[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7730 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7730

  To require a GAO study on the sale of illicit drugs online, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 19, 2024

 Ms. Spanberger (for herself, Mr. Hunt, Ms. Dean of Pennsylvania, and 
Mr. Crenshaw) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on 
   the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To require a GAO study on the sale of illicit drugs online, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Targeting Online Sales of Fentanyl 
Act''.

SEC. 2. GAO STUDY ON THE SALE OF ILLICIT DRUGS ONLINE.

    (a) Study.--The Comptroller General of the United States shall 
conduct a study on the online sale of fentanyl and methamphetamine, 
including--
            (1) business models employed by online sellers of fentanyl 
        and methamphetamine, including an examination of supply chains, 
        logistics, and strategies utilized for customer acquisition, 
        retention, and communication within illicit online 
        marketplaces;
            (2) utilization of online illicit drug markets and 
        providers (as defined in section 2258E of title 18, United 
        States Code) for facilitating financial transactions in the 
        online sale of fentanyl and methamphetamine, with a particular 
        focus on their impact on individuals who are 18 years of age 
        and younger;
            (3) efforts of the Federal Government to combat the online 
        sale of fentanyl and methamphetamine, including--
                    (A) interagency collaboration, including personnel 
                detailed to other agencies to support efforts to combat 
                the online trafficking of fentanyl and methamphetamine, 
                and related illicit finance;
                    (B) intergovernmental collaboration between the 
                Federal Government and State, Tribal, local, and 
                foreign governments;
                    (C) intersectoral collaboration with the private 
                sector, including businesses and non-governmental 
                organizations;
                    (D) examination of existing procedures followed by 
                Federal law enforcement agencies in handling cases 
                related to online sales of fentanyl and 
                methamphetamine, encompassing the receipt, 
                investigation, and prosecution processes;
                    (E) analysis of aggregated outcomes from the past 
                10 years to identify patterns and areas for 
                improvement; and
                    (F) identification of gaps or resource deficiencies 
                in coordinating and collaborating activities described 
                in subparagraphs (A) through (E) to combat the online 
                sale of fentanyl and methamphetamine;
            (4) models utilized by providers, including machine 
        learning, algorithmic technology, and data analysis techniques, 
        to effectively detect and combat the sale of fentanyl and 
        methamphetamine on their platforms;
            (5) enforcement mechanisms and processes employed by 
        providers to penalize users involved in the sale of fentanyl 
        and methamphetamine, including user identification, 
        verification procedures, and subsequent actions, such as 
        account suspension, reporting to law enforcement agencies, and 
        collaboration with legal proceedings; and
            (6) analysis of referrals to the Federal Government by 
        providers detailing information about online sales of fentanyl 
        and methamphetamine, including--
                    (A) the number of referrals from providers to the 
                Federal Government;
                    (B) the number of referrals that were investigated 
                by the Federal Government, including the agencies 
                involved in the investigation and the outcome of the 
                investigation;
                    (C) the number of referrals that resulted in an 
                arrest, prosecution, or conviction, including the 
                offense of the arrest, prosecution, or conviction; and
                    (D) the number of referrals that were shared by the 
                Federal Government with a State, Tribal, or local 
                government, including a law enforcement agency or 
                prosecutor's office.
    (b) Report Required.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 
shall submit to Congress a report containing all findings and 
determinations made in carrying out the study required under subsection 
(a).
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