the Department of 
Homeland Security regarding drug interdiction along the border, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              July 7, 2022

Ms. Spanberger (for herself and Mr. Garbarino) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security, and in 
    addition to the Committees on Oversight and Reform, Energy and 
Commerce, and the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined 
 by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as 
        fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To require reports, evaluations, and research by the Department of 
Homeland Security regarding drug interdiction along the border, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Securing America's Borders Against 
Fentanyl Act''.

SEC. 2. REPORTS, EVALUATIONS, AND RESEARCH REGARDING DRUG INTERDICTION 
              AT AND BETWEEN PORTS OF ENTRY.

    (a) Research on Additional Technologies To Detect Fentanyl.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than one year after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security, 
        in consultation with the Centers for Disease Control and 
        Prevention, the Federal Drug Administration, and the Defense 
        Advanced Research Projects Agency, shall research additional 
        technological solutions to--
                    (A) target and detect illicit fentanyl and its 
                precursors, including low-purity fentanyl, especially 
                in counterfeit pressed tablets, and illicit pill press 
                molds;
                    (B) enhance targeting of counterfeit pills through 
                nonintrusive, noninvasive, and other visual screening 
                technologies; and
                    (C) enhance data-driven targeting to increase 
                seizure rates of fentanyl and its precursors.
            (2) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized 
        to be appropriated to the Secretary of Homeland Security to 
        carry out this subsection $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 
        2023 through 2027.
    (b) Evaluation of Current Technologies and Strategies in Illicit 
Drug Interdiction and Procurement Decisions.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of Homeland Security, in 
        consultation with the Administrator of the Drug Enforcement 
        Administration, the Director of the Federal Bureau of 
        Investigation, the Director of the Centers for Disease Control 
        and Prevention, and the Commissioner of Food and Drugs, shall 
        establish a program to collect available data and develop 
        metrics to measure how technologies and strategies used by the 
        Department, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and other 
        relevant Federal agencies have helped detect, deter, or address 
        illicit fentanyl and its precursors being trafficking into the 
        United States at and between land, air, and sea ports of entry. 
        Such data and metrics program may consider the rate of 
        detection at random secondary inspections at such ports of 
        entry, investigations and intelligence sharing into the origins 
        of illicit fentanyl later detected within the United States, 
        and other data or metrics considered appropriate by the 
        Secretary. The Secretary, as appropriate and in the 
        coordination with the officials specified in this paragraph, 
        may update such data and metrics program.
            (2) Reports.--
                    (A) Secretary of homeland security.--Not later than 
                one year after the date of the enactment of this Act 
                and biennially thereafter, the Secretary of Homeland 
                Security, the Administrator of the Drug Enforcement 
                Administration, the Director of the Federal Bureau of 
                Investigation, the Director of the Centers for Disease 
                Control and Prevention, the Commissioner of Food and 
                Drugs, and the Postmaster General shall, based on the 
                data collected and metrics developed pursuant to the 
                program established under paragraph (1), submit to the 
                Committee on Homeland Security of the House of 
                Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security 
                and Governmental Affairs a report that--
                            (i) examines and analyzes current 
                        technologies deployed at land, air, and sea 
                        ports of entry, including pilot technologies, 
                        to assess how well such technologies detect, 
                        deter, and address fentanyl and its precursors;
                            (ii) contains a cost-benefit analysis of 
                        technologies used in drug interdiction; and
                            (iii) describes how such analysis may be 
                        used when making procurement decisions relating 
                        to such technologies.
                    (B) GAO.--Not later than one year after each report 
                submitted pursuant to subparagraph (A), the Comptroller 
                General of the United States shall submit to the 
                Committee on Homeland Security of the House of 
                Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security 
                and Governmental Affairs of the Senate a report that 
                evaluates and, as appropriate, makes recommendations to 
                improve, the data collected and metrics used in each 
                such report.

SEC. 3. ONDCP SUPPLEMENTAL STRATEGIES.

    Section 706(h) of the Office of National Drug Control Policy 
Reauthorization Act of 1998 (21 U.S.C. 1705(h)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (5), by striking ``; and'' and inserting a 
        semicolon;
            (2) in paragraph (6), by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(7) develops performance measures and targets for the 
        National Drug Control Strategy for supplemental strategies (the 
        Southwest Border, Northern Border, and Caribbean Border 
        Counternarcotics Strategies) to effectively evaluate region-
        specific goals, to the extent the performance measurement 
        system does not adequately measure the effectiveness of the 
        strategies, as determined by the Director, such strategies may 
        evaluate interdiction efforts at and between ports of entry, 
        interdiction technology, intelligence sharing, diplomacy, and 
        other appropriate metrics, specific to each supplemental 
        strategies region, as determined by the Director.''.
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