II Calendar No. 114 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1271 To impose sanctions with respect to trafficking of illicit fentanyl and its precursors by transnational criminal organizations, including cartels, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES APRIL 25, 2023 Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina (for himself, Mr. BROWN, Mr. WICKER, Mr. REED, Mr. VANCE, Mr. TESTER, Ms. LUMMIS, Ms. SINEMA, Mrs. BRITT, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. FETTERMAN, Mr. HAGERTY, Ms. SMITH, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. RISCH, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. MORAN, Mr. WARNER, Mr. DAINES, Ms. HASSAN, Mr. CRAPO, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. HEINRICH, Mr. BRAUN, Ms. ROSEN, Ms. ERNST, Mr. CASEY, Mr. CRAMER, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. ROUNDS, Mr. KELLY, Mrs. CAPITO, Mr. KING, Mr. SCOTT of Florida, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. BUDD, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. TILLIS, Mr. MANCHIN, Mr. CASSIDY, Mr. COR- NYN, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. SCHMITT, Mr. KAINE, Mr. LANKFORD, Mr. BOOZ- MAN, Mr. PADILLA, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. THUNE, Mr. PETERS, Mr. RUBIO, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. SULLIVAN, Mr. SCHATZ, Mr. RICKETTS, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. HICKENLOOPER, Mr. BARRASSO, and Mr. GRAHAM) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs JUNE 22, 2023 Reported by Mr. BROWN, with an amendment [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] A BILL To impose sanctions with respect to trafficking of illicit VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 Jun 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\S1271.RS S1271 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •S 1271 RS fentanyl and its precursors by transnational criminal or- ganizations, including cartels, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Fentanyl Eradication and Narcotics Deterrence Off 5 Fentanyl Act’’ or the ‘‘FEND Off Fentanyl Act’’. 6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 7 this Act is as follows: 8 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Sense of Congress. Sec. 3. Definitions. TITLE I—SANCTIONS MATTERS Subtitle A—Sanctions in Response to National Emergency Relating to Fentanyl Trafficking Sec. 101. Finding; policy. Sec. 102. Use of national emergency authorities; reporting. Sec. 103. Codification of Executive order imposing sanctions with respect to foreign persons involved in global illicit drug trade. Sec. 104. Imposition of sanctions with respect to fentanyl trafficking by transnational criminal organizations. Sec. 105. Penalties; waivers; exceptions. Sec. 106. Treatment of blocked property of transnational criminal organiza- tions. Subtitle B—Other Matters Sec. 111. Eight-year statute of limitations for violations of sanctions. Sec. 112. Repeal of prohibition on imposition of sanctions with respect to im- portation of goods under Fentanyl Sanctions Act. Sec. 113. Classified report and briefing on staffing of Office of Foreign Assets Control. Sec. 114. Report on drug transportation routes and use of vessels with mis- labeled cargo. TITLE II—ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING MATTERS Sec. 201. Designation of illicit fentanyl transactions of sanctioned persons as of primary money laundering concern. VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 Jun 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6411 E:\BILLS\S1271.RS S1271 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •S 1271 RS Sec. 202. Treatment of transnational criminal organizations in suspicious transactions reports of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Net- work. Sec. 203. Report on trade-based money laundering in trade with Mexico, the People’s Republic of China, and Burma. SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 1 It is the sense of Congress that— 2 (1) the proliferation of fentanyl is causing an 3 unprecedented surge in overdose deaths in the 4 United States, fracturing families and communities, 5 and necessitating a comprehensive policy response to 6 combat its lethal flow and to mitigate the drug’s 7 devastating consequences; 8 (2) the trafficking of fentanyl into the United 9 States is a national security threat that has killed 10 hundreds of thousands of United States citizens; 11 (3) transnational criminal organizations, includ- 12 ing cartels primarily based in Mexico, are the main 13 purveyors of fentanyl into the United States and 14 must be held accountable; 15 (4) precursor chemicals sourced from the Peo- 16 ple’s Republic of China are— 17 (A) shipped from the People’s Republic of 18 China by legitimate and illegitimate means; 19 (B) transformed through various synthetic 20 processes to produce different forms of 21 fentanyl; and 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 Jun 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1271.RS S1271 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •S 1271 RS (C) crucial to the production of illicit 1 fentanyl by transnational criminal organiza- 2 tions, contributing to the ongoing opioid crisis; 3 (5) the United States Government must remain 4 vigilant to address all new forms of fentanyl precur- 5 sors and drugs used in combination with fentanyl, 6 such as Xylazine, which attribute to overdose deaths 7 of people in the United States; 8 (6) to increase the cost of fentanyl trafficking, 9 the United States Government should work collabo- 10 ratively across agencies and should surge analytic 11 capability to impose sanctions and other remedies 12 with respect to transnational criminal organizations 13 (including cartels), including foreign nationals who 14 facilitate the trade in illicit fentanyl and its precur- 15 sors from the People’s Republic of China and such 16 organizations; and 17 (7) the Department of the Treasury should 18 focus on fentanyl trafficking and its facilitators as 19 one of the top national security priorities for the De- 20 partment. 21 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 22 In this Act: 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 Jun 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1271.RS S1271 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •S 1271 RS (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT- 1 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com- 2 mittees’’ means— 3 (A) the Committee on Banking, Housing, 4 and Urban Affairs of the Senate; and 5 (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and 6 the Committee on Financial Services of the 7 House of Representatives. 8 (2) FOREIGN PERSON.—The term ‘‘foreign per- 9 son’’— 10 (A) means— 11 (i) any citizen or national of a foreign 12 country; or 13 (ii) any entity not organized under the 14 laws of the United States or a jurisdiction 15 within the United States; and 16 (B) does not include the government of a 17 foreign country. 18 (3) KNOWINGLY.—The term ‘‘knowingly’’, with 19 respect to conduct, a circumstance, or a result, 20 means that a person has actual knowledge, or should 21 have known, of the conduct, the circumstance, or the 22 result. 23 (4) TRAFFICKING.—The term ‘‘trafficking’’, 24 with respect to fentanyl, fentanyl precursors, or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 Jun 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1271.RS S1271 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •S 1271 RS other related opioids, has the meaning given the 1 term ‘‘opioid trafficking’’ in section 7203 of the 2 Fentanyl Sanctions Act (21 U.S.C. 2302). 3 (5) TRANSNATIONAL CRIMINAL ORGANIZA- 4 TION.—The term ‘‘transnational criminal organiza- 5 tion’’ includes— 6 (A) any organization designated as a sig- 7 nificant transnational criminal organization 8 under part 590 of title 31, Code of Federal 9 Regulations; 10 (B) any of the organizations known as— 11 (i) the Sinaloa Cartel; 12 (ii) the Jalisco New Generation Car- 13 tel; 14 (iii) the Gulf Cartel; 15 (iv) the Los Zetas Cartel; 16 (v) the Juarez Cartel; 17 (vi) the Tijuana Cartel; 18 (vii) the Beltran-Leyva Cartel; 19 (viii) La Familia Michoacana, also 20 known as the Knights Templar Cartel; or 21 (ix) La Nueva Familia Michoacan; 22 (C) any other organization that the Presi- 23 dent determines is a transnational criminal or- 24 ganization; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 Jun 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1271.RS S1271 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •S 1271 RS (D) any successor organization to an orga- 1 nization described in subparagraph (B) or as 2 otherwise determined by the President. 3 (6) UNITED STATES PERSON.—The term 4 ‘‘United States person’’ means— 5 (A) a United States citizen or an alien law- 6 fully admitted for permanent residence to the 7 United States; 8 (B) an entity organized under the laws of 9 the United States or of any jurisdiction within 10 the United States, including a foreign branch of 11 such an entity; or 12 (C) any person in the United States. 13 TITLE I—SANCTIONS MATTERS 14 Subtitle A—Sanctions in Response 15 to National Emergency Relating 16 to Fentanyl Trafficking 17 SEC. 101. FINDING; POLICY. 18 (a) FINDING.—Congress finds that international 19 trafficking of fentanyl, fentanyl precursors, or other re- 20 lated opioids constitutes an unusual and extraordinary 21 threat to the national security, foreign policy, and econ- 22 omy of the United States, and is a national emergency. 23 (b) POLICY.—It shall be the policy of the United 24 States to apply economic and other financial sanctions to 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 Jun 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1271.RS S1271 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •S 1271 RS those who engage in the international trafficking of 1 fentanyl, fentanyl precursors, or other related opioids to 2 protect the national security, foreign policy, and economy 3 of the United States. 4 SEC. 102. USE OF NATIONAL EMERGENCY AUTHORITIES; 5 REPORTING. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President may exercise all 7 authorities provided under sections 203 and 205 of the 8 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 9 U.S.C. 1702 and 1704) to carry out this subtitle. 10 (b) REPORT REQUIRED.— 11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 12 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and an- 13 nually thereafter, the President shall submit to the 14 appropriate congressional committees a report on ac- 15 tions taken by the executive branch pursuant to this 16 subtitle and any national emergency declared with 17 respect to the trafficking of fentanyl, including— 18 (A) the issuance of any new or revised reg- 19 ulations, policies, or guidance; 20 (B) the imposition of sanctions; 21 (C) the collection of relevant information 22 from outside parties; 23 (D) the approval or denial of licenses by 24 the Office of Foreign Assets Control; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 Jun 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1271.RS S1271 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •S 1271 RS (E) the initiation of enforcement cases; or 1 (F) the implementation of mitigation pro- 2 cedures. 3 (2) FORM OF REPORT.—Each report required 4 by paragraph (1) shall be submitted in unclassified 5 form, but may include the matters required by sub- 6 paragraphs (C), (D), (E), and (F) of that paragraph 7 in a classified annex. 8 SEC. 103. CODIFICATION OF EXECUTIVE ORDER IMPOSING 9 SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO FOREIGN PER- 10 SONS INVOLVED IN GLOBAL ILLICIT DRUG 11 TRADE. 12 United States sanctions provided for in Executive 13 Order 14059 (50 U.S.C. 1701 note; relating to imposing 14 sanctions on foreign persons involved in the global illicit 15 drug trade), and any amendments to or directives issued 16 pursuant to such Executive orders before the date of the 17 enactment of this Act, shall remain in effect. 18 SEC. 104. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO 19 FENTANYL TRAFFICKING BY 20 TRANSNATIONAL CRIMINAL ORGANIZATIONS. 21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President shall impose the 22 sanctions described in subsection (b) with respect to any 23 foreign person the President determines— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 Jun 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1271.RS S1271 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •S 1271 RS (1) is knowingly involved in the significant traf- 1 ficking of fentanyl, fentanyl precursors, or other re- 2 lated opioids by a transnational criminal organiza- 3 tion; or 4 (2) otherwise is knowingly involved in signifi- 5 cant activities of a transnational criminal organiza- 6 tion relating to the trafficking of fentanyl, fentanyl 7 precursors, or other related opioids. 8 (b) SANCTIONS DESCRIBED.—The President may, 9 pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Pow- 10 ers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), block and prohibit all 11 transactions in property and interests in property of a for- 12 eign person described in subsection (a) if such property 13 and interests in property are in the United States, come 14 within the United States, or are or come within the posses- 15 sion or control of a United States person. 16 (c) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 180 days 17 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually 18 thereafter, the President shall submit to the appropriate 19 congressional committees a report on actions taken by the 20 executive branch with respect to the foreign persons iden- 21 tified under subsection (a). 22 SEC. 105. PENALTIES; WAIVERS; EXCEPTIONS. 23 (a) PENALTIES.—A person that violates, attempts to 24 violate, conspires to violate, or causes a violation of this 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 Jun 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1271.RS S1271 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •S 1271 RS subtitle or any regulation, license, or order issued to carry 1 out this subtitle shall be subject to the penalties set forth 2 in subsections (b) and (c) of section 206 of the Inter- 3 national Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 4 1705) to the same extent as a person that commits an 5 unlawful act described in subsection (a) of that section. 6 (b) WAIVER AUTHORITY.— 7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President may waive 8 the imposition of sanctions under this subtitle if the 9 President determines, and reports to the appropriate 10 congressional committees, that— 11 (A) the waiver is needed for humanitarian 12 purposes; or 13 (B) the national emergency described in 14 section 101 has ended. 15 (2) NATIONAL SECURITY WAIVER.—The Presi- 16 dent may waive the application of sanctions under 17 this subtitle with respect to a foreign person if the 18 President determines that the waiver is in the na- 19 tional security interest of the United States. 20 (c) EXCEPTIONS.— 21 (1) EXCEPTION FOR INTELLIGENCE ACTIVI- 22 TIES.—This subtitle shall not apply with respect to 23 activities subject to the reporting requirements 24 under title V of the National [Text truncated for display. 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