Joint Task Force to Combat Opioid Trafficking Act

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3658 To amend the Homeland Secretary Act of 2002 with respect to the Joint Task Force to Combat Opioid Trafficking. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 24, 2023 Mr. VASQUEZ (for himself, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. DELUZIO, and Mr. CISCOMANI) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Homeland Security A BILL To amend the Homeland Secretary Act of 2002 with respect to the Joint Task Force to Combat Opioid Trafficking. 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 ‘‘Joint Task Force to 4 Combat Opioid Trafficking Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF JOINT TASK FORCE TO 6 COUNTER OPIOIDS. 7 Subsection (b) of section 708 of the Homeland Secu- 8 rity Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 348) is amended— 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:57 Jun 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3658.IH H3658 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3658 IH (1) in paragraph (2)(A), by adding at the end 1 the following new clause: 2 ‘‘(iv) Enhancing the integration of the 3 Department’s border security operations to 4 detect, interdict, disrupt, and prevent nar- 5 cotics, such as fentanyl and other synthetic 6 opioids, from entering the United States.’’; 7 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (9) through 8 (13) as paragraphs (11) through (15), respectively; 9 and 10 (3) by inserting after paragraph (8) the fol- 11 lowing new paragraphs: 12 ‘‘(9) ENGAGEMENT WITH THE PRIVATE SEC- 13 TOR.— 14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Director of a 15 Joint Task Force may engage with representa- 16 tives from a private sector organization for the 17 purpose of carrying out the mission of such 18 Joint Task Force, and any such engagement 19 shall not be subject to the Federal Advisory 20 Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.). 21 ‘‘(B) ASSISTANCE FROM PRIVATE SEC- 22 TOR.— 23 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding 24 subsection (b)(1), the Secretary, with the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:57 Jun 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3658.IH H3658 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3658 IH agreement of a private sector organization, 1 may arrange for the temporary assignment 2 of an employee of such organization to a 3 Joint Task Force in accordance with this 4 paragraph. 5 ‘‘(ii) AGREEMENT.—The Secretary 6 shall provide for a written agreement be- 7 tween the Department, the private sector 8 organization concerned, and the employee 9 concerned regarding the terms and condi- 10 tions of the assignment of such employee 11 under this paragraph. 12 ‘‘(C) NO FINANCIAL LIABILITY.—Any 13 agreement under this paragraph shall require 14 the private sector organization concerned to be 15 responsible for all costs associated with the as- 16 signment of an employee under this paragraph. 17 ‘‘(D) DURATION.—An assignment under 18 this paragraph may, at any time and for any 19 reason, be terminated by the Secretary or the 20 private sector organization concerned and shall 21 be for a total period of not more than 2 years. 22 ‘‘(10) COLLABORATION WITH TASK FORCES 23 OUTSIDE DHS.—The Secretary may enter into a 24 memorandum of understanding by which a Joint 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:57 Jun 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3658.IH H3658 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3658 IH Task Force established under this section to carry 1 out any purpose specified in paragraph (2)(A) and 2 any other Federal, State, local, Tribal, territorial, or 3 international entity or task force established for a 4 similar purpose may collaborate for the purpose of 5 carrying out the mission of such Joint Task Force.’’. 6 SEC. 3. NOTIFICATION; REPORTING. 7 (a) NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 90 days after the 8 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland 9 Security shall— 10 (1) make a determination regarding whether to 11 establish a Joint Task Force under section 708 of 12 the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to carry out the 13 purpose specified in clause (iv) of subsection 14 (b)(2)(A) of such section, as added by section 2 of 15 this Act; and 16 (2) submit to the Committee on Homeland Se- 17 curity of the House of Representatives and the Com- 18 mittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Af- 19 fairs of the Senate written notification of such deter- 20 mination, including, if such determination is in the 21 negative, information on the basis for such negative 22 determination. 23 (b) REPORTING.—If the Secretary of Homeland Se- 24 curity establishes a Joint Task Force under section 708 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:57 Jun 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3658.IH H3658 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3658 IH of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to carry out the 1 purpose specified in clause (iv) of subsection (b)(2)(A) of 2 such section, as added by section 2 of this Act, the Sec- 3 retary shall— 4 (1) beginning with the first report required 5 under subsection (b)(6)(F) of such section 708, in- 6 clude with respect to such a Joint Task Force— 7 (A) a gap analysis of funding, personnel, 8 technology, or other resources needed in order 9 to detect, interdict, disrupt, and prevent nar- 10 cotics, such as fentanyl and other synthetic 11 opioids, from entering the United States; and 12 (B) a description of collaboration pursuant 13 to subsection (b)(10) of such section (as added 14 by section 2 of this Act) between such a Joint 15 Task Force and any other Federal, State, local, 16 Tribal, territorial, or international task force, 17 including the United States Postal Service and 18 the United States Postal Inspection Service; 19 and 20 (2) in each review required under subsection 21 (b)(11)(C) of section 708 of the Homeland Security 22 Act of 2002, as redesignated by section 2 of this 23 Act, an assessment of the activities of such a Joint 24 Task Force, including an evaluation of whether such 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:57 Jun 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3658.IH H3658 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3658 IH Joint Task Force has enhanced integration of the 1 Department’s efforts, created any unique capabili- 2 ties, or otherwise enhanced operational effectiveness, 3 coordination, or information sharing to detect, inter- 4 dict, disrupt, and prevent narcotics, such as fentanyl 5 and other synthetic opioids, from entering the 6 United States. 7 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:57 Jun 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3658.IH H3658 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS