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II
116TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
S. 2152
To require a study and report on Coast Guard interdiction of illicit drugs
in the transit zones, and for other purposes.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
JULY 17, 2019
Mr. MARKEY (for himself and Mr. SCOTT of Florida) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation
A BILL
To require a study and report on Coast Guard interdiction
of illicit drugs in the transit zones, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
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tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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SECTION 1. STUDY AND REPORT ON COAST GUARD INTER-
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DICTION OF ILLICIT DRUGS IN THE TRANSIT
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ZONES.
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(a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find-
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ings:
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(1) The Coast Guard seizes an average of 1,221
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pounds of cocaine and 85 pounds of marijuana each
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day in the transit zones of the Eastern Pacific
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•S 2152 IS
Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and Southern maritime bor-
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der approaches.
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(2) The Joint Interagency Task Force–South
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(JIATF–South) estimates that it has a spectrum of
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actionable intelligence on more than 80 percent of
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drug movements into the United States from Central
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America and South America.
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(3) The Coast Guard must balance asset alloca-
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tion across 11 statutory missions. As such, the
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Coast Guard interdicts less than 10 percent of mari-
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time non-commercial smuggling of illicit drugs into
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the United States from Central America and South
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America.
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(4) In 2017, the Government Accountability Of-
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fice recommended that the Commandant of the
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Coast Guard—
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(A) develop new performance goals relating
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to the interdiction of illicit drugs smuggled into
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the United States, or describe the manner in
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which existing goals are sufficient;
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(B) report such goals to the public;
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(C) assess the extent to which limitations
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in performance data with respect to such goals
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are documented;
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(D) document measurable corrective ac-
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tions and implementation time frames with re-
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spect to such goals; and
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(E) document efforts to monitor implemen-
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tation of such corrective actions.
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(b) STUDY.—The Secretary of Homeland Security, in
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coordination with the Secretary of Defense and the heads
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of other relevant Federal agencies, shall conduct a study
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in order to identify gaps in resources that contribute to
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low interdiction rates for maritime non-commercial smug-
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gling of illicit drugs into the United States from Central
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America and South America despite having actionable in-
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telligence on more than 80 percent of drug movements in
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the transit zones of the Eastern Pacific Ocean, Caribbean
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Sea, and Southern maritime border approaches.
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(c) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date
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of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland
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Security shall submit to the Committee on Commerce,
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Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Com-
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mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House
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of Representatives a report on the results of the study
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under subsection (b).
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