What This Bill Does
This bill makes changes to federal drug laws that deal with fentanyl (a powerful synthetic opioid). It lowers the amounts of fentanyl that trigger certain criminal penalties and directs the Postal Service to buy equipment to catch illegal fentanyl being sent through the mail.
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Who It Affects
• People charged with federal fentanyl crimes
• The United States Postal Service
• Express mail and shipping companies
• The United States Sentencing Commission (a group that decides punishment guidelines)
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Key Provisions
• The bill lowers the fentanyl amounts that trigger the most serious federal drug crimes. For example, it reduces one threshold from 400 grams to 20 grams. (Sec. 2)
• The bill also covers fentanyl "analogues" (chemical variations of fentanyl), whether they are officially scheduled as illegal drugs or not. (Sec. 2 and Sec. 3)
• The Postmaster General must increase the number of chemical screening devices (testing equipment that detects drugs) available to the Postal Service and provide staff to operate them 24/7. (Sec. 5)
• The Sentencing Commission must review and update its punishment guidelines within 120 days to match these new fentanyl amounts. (Sec. 4)
• Congress authorizes $9,000,000 for the Postal Service to buy equipment, hire scientists, and staff needed to catch illegal fentanyl in the mail. (Sec. 5)
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What Changes
If this becomes law, people caught with smaller amounts of fentanyl would face the same serious federal charges that previously only applied to larger amounts. The Postal Service would receive funding and equipment to test packages for illegal drugs. Federal judges would follow new sentencing guidelines that match these lower fentanyl thresholds.
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Important Definitions
• Chemical screening device: Equipment like testing kits or spectrometers (machines that identify substances) that can detect fentanyl and similar drugs (Sec. 5)
• Express consignment operator or carrier: Companies that deliver packages and mail (Sec. 5)
• Postmaster General: The leader of the United States Postal Service (Sec. 5)
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Effective Date
Not specified in bill text
II
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
S. 878
To amend the Controlled Substances Act and the Controlled Substances
Import and Export Act to modify the offenses relating to fentanyl,
and for other purposes.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
MARCH 21, 2023
Mr. KENNEDY (for himself, Mr. COTTON, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. CRUZ, and Mrs.
BRITT) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred
to the Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To amend the Controlled Substances Act and the Controlled
Substances Import and Export Act to modify the of-
fenses relating to fentanyl, 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.
3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fairness in Fentanyl
4
Sentencing Act of 2023’’.
5
SEC. 2. CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES ACT AMENDMENTS.
6
Section 401(b)(1) of the Controlled Substances Act
7
(21 U.S.C. 841(b)(1)) is amended—
8
(1) in subparagraph (A)(vi)—
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(A) by striking ‘‘400’’ and inserting ‘‘20’’;
1
(B) by striking ‘‘100’’ and inserting ‘‘5’’;
2
and
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(C) by inserting ‘‘scheduled or unsched-
4
uled’’ before ‘‘analogue of’’; and
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(2) in subparagraph (B)(vi)—
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(A) by striking ‘‘40’’ and inserting ‘‘2’’;
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(B) by striking ‘‘10’’ and inserting ‘‘0.5’’;
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and
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(C) by inserting ‘‘scheduled or unsched-
10
uled’’ before ‘‘analogue of’’.
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SEC. 3. CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES IMPORT AND EXPORT
12
ACT AMENDMENTS.
13
Section 1010(b) of the Controlled Substances Import
14
and Export Act (21 U.S.C. 960(b)) is amended—
15
(1) in paragraph (1)(F)—
16
(A) by striking ‘‘400’’ and inserting ‘‘20’’;
17
(B) by striking ‘‘100’’ and inserting ‘‘5’’;
18
and
19
(C) by inserting ‘‘scheduled or unsched-
20
uled’’ before ‘‘analogue of’’; and
21
(2) in paragraph (2)(F)—
22
(A) by striking ‘‘40’’ and inserting ‘‘2’’;
23
(B) by striking ‘‘10’’ and inserting ‘‘0.5’’;
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and
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(C) by inserting ‘‘scheduled or unsched-
1
uled’’ before ‘‘analogue of’’.
2
SEC. 4. DIRECTIVE TO THE SENTENCING COMMISSION.
3
(a) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘Commis-
4
sion’’ means the United States Sentencing Commission.
5
(b) DIRECTIVE
TO
THE
UNITED
STATES
SEN-
6
TENCING COMMISSION.—Pursuant to the authority of the
7
Commission under section 994(p) of title 28, United
8
States Code, and in accordance with this section, the Com-
9
mission shall review and amend, if appropriate, the guide-
10
lines and policy statements of the Commission applicable
11
to a person convicted of an offense under section 401 of
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the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 841) or section
13
1010 of the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act
14
(21 U.S.C. 960) to ensure that the guidelines and policy
15
statements are consistent with the amendments made by
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sections 2 and 3 of this Act.
17
(c) EMERGENCY
AUTHORITY.—The Commission
18
shall—
19
(1) promulgate the guidelines, policy state-
20
ments, or amendments provided for in this Act as
21
soon as practicable, and in any event not later than
22
120 days after the date of enactment of this Act, in
23
accordance with the procedure set forth in section
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21(a) of the Sentencing Act of 1987 (28 U.S.C. 994
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•S 878 IS
note), as though the authority under that Act had
1
not expired; and
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(2) pursuant to the emergency authority pro-
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vided under paragraph (1), make such conforming
4
amendments to the Federal sentencing guidelines as
5
the Commission determines necessary to achieve
6
consistency with other guideline provisions and ap-
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plicable law.
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SEC. 5. INTERDICTION OF FENTANYL, OTHER SYNTHETIC
9
OPIOIDS,
AND
OTHER
NARCOTICS
AND
10
PSYCHOACTIVE SUBSTANCES.
11
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section—
12
(1) the term ‘‘chemical screening device’’ means
13
an immunoassay, narcotics field test kit, infrared
14
spectrophotometer, mass spectrometer, nuclear mag-
15
netic resonance spectrometer, Raman spectrophoto-
16
meter, or other scientific instrumentation able to col-
17
lect data that can be interpreted to determine the
18
presence of fentanyl, other synthetic opioids, and
19
other narcotics and psychoactive substances;
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(2) the term ‘‘express consignment operator or
21
carrier’’ has the meaning given the term in section
22
128.1 of title 19, Code of Federal Regulations, or
23
any successor thereto; and
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(3) the term ‘‘Postmaster General’’ means the
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Postmaster General of the United States Postal
2
Service.
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(b) INTERDICTION
OF FENTANYL, OTHER SYN-
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THETIC
OPIOIDS,
AND
OTHER
NARCOTICS
AND
5
PSYCHOACTIVE SUBSTANCES.—
6
(1)
CHEMICAL
SCREENING
DEVICES.—The
7
Postmaster General shall—
8
(A) increase the number of chemical
9
screening devices that are available to the
10
United States Postal Service; and
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(B) make additional chemical screening de-
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vices available to the United States Postal Serv-
13
ice as the Postmaster General determines are
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necessary to interdict fentanyl, other synthetic
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opioids, and other narcotics and psychoactive
16
substances that are illegally imported into the
17
United States, including such substances that
18
are imported through the mail or by an express
19
consignment operator or carrier.
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(2) PERSONNEL
TO
INTERPRET
DATA.—The
21
Postmaster General shall dedicate the appropriate
22
number of personnel of the United States Postal
23
Service, including scientists, so that those personnel
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are available during all operational hours to inter-
1
pret data collected by chemical screening devices.
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(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is
3
authorized to be appropriated to the Postmaster General
4
$9,000,000 to ensure that the United States Postal Serv-
5
ice has resources, including chemical screening devices,
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personnel, and scientists, available during all operational
7
hours to prevent, detect, and interdict the unlawful impor-
8
tation of fentanyl, other synthetic opioids, and other nar-
9
cotics and psychoactive substances.
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Æ
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