Enhancing DHS Drug Seizures Act

II Calendar No. 220 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1464 [Report No. 118–104] To restrict the flow of illicit drugs into the United States, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 4, 2023 Mr. PETERS (for himself and Mr. HAWLEY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Secu- rity and Governmental Affairs OCTOBER 3, 2023 Reported by Mr. PETERS, with an amendment [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] A BILL To restrict the flow of illicit drugs into the United States, 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 ‘‘Enhancing DHS Drug Seizures Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:18 Oct 04, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1464.RS S1464 rfrederick on DSKB3L4F33PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1464 RS (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 1 this Act is as follows: 2 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Coordination and information sharing. Sec. 3. Danger pay for Department of Homeland Security personnel deployed abroad. Sec. 4. Improving training to foreign-vetted law enforcement or national secu- rity units. Sec. 5. Enhancing the operations of U.S. Customs and Border Protection in foreign countries. Sec. 6. Drug seizure data improvement. Sec. 7. Drug performance measures. Sec. 8. Penalties for hindering immigration, border, and customs controls. SEC. 2. COORDINATION AND INFORMATION SHARING. 3 (a) PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS.— 4 (1) STRATEGY.—Not later than 180 days after 5 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 6 Homeland Security shall develop a strategy to 7 strengthen existing and establish new public-private 8 partnerships with shipping, chemical, and pharma- 9 ceutical industries to assist with early detection and 10 interdiction of illicit drugs and precursor chemicals. 11 (2) CONTENTS.—The strategy required under 12 paragraph (1) shall contain goals and objectives for 13 employees of the Department of Homeland Security 14 to ensure the tactics, techniques, and procedures 15 gained from the public-private partnerships de- 16 scribed in paragraph (1) are included in policies, 17 best practices, and training for the Department. 18 (3) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.—Not later than 19 180 days after developing the strategy required 20 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:18 Oct 04, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1464.RS S1464 rfrederick on DSKB3L4F33PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1464 RS under paragraph (1), the Secretary of Homeland Se- 1 curity shall develop an implementation plan for the 2 strategy, which shall outline departmental lead and 3 support roles, responsibilities, programs, and 4 timelines for accomplishing the goals and objectives 5 of the strategy. 6 (4) BRIEFING.—The Secretary of Homeland 7 Security shall provide annual briefings to the Com- 8 mittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Af- 9 fairs of the Senate and the Committee on Homeland 10 Security of the House of Representatives regarding 11 the progress made in addressing the implementation 12 plan developed pursuant to paragraph (3). 13 (b) ASSESSMENT OF DRUG TASK FORCES.— 14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland 15 Security shall conduct an assessment of the 16 counterdrug task forces in which the Department of 17 Homeland Security, including components of the De- 18 partment, participates in or leads, which shall in- 19 clude— 20 (A) areas of potential overlap; 21 (B) opportunities for sharing information 22 and best practices; 23 (C) how the Department’s processes for 24 ensuring accountability and transparency in its 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:18 Oct 04, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1464.RS S1464 rfrederick on DSKB3L4F33PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1464 RS vetting and oversight of partner agency task 1 force members align with best practices; and 2 (D) corrective action plans for any capa- 3 bility limitations and deficient or negative find- 4 ings identified in the report for any such task 5 forces led by the Department. 6 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after 7 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 8 Homeland Security shall submit a report to the 9 Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 10 Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Home- 11 land Security of the House of Representatives that 12 contains a summary of the results of the assessment 13 conducted pursuant to paragraph (1). 14 (3) CORRECTIVE ACTION PLAN.—The Secretary 15 of Homeland Security shall— 16 (A) implement the corrective action plans 17 described in paragraph (1)(D) immediately 18 after the submission of the report pursuant to 19 paragraph (2); and 20 (B) provide annual briefings to the Com- 21 mittee on Homeland Security and Govern- 22 mental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee 23 on Homeland Security of the House of Rep- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:18 Oct 04, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1464.RS S1464 rfrederick on DSKB3L4F33PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1464 RS resentatives regarding the progress made in im- 1 plementing the corrective action plans. 2 (c) COMBINATION OF BRIEFINGS.—The Secretary of 3 Homeland Security may combine the briefings required 4 under subsections (a)(4) and (b)(3) and provide such com- 5 bined briefings through fiscal year 2026. 6 SEC. 3. DANGER PAY FOR DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SE- 7 CURITY PERSONNEL DEPLOYED ABROAD. 8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle H of title VIII of the 9 Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 451 et seq.) 10 is amended by inserting after section 881 the following: 11 ‘‘SEC. 881A. DANGER PAY ALLOWANCE. 12 ‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION.—An employee of the Depart- 13 ment, while stationed in a foreign area, may be granted 14 a danger pay allowance, not to exceed 35 percent of the 15 basic pay of such employee, for any period during which 16 such foreign area experiences a civil insurrection, a civil 17 war, ongoing terrorist acts, or wartime conditions that 18 threaten physical harm or imminent danger to the health 19 or well-being of such employee. 20 ‘‘(b) NOTICE.—Before granting or terminating a 21 danger pay allowance to any employee pursuant to sub- 22 section (a), the Secretary, after consultation with the Sec- 23 retary of State, shall notify the Committee on Foreign Re- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:18 Oct 04, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1464.RS S1464 rfrederick on DSKB3L4F33PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1464 RS lations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Af- 1 fairs of the House of Representatives of— 2 ‘‘(1) the intent to make such payments and the 3 circumstances justifying such payments; or 4 ‘‘(2) the intent to terminate such payments and 5 the circumstances justifying such termination.’’. 6 SEC. 4. IMPROVING TRAINING TO FOREIGN-VETTED LAW 7 ENFORCEMENT OR NATIONAL SECURITY 8 UNITS. 9 The Secretary of Homeland Security, or the designee 10 of the Secretary, may waive reimbursement for salary ex- 11 penses of Department of Homeland Security for personnel 12 providing training to foreign-vetted law enforcement or 13 national security units in accordance with an agreement 14 with the Department of Defense pursuant to section 1535 15 of title 31, United States Code. 16 SEC. 5. ENHANCING THE OPERATIONS OF U.S. CUSTOMS 17 AND BORDER PROTECTION IN FOREIGN 18 COUNTRIES. 19 Section 411(f) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 20 (6 U.S.C. 211(f)) is amended— 21 (1) by redesignating paragraph (4) as para- 22 graph (5); and 23 (2) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol- 24 lowing: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:18 Oct 04, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1464.RS S1464 rfrederick on DSKB3L4F33PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1464 RS ‘‘(4) PERMISSIBLE ACTIVITIES.— 1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Employees of U.S. 2 Customs and Border Protection and other cus- 3 toms officers designated in accordance with the 4 authorities granted to officers and agents of Air 5 and Marine Operations may provide the support 6 described in subparagraph (B) to authorities of 7 the government of a foreign country, including 8 by conducting joint operations with appropriate 9 government officials within the territory of such 10 country, if an agreement has been entered into 11 between the Government of the United States 12 and the government of such country that per- 13 mits such support by such employees and offi- 14 cers. 15 ‘‘(B) SUPPORT DESCRIBED.—The support 16 described in this subparagraph is support for— 17 ‘‘(i) the monitoring, locating, tracking, 18 and deterrence of— 19 ‘‘(I) illegal drugs to the United 20 States; 21 ‘‘(II) the illicit smuggling of per- 22 sons and goods into the United 23 States; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:18 Oct 04, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1464.RS S1464 rfrederick on DSKB3L4F33PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1464 RS ‘‘(III) terrorist threats to the 1 United States; and 2 ‘‘(IV) other threats to the secu- 3 rity or economy of the United States; 4 ‘‘(ii) emergency humanitarian efforts; 5 and 6 ‘‘(iii) law enforcement capacity-build- 7 ing efforts. 8 ‘‘(C) PAYMENT OF CLAIMS.—The Sec- 9 retary may expend funds, which have been ap- 10 propriated or otherwise made available to U.S. 11 Customs and Border Protection for operations 12 and support, to pay claims for money damages 13 against the United States, in accordance with 14 the first paragraph of section 2672 of title 28, 15 United States Code, which arise in a foreign 16 country in connection with U.S. Customs and 17 Border Protection operations in such country.’’. 18 SEC. 6. DRUG SEIZURE DATA IMPROVEMENT. 19 (a) STUDY.—Not later than 180 days after the date 20 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland 21 Security shall conduct a study to identify any opportuni- 22 ties for improving drug seizure data collection. 23 (b) ELEMENTS.—The study required under sub- 24 section (a) shall— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:18 Oct 04, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1464.RS S1464 rfrederick on DSKB3L4F33PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1464 RS (1) include a survey of the entities that use 1 drug seizure data; and 2 (2) address— 3 (A) any additional data fields or drug type 4 categories that should be added to U.S. Cus- 5 toms and Border Protection’s SEACATS, U.S. 6 Border Patrol’s e3 portal, and any other sys- 7 tems deemed appropriate by the Commissioner 8 of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, in ac- 9 cordance with the first recommendation in the 10 Government Accountability Office’s report 11 GAO–22–104725, entitled ‘‘Border Security: 12 CBP Could Improve How It Categorizes Drug 13 Seizure Data and Evaluates Training’’; 14 (B) how all the Department of Homeland 15 Security components that collect drug seizure 16 data can standardize their data collection ef- 17 forts and deconflict drug seizure reporting; 18 (C) how the Department of Homeland Se- 19 curity can better identify, collect, and analyze 20 additional data on precursor chemicals, syn- 21 thetic drugs, novel psychoactive substances, and 22 analogues that have been seized by U.S. Cus- 23 toms and Border Protection and U.S. Immigra- 24 tion and Customs Enforcement; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:18 Oct 04, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1464.RS S1464 rfrederick on DSKB3L4F33PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1464 RS (D) how the Department of Homeland Se- 1 curity can improve its model of anticipated drug 2 flow into the United States. 3 (c) IMPLEMENTATION OF FINDINGS.—Following the 4 completion of the study required under subsection (a)— 5 (1) the Secretary of Homeland Security, in ac- 6 cordance with the Office of National Drug Control 7 Policy’s 2022 National Drug Control Strategy, shall 8 modify Department of Homeland Security drug sei- 9 zure policies and training programs, as appropriate, 10 consistent with the findings of such study; and 11 (2) the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and 12 Border Protection, in consultation with the Director 13 of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 14 shall make any necessary updates to relevant sys- 15 tems to include the results of confirmatory drug 16 testing results. 17 SEC. 7. DRUG PERFORMANCE MEASURES. 18 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 19 of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall de- 20 velop and implement a Department of Homeland Security 21 plan to ensure that components of the Department develop 22 and maintain outcome-based performance measures that 23 adequately assess the success of drug interdiction efforts 24 and how to utilize the existing drug-related metrics and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:18 Oct 04, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1464.RS S1464 rfrederick on DSKB3L4F33PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1464 RS performance measures to achieve the missions, goals, and 1 targets of the Department. 2 SEC. 8. PENALTIES FOR HINDERING IMMIGRATION, BOR- 3 DER, AND CUSTOMS CONTROLS. 4 (a) PERSONNEL AND STRUCTURES.—Title II of the 5 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1151 et seq.) 6 is amended by inserting after section 274D the following: 7 ‘‘SECTION 274E. DESTROYING OR EVADING BORDER CON- 8 TROLS. 9 ‘‘(a) ILLICIT SPOTTING.— 10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—It shall be unlawful to 11 knowingly surveil, track, monitor, or transmit the lo- 12 cation, movement, or activities of any officer or em- 13 ployee of a Federal, State, or Tribal law enforce- 14 ment agency with the intent to knowingly and will- 15 fully— 16 ‘‘(A) secure a financial gain; 17 ‘‘(B) further the objectives of a criminal 18 organization; and 19 ‘‘(C) violate— 20 ‘‘(i) section 274(a)(1)(A)(i); 21 ‘‘(ii) the customs and trade laws of 22 the United States (as defined in section 23 2(4) of the Trade Facilitation and Trade 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:18 Oct 04, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1464.RS S1464 rfrederick on DSKB3L4F33PROD with BILLS 12 •S 1464 RS Enforcement Act of 2015 (Public Law 1 114–125)); 2 ‘‘(iii) any other Federal law relating 3 to transporting controlled substances, agri- 4 culture, or monetary instruments into the 5 United States; or 6 ‘‘(iv) any Federal law relating to bor- 7 der controls measures of the United 8 States. 9 ‘‘(2) PENALTY.—Any person who violates para- 10 graph (1) shall be fined under title 18, United 11 States Code, imprisoned for not more than 5 years, 12 or both. 13 ‘‘(b) DESTRUCTION OF UNITED STATES BORDER 14 CONTROLS.— 15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—It shall be unlawful to 16 knowingly and without lawful authorization— 17 ‘‘( [Text truncated for display. 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