Fentanyl Sanctions Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2483 To impose sanctions with respect to foreign traffickers of illicit opioids, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 2, 2019 Mr. ROSE of New York (for himself, Mr. HILL of Arkansas, Mr. BRINDISI, and Mr. FITZPATRICK) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on Financial Services, Oversight and Reform, the Judiciary, Intelligence (Permanent Select), Armed Services, and Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider- ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To impose sanctions with respect to foreign traffickers of illicit opioids, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Fentanyl Sanctions Act’’. 5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 6 this Act is as follows: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:51 May 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2483.IH H2483 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2483 IH Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Findings. Sec. 3. Sense of Congress. Sec. 4. Definitions. TITLE I—SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO FOREIGN OPIOID TRAFFICKERS Sec. 101. Identification of foreign opioid traffickers. Sec. 102. Sense of Congress and reporting on international opioid control re- gime. Sec. 103. Imposition of sanctions. Sec. 104. Description of sanctions. Sec. 105. Waivers. Sec. 106. Procedures for judicial review of classified information. Sec. 107. Briefings on implementation. TITLE II—COMMISSION ON COMBATING SYNTHETIC OPIOID TRAFFICKING Sec. 201. Commission on combating synthetic opioid trafficking. TITLE III—OTHER MATTERS Sec. 301. Director of National Intelligence program on use of intelligence re- sources in efforts to sanction foreign opioid traffickers. Sec. 302. Department of Defense funding. Sec. 303. Department of State funding. Sec. 304. Department of the Treasury funding. Sec. 305. Appropriate committees of Congress defined. SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 Congress makes the following findings: 2 (1) The Centers for Disease Control and Pre- 3 vention estimate that from August 2017 through 4 August 2018 more than 48,000 people in the United 5 States died from an opioid overdose, with synthetic 6 opioids (excluding methadone), contributing to a 7 record 31,900 overdose deaths. While drug overdose 8 deaths from methadone, semi-synthetic opioids, and 9 heroin have decreased in recent months, overdose 10 deaths from synthetic opioids have continued to in- 11 crease. 12 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:51 May 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2483.IH H2483 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2483 IH (2) The objective of preventing the proliferation 1 of synthetic opioids though existing multilateral and 2 bilateral initiatives requires additional efforts to 3 deny illicit actors the financial means to sustain 4 their markets and distribution networks. 5 (3) The People’s Republic of China is the 6 world’s largest producer of illicit fentanyl, fentanyl 7 analogues, and their immediate precursors. From 8 the People’s Republic of China, those substances are 9 shipped primarily through express consignment car- 10 riers or international mail directly to the United 11 States, or, alternatively, shipped directly to transna- 12 tional criminal organizations in Mexico, Canada, and 13 the Caribbean. 14 (4) In 2015, Mexican heroin accounted for 93 15 percent of the total weight of heroin seized in the 16 United States, transported to the United States by 17 transnational criminal organizations that maintain 18 territorial influence over large regions in Mexico and 19 remain the greatest criminal drug threat to the 20 United States. 21 (5) The United States and the People’s Repub- 22 lic of China, Mexico, and Canada have made impor- 23 tant strides in combating the illicit flow of opioids 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:51 May 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2483.IH H2483 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2483 IH through bilateral efforts of their respective law en- 1 forcement agencies. 2 (6) Insufficient regulation of synthetic opioid 3 production and export and insufficient law enforce- 4 ment efforts to combat opioid trafficking in the Peo- 5 ple’s Republic of China and Mexico continue to con- 6 tribute to a flood of opioids into the United States. 7 (7) While the Department of the Treasury used 8 the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (21 9 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.) to sanction the first synthetic 10 opioid trafficking entity in April 2018, precision eco- 11 nomic and financial sanctions policy tools are needed 12 to address the flow of synthetic opioids. 13 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 14 It is the sense of Congress that— 15 (1) the United States should apply economic 16 and other financial sanctions to foreign traffickers of 17 illicit opioids to protect the national security, foreign 18 policy, and economy of the United States; and 19 (2) it is imperative that the People’s Republic 20 of China follow through on the commitments it made 21 to the United States on December 6, 2018, through 22 the Group of Twenty— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:51 May 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2483.IH H2483 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2483 IH (A) to schedule the entire category of 1 fentanyl-type substances as controlled sub- 2 stances; and 3 (B) to change its national and provincial 4 laws and increase provincial law enforcement ef- 5 forts to prosecute traffickers of fentanyl sub- 6 stances. 7 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 8 In this Act: 9 (1) ALIEN; NATIONAL; NATIONAL OF THE 10 UNITED STATES.—The terms ‘‘alien’’, ‘‘national’’, 11 and ‘‘national of the United States’’ have the mean- 12 ings given those terms in section 101 of the Immi- 13 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101). 14 (2) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT- 15 TEES AND LEADERSHIP.—The term ‘‘appropriate 16 congressional committees and leadership’’ means— 17 (A) the Committee on Armed Services, the 18 Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 19 Affairs, the Committee on Foreign Relations, 20 the Committee on Homeland Security and Gov- 21 ernmental Affairs, the Committee on the Judi- 22 ciary, the Select Committee on Intelligence, and 23 the majority leader and the minority leader of 24 the Senate; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:51 May 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2483.IH H2483 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2483 IH (B) the Committee on Armed Services, the 1 Committee on Financial Services, the Com- 2 mittee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on 3 Homeland Security, the Committee on the Judi- 4 ciary, the Permanent Select Committee on In- 5 telligence, and the Speaker and the minority 6 leader of the House of Representatives. 7 (3) CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE; LISTED CHEM- 8 ICAL.—The terms ‘‘controlled substance’’, ‘‘listed 9 chemical’’, ‘‘narcotic drug’’, and ‘‘opioid’’ have the 10 meanings given those terms in section 102 of the 11 Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802). 12 (4) ENTITY.—The term ‘‘entity’’ means a part- 13 nership, joint venture, association, corporation, orga- 14 nization, network, group, or subgroup, or any form 15 of business collaboration. 16 (5) FOREIGN OPIOID TRAFFICKER.—The term 17 ‘‘foreign opioid trafficker’’ means any foreign person 18 that the President determines plays a significant 19 role in opioid trafficking. 20 (6) FOREIGN PERSON.—The term ‘‘foreign per- 21 son’’— 22 (A) means— 23 (i) any citizen or national of a foreign 24 country; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:51 May 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2483.IH H2483 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2483 IH (ii) any entity not organized under the 1 laws of the United States or a jurisdiction 2 within the United States; and 3 (B) does not include the government of a 4 foreign country. 5 (7) KNOWINGLY.—The term ‘‘knowingly’’, with 6 respect to conduct, a circumstance, or a result, 7 means that a person has actual knowledge, or should 8 have known, of the conduct, the circumstance, or the 9 result. 10 (8) OPIOID TRAFFICKING.—The term ‘‘opioid 11 trafficking’’ means any illicit activity— 12 (A) to cultivate, produce, manufacture, dis- 13 tribute, sell, or knowingly finance or transport 14 illicit opioids, controlled substances that are 15 opioids, listed chemicals that are opioids, or ac- 16 tive pharmaceutical ingredients or chemicals 17 that are used in the production of controlled 18 substances that are opioids; 19 (B) to attempt to carry out an activity de- 20 scribed in subparagraph (A); or 21 (C) to assist, abet, conspire, or collude 22 with other persons to carry out such an activity. 23 (9) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means an in- 24 dividual or entity. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:51 May 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2483.IH H2483 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2483 IH (10) UNITED STATES PERSON.—The term 1 ‘‘United States person’’ means— 2 (A) any citizen or national of the United 3 States; 4 (B) any alien lawfully admitted for perma- 5 nent residence in the United States; 6 (C) any entity organized under the laws of 7 the United States or any jurisdiction within the 8 United States (including a foreign branch of 9 such an entity); or 10 (D) any person located in the United 11 States. 12 TITLE I—SANCTIONS WITH RE- 13 SPECT TO FOREIGN OPIOID 14 TRAFFICKERS 15 SEC. 101. IDENTIFICATION OF FOREIGN OPIOID TRAF- 16 FICKERS. 17 (a) PUBLIC REPORT.— 18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President shall submit 19 to the appropriate congressional committees and 20 leadership, in accordance with subsection (c), a re- 21 port— 22 (A) identifying the foreign persons that the 23 President determines are foreign opioid traf- 24 fickers; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:51 May 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2483.IH H2483 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2483 IH (B) detailing progress the President has 1 made in implementing this title; and 2 (C) providing an update on cooperative ef- 3 forts with the Governments of Mexico and the 4 People’s Republic of China with respect to com- 5 bating foreign opioid traffickers. 6 (2) IDENTIFICATION OF ADDITIONAL PER- 7 SONS.—If, at any time after submitting a report re- 8 quired by paragraph (1) and before the submission 9 of the next such report, the President determines 10 that a foreign person not identified in the report is 11 a foreign opioid trafficker, the President shall sub- 12 mit to the appropriate congressional committees and 13 leadership an additional report containing the infor- 14 mation required by paragraph (1) with respect to 15 the foreign person. 16 (3) EXCLUSION.—The President shall not be 17 required to include in a report under paragraph (1) 18 or (2) any persons with respect to which the United 19 States has imposed sanctions before the date of the 20 report under this title or any other provision of law 21 with respect to opioid trafficking. 22 (4) FORM OF REPORT.— 23 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each report required 24 by paragraph (1) or (2) shall be submitted in 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:51 May 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2483.IH H2483 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 2483 IH unclassified form but may include a classified 1 annex. 2 (B) AVAILABILITY TO PUBLIC.—The un- 3 classified portion of a report required by para- 4 graph (1) or (2) shall be made available to the 5 public. 6 (b) CLASSIFIED REPORT.— 7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President shall submit 8 to the appropriate congressional committees and 9 leadership, in accordance with subsection (c), a re- 10 port, in classified form— 11 (A) describing in detail the status of sanc- 12 tions imposed under this title, including the 13 personnel and resources directed toward the im- 14 position of such sanctions during the preceding 15 fiscal year; 16 (B) providing background information with 17 respect to persons newly identified as foreign 18 opioid traffickers and their illicit activities; 19 (C) describing actions the President in- 20 tends to undertake or has undertaken to imple- 21 ment this title; and 22 (D) providing a strategy for identifying ad- 23 ditional foreign opioid traffickers. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:51 May 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2483.IH H2483 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 2483 IH (2) EFFECT ON OTHER REPORTING REQUIRE- 1 MENTS.—The report required by paragraph (1) is in 2 addition to the obligations of the President to keep 3 Congress fully and currently informed pursuant to 4 the provisions of the National Security Act of 1947 5 (50 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.). 6 (c) SUBMISSION OF REPORTS.—Not later than 180 7 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annu- 8 ally thereafter until the date that is 5 years after such 9 date of enactment, the President shall submit the reports 10 required by subsections (a) and (b) to the appropriate con- 11 gressional committees and leadership. 12 (d) EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN INFORMATION.— 13 (1) INTELLIGENCE.—Notwithstanding any 14 other provision of this section, a report required by 15 subsection (a) or (b) shall not disclose the identity 16 of any person if the Director of National Intelligence 17 determines that such disclosure could compromise an 18 intelligence operation, activity, source, or method of 19 the United States. 20 (2) LAW ENFORCEMENT.—Notwithstanding any 21 other provision of this section, a report required by 22 subsection (a) or (b) shall not disclose the identity 23 of any person if the Attorney General, in coordina- 24 tion, as appropriate, with the Director of the Fed- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:51 May 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2483.IH H2483 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 2483 IH eral Bureau of Investigation, the Administrator of 1 the Drug Enforcement Administration, the head of 2 any other appropriate Federal law enforcement 3 agency, and the Secretary of the Treasury, deter- 4 mines that such disclosure could reasonably be ex- 5 pected— 6 (A) to compromise the identity of a con- 7 fidential source, including a State, local, or for- 8 eign agency or authority or any private institu- 9 tion that furnished information on a confiden- 10 tial basis; 11 (B) to jeopar [Text truncated for display. 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