II Calendar No. 286 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1280 To require coordinated National Institute of Standards and Technology science and research activities regarding illicit drugs containing xylazine, novel synthetic opioids, and other substances of concern, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES APRIL 25, 2023 Mr. CRUZ (for himself, Mr. WELCH, Mrs. CAPITO, Mr. WARNOCK, Mrs. BLACKBURN, and Ms. CANTWELL) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation DECEMBER 13, 2023 Reported by Ms. CANTWELL, with an amendment [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] A BILL To require coordinated National Institute of Standards and Technology science and research activities regarding il- licit drugs containing xylazine, novel synthetic opioids, and other substances of concern, 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:41 Dec 14, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1280.RS S1280 ssavage on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1280 RS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Testing, Rapid Anal- 2 ysis, and Narcotic Quality Research Act of 2023’’ or the 3 ‘‘TRANQ Research Act of 2023’’. 4 SEC. 2. XYLAZINE DETECTION AND ANALYSIS. 5 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 6 (1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 7 the Director of the National Institute of Standards 8 and Technology. 9 (2) FEDERAL LABORATORY.—The term ‘‘Fed- 10 eral laboratory’’ has the meaning given such term in 11 section 4 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Inno- 12 vation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3703). 13 (3) INSTITUTE.—The term ‘‘Institute’’ means 14 the National Institute of Standards and Technology. 15 (4) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 16 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 17 meaning given such term in section 101 of the High- 18 er Education Act of 1965 (19 U.S.C. 1001). 19 (5) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—The term 20 ‘‘nonprofit organization’’ means an organization de- 21 scribed in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue 22 Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under section 23 501(a) of such code. 24 (6) XYLAZINE.—The term ‘‘xylazine’’ means 25 the nonopioid tranquilizer methyl benzene compound 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:41 Dec 14, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1280.RS S1280 ssavage on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1280 RS frequently used in veterinary medicine as an emetic 1 and sedative with analgesic and muscle relaxant 2 properties. 3 (b) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall— 4 (1) support intramural basic measurement 5 science and research of the Institute to advance— 6 (A) analytical methods to identify, under- 7 stand, differentiate, and categorize illicit drugs 8 containing xylazine, novel synthetic opioids, or 9 other emerging substances of concern; 10 (B) measurement technologies to shorten 11 analysis timelines and enhance narcotic and 12 opioid detection and analysis capabilities in il- 13 licit drugs; 14 (C) new data tools, techniques, and proc- 15 esses to identify and publicly disclose relevant 16 information concerning illicit drugs containing 17 xylazine, novel synthetic opioids, or other 18 emerging substances of concern; and 19 (D) all other areas determined by the Di- 20 rector to be critical to the development and de- 21 ployment of technologies to measure and ana- 22 lyze the presence of xylazine, novel synthetic 23 opioids, and other emerging substances of con- 24 cern in illicit drugs; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:41 Dec 14, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1280.RS S1280 ssavage on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1280 RS (2) support activities to inform and expand the 1 development of near-real time spectrometry capabili- 2 ties regarding xylazine, novel synthetic opioids, and 3 other emerging compounds in illicit drugs; 4 (3) convene the private sector, institutions of 5 higher education, nonprofit organizations, Federal 6 laboratories, and other Federal agencies engaged in 7 the analysis of illicit drugs to develop coordinated 8 strategies and voluntary best practices for the safe 9 handling, transport, and analysis of illicit drugs con- 10 taining xylazine, novel synthetic opioids, or other 11 emerging substances of concern; 12 (4) establish or expand collaborative partner- 13 ships or consortia with other government agencies 14 engaged in counternarcotic research and develop- 15 ment, institutions of higher education, Federal lab- 16 oratories, and the private sector to enhance narcotic 17 and opioid detection and analysis capabilities regard- 18 ing xylazine, novel synthetic opioids, and other 19 emerging substances of concern in illicit drugs; and 20 (5) provide opportunities for graduate and post- 21 graduate research on the detection and identification 22 of xylazine, novel synthetic opioids, and other emerg- 23 ing substances of concern in illicit drugs. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:41 Dec 14, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1280.RS S1280 ssavage on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1280 RS (c) CONTROLS.—In carrying out activities under this 1 section, the Director shall ensure proper security controls 2 are implemented to protect sensitive information, as ap- 3 propriate. 4 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 5 of the enactment of this Act, the Director shall submit 6 to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor- 7 tation of the Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, 8 and Technology of the House of Representatives a report 9 on the implementation of this section. Such report may 10 include recommendations for legislative action to improve 11 the ability of the Director to carry out this section. 12 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 13 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Testing, Rapid Analysis, 14 and Narcotic Quality Research Act of 2023’’ or the 15 ‘‘TRANQ Research Act of 2023’’. 16 SEC. 2. XYLAZINE DETECTION AND ANALYSIS. 17 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 18 (1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means the 19 Director of the National Institute of Standards and 20 Technology. 21 (2) FEDERAL LABORATORY.—The term ‘‘Federal 22 laboratory’’ has the meaning given such term in sec- 23 tion 4 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation 24 Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3703). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:41 Dec 14, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1280.RS S1280 ssavage on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1280 RS (3) INSTITUTE.—The term ‘‘Institute’’ means the 1 National Institute of Standards and Technology. 2 (4) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 3 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the mean- 4 ing given such term in section 101 of the Higher Edu- 5 cation Act of 1965 (19 U.S.C. 1001). 6 (5) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘non- 7 profit organization’’ means an organization described 8 in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 9 1986 and exempt from tax under section 501(a) of 10 such code. 11 (6) XYLAZINE.—The term ‘‘xylazine’’ means the 12 nonopioid tranquilizer methyl benzene compound fre- 13 quently used in veterinary medicine as an emetic and 14 sedative with analgesic and muscle relaxant prop- 15 erties. 16 (b) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall— 17 (1) support intramural basic measurement 18 science and research of the Institute to advance— 19 (A) analytical methods to identify, under- 20 stand, differentiate, and categorize substances 21 containing xylazine, novel synthetic opioids, or 22 other new psychoactive substances; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:41 Dec 14, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1280.RS S1280 ssavage on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1280 RS (B) measurement technologies to shorten 1 analysis timelines and enhance narcotic and 2 opioid detection and analysis capabilities; 3 (C) new data tools, techniques, and proc- 4 esses to identify and publicly disclose relevant 5 information concerning substances containing 6 xylazine, novel synthetic opioids, or other new 7 psychoactive substances; and 8 (D) such other areas as the Director deter- 9 mines to be critical to the development and de- 10 ployment of technologies to measure and analyze 11 the presence of xylazine, novel synthetic opioids, 12 and other new psychoactive substances; 13 (2) support activities to inform and expand the 14 development of near-real time spectrometry capabili- 15 ties regarding xylazine, novel synthetic opioids, and 16 other new psychoactive substances; 17 (3) convene and consult with organizations en- 18 gaged in the analysis of new psychoactive substances 19 to develop coordinated strategies and voluntary best 20 practices for the safe handling, transport, data-shar- 21 ing, and analysis of substances containing xylazine, 22 novel synthetic opioids, or other new psychoactive 23 substances, including— 24 (A) the Drug Enforcement Administration; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:41 Dec 14, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1280.RS S1280 ssavage on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1280 RS (B) the Centers for Disease Control and 1 Prevention; 2 (C) the National Institute on Drug Abuse; 3 (D) Federal laboratories; 4 (E) States and territories; 5 (F) State fusion centers; 6 (G) the private sector; 7 (H) intergovernmental organizations; 8 (I) institutions of higher education, and 9 (J) nonprofit organizations; 10 (4) establish or expand collaborative partner- 11 ships or consortia with other government agencies and 12 persons engaged in related research and development, 13 such as institutions of higher education, Federal lab- 14 oratories, public health agencies, intergovernmental 15 organizations, and the private sector, to enhance nar- 16 cotic and opioid detection and analysis capabilities 17 regarding xylazine, novel synthetic opioids, and other 18 new psychoactive substances; and 19 (5) encourage graduate and post-graduate re- 20 search to include detection and identification of 21 xylazine and other emerging substances of concern in 22 relevant course studies when practicable. 23 (c) CONTROLS.—In carrying out activities under this 24 section, the Director shall ensure proper security controls 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:41 Dec 14, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1280.RS S1280 ssavage on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1280 RS are implemented to protect sensitive information, as the Di- 1 rector considers appropriate and consistent with applicable 2 provisions of law. 3 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date of 4 the enactment of this Act, the Director shall submit to the 5 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 6 the Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech- 7 nology of the House of Representatives a report on the im- 8 plementation of this section. Such report may include rec- 9 ommendations for legislative action to improve the ability 10 of the Director to carry out this section. 11 SEC. 3. STUDY ON UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT TECH- 12 NOLOGIES AND ANALYTICAL METHODS TO 13 DETECT AND IDENTIFY NEW PSYCHOACTIVE 14 SUBSTANCES. 15 (a) STUDY.— 16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of 17 the United States shall conduct a study of the capa- 18 bilities of the Federal Government to respond to the 19 threats of new psychoactive substances such as 20 xylazine. 21 (2) MATTERS EVALUATED.—The study conducted 22 pursuant to paragraph (1) shall include an evalua- 23 tion of the following: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:41 Dec 14, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1280.RS S1280 ssavage on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1280 RS (A) The capabilities, including technologies 1 and analytical methods, of Federal, State, and 2 local agencies to detect and identify new 3 psychoactive substances such as xylazine. 4 (B) An analysis of timeframes for identi- 5 fication and development of technologies and 6 methods to identify new psychoactive substances 7 by Federal, State, and local agencies. 8 (C) Facilities, including laboratories, used 9 by Federal, State, and local agencies for the 10 identification of new psychoactive substances 11 such as xylazine. 12 (D) Federal grant programs to fund new 13 technology development to detect and identify 14 new psychoactive substances. 15 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date 16 of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall 17 submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans- 18 portation of the Senate and the Committee on Transpor- 19 tation and the House Committee on Science a report con- 20 taining the findings of the Comptroller General with respect 21 to the study conducted pursuant to subsection (a). 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:41 Dec 14, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1280.RS S1280 ssavage on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:41 Dec 14, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1280.RS S1280 ssavage on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS Calendar No. 286 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1280 A BILL To require coordinated National Institute of Stand- ards and Technology science and research activi- ties regarding illicit drugs containing xylazine, novel synthetic opioids, and other substances of concern, and for other purposes. DECEMBER 13, 2023 Reported with an amendment VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:41 Dec 14, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6651 Sfmt 6651 E:\BILLS\S1280.RS S1280 ssavage on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS