    [Senate Hearing 117-258]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

                                                           S. Hrg. 117-258

                    ADDRESSING THE EVOLVING THREAT OF ILLEGAL
                     DRUG TRAFFICKING TO OUR COMMUNITIES

    =======================================================================

                                 FIELD HEARING

                                   BEFORE THE

                                SUBCOMMITTEE ON
                    EMERGING THREATS AND SPENDING OVERSIGHT

                                     OF THE

                                  COMMITTEE ON
                   HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
                              UNITED STATES SENATE

                        ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS

                                 SECOND SESSION

                                   __________

                                 MARCH 14, 2022

                                   __________

            Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov

    [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

                           Printed for the use of the
            Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

                                   __________

                        U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
    47-458 PDF                 WASHINGTON : 2022

    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

            COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

                       GARY C. PETERS, Michigan, Chairman
    THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware           ROB PORTMAN, Ohio
    MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire         RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin
    KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona              RAND PAUL, Kentucky
    JACKY ROSEN, Nevada                  JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma
    ALEX PADILLA, California             MITT ROMNEY, Utah
    JON OSSOFF, Georgia                  RICK SCOTT, Florida
                                         JOSH HAWLEY, Missouri

                       David M. Weinberg, Staff Director
                        Zachary I. Schram, Chief Counsel
                    Pamela Thiessen, Minority Staff Director
        Andrew Dockham, Minority Chief Counsel and Deputy Staff Director
                         Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk
                         Thomas J. Spino, Hearing Clerk

            SUBCOMMITTEE ON EMERGING THREATS AND SPENDING OVERSIGHT

                     MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire, Chairman
    KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona              RAND PAUL, Kentucky
    JACKY ROSEN, Nevada                  MITT ROMNEY, Utah
    JON OSSOFF, Georgia                  RICK SCOTT, Florida
                                         JOSH HAWLEY, Missouri

                         Jason Yanussi, Staff Director
                                Peter Su, Fellow
                      Adam Salmon, Minority Staff Director
                          Kate Kielceski, Chief Clerk

                               C O N T E N T S

                                     ------
    Opening statements:
                                                                       Page
        Senator Hassan...............................................     1
        Hon. Kuster..................................................     3
        Hon. Pappas..................................................     4
    Prepared statements:
        Senator Hassan...............................................    39

                                   WITNESSES
                             Monday, March 14, 2022

    Matthew Millhollin, Special Agent in Charge, New England,
      Homeland Security Investigations, Immigration and Customs
      Enforcement, U.S. Department of Homeland Security..............     6
    Michael P. Manning, Assistant Director Field Operations Border
      Security, Boston Field Office, Customs and Border Protection...     8
    Jon DeLena, Deputy Special Agent in Charge, New England Field
      Division, Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Department of
      Justice........................................................    10
    Ellen M. Arcieri, Commander, New Hampshire Attorney General's
      Drug Task Force, New Hampshire Department of Justice...........    12
    Joseph M. Ebert, Major, Investigative Services Bureau Commander,
      New Hampshire State Police.....................................    14

                         Alphabetical List of Witnesses

    Arcieri Ellen M.:
        Testimony....................................................    12
        Prepared statement...........................................    62
    DeLena Jon:
        Testimony....................................................    10
        Prepared statement...........................................    55
    Ebert, Joseph M.:
        Testimony....................................................    14
        Prepared statement...........................................    65
    Manning, Michael P.:
        Testimony....................................................     8
        Prepared statement...........................................    47
    Millhollin, Matthew:
        Testimony....................................................     6
        Prepared statement...........................................    41

                                    APPENDIX

    Commission on Combatting Synthetic Opioid Trafficking Report.....    67
    Statement submitted by the National Narcotic Officers Associatons
      Coalition......................................................   206

                       ADDRESSING THE EVOLVING THREAT OF
                  ILLEGAL DRUG TRAFFICKING TO OUR COMMUNITIES

                                  ----------

                             MONDAY, MARCH 14, 2022

                                         U.S. Senate,
                           Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and
                                            Spending Oversight,
                        of the Committee on Homeland Security
                                      and Governmental Affairs,
                                                        Manchester, NH.
        The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:30 a.m. in
    Multipurpose room, University of New Hampshire at Manchester,
    88 Commercial Street, Manchester, NH, Hon. Maggie Hassan,
    Chairman of the Subcommittee, presiding.
        Present: Senator Hassan, Representative Kuster and
    Representative Pappas.

                 OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR HASSAN\1\

        Senator Hassan. This hearing will come to order.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ The prepared statement of Senator Hassan appears in the
    Appendix on page 39.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Good morning, everybody. I'm Senator Maggie Hassan, Chair
    of the Emerging Threats and Spending Oversight Subcommittee
    (ETSO) on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
    Committee (HSGAC), and I would like to welcome you all to our
    field hearing examining the evolving threat of drug trafficking
    in New Hampshire and communities all across the United States.
        Too often, the drugs flowing into New Hampshire originate
    outside our country--and cross into the United States at our
    Southern Border. I have visited the Southern Border several
    times as a Senator where law enforcement officials discussed
    with me our drug cartels smuggle drugs into the country. Those
    same drugs end up here in the Granite State, and that is one of
    many reasons why we must secure our Southern Border, making
    sure that our border security and law enforcement personnel
    have the resources and support that they need.
        As a member of the Homeland Security and Governmental
    Affairs Committee, I have worked with my colleagues from both
    parties on solutions to strengthen border security and ensure
    that we target illegal drug trafficking, increase investments
    in border security technology, and improve infrastructure for
    Border Patrol stations and land ports of entry (LPOE).
        As part of those efforts we have invested billions in
    border security infrastructure and technology to gain
    operational control on the Southern Border including $3 billion
    for Border Patrol stations and land ports of entry in the
    bipartisan infrastructure deal that I helped negotiate and pass
    into law last year.
        To give Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents the
    support that they need, I supported hiring thousands more
    agents and investing in personnel and training, and I helped
    introduce a bill that was signed into law to crack down on
    illegal drug trafficking by equipping Customs and Border
    Protection with state-of-the-art technology to detect fentanyl.
        We know though that we have a lot more work to do. That is
    why today we will hear from our witnesses about how criminal
    organizations use ever-evolving smuggling tactics to evade
    detection and about the work of law enforcement and border
    security agencies to stop drug trafficking. We will also
    discuss what additional measures Congress can take to support
    law enforcement and promote counter narcotics programs to help
    make our communities safer.
        Our hearing will address the ongoing threat of heroin,
    fentanyl, and opioid trafficking, and will also address the
    rising threat that methamphetamine poses to our communities.
    Methamphetamine has contributed to increasing incidents of
    violent crime and dangerous encounters with community members
    and law enforcement, in addition to overdose deaths. Much of
    the fentanyl and the methamphetamine traffic into New Hampshire
    is manufactured in Mexico using precursor chemicals that often
    come from China. Most of it is then smuggled over the Southern
    Border in the United States.
        From there criminals will smuggle in drugs north across
    State lines and eventually deliver them to New Hampshire.
    National and State borders mean little to the criminal
    organizations trafficking drugs. That is why close coordination
    and cooperation between Federal, State, and local law
    enforcement is the key to stopping trafficking and preventing
    these drugs from reaching our communities.
        I am pleased to be joined today by regional officials from
    the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Homeland Security
    Investigations (HSI), and U.S. Customs and Border Protection,
    as well as State officials from the New Hampshire Drug Task
    Force (DTF) and the Investigative Services Bureau of the New
    Hampshire State Police (NHSP).
        The Drug Enforcement Administration leads our country's
    efforts to stop drug trafficking including coordinating with
    Federal, State, and local partners including here in New
    Hampshire. Homeland Security Investigations leads Border
    Enforcement Security Task (BEST) Forces to support Federal,
    State, and local efforts and provide specialized training to
    State and local partners. Customs and Border Protection secures
    and operates the border, including deploying new scanning
    technology to detect drugs at ports of entry (POE) and piloting
    drone detection and interception technologies to stop drones
    used to smuggle drugs across the border.
        The New Hampshire Drug Task Force helps local police
    departments with counternarcotics investigations while also
    serving as a bridge to Federal law enforcement, and the New
    Hampshire State Police serves on the frontlines protecting our
    communities and overseeing the Granite Shield program that
    promotes coordination among State, local, and Federal agencies
    on counternarcotics operations.
        These agencies all work together to target illegal drug
    trafficking, and I look forward to our discussion today about
    how we can continue to improve coordination and provide
    critical resources and support to protect New Hampshire's
    communities.
        I want to thank all of our witnesses for their service to
    New Hampshire and to our country and for being here today.
        With that, I am going to recognize Representative Kuster
    and then Representative Pappas for their opening remarks. Thank
    you, Representative Kuster, for being here.

     OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. ANN M. KUSTER, A REPRESENTATIVE IN
                CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

        Ms. Kuster. Thank you so much, Madam Chairwoman, and thank
    you for holding this important hearing today in Manchester, and
    I want to thank all of our witnesses for joining us as well.
        Here in New Hampshire we saw very early on the devastation
    of the addiction epidemic with origins in the Food and Drug
    Administration's (FDA) approval of OxyContin in 1995, two
    decades of overprescribing prescription painkillers in our
    communities. Before we knew it, literally millions of Americans
    were dependent on opioids. Over one million have died since
    1999.
        Illegal drug markets once dominated by diverted pills
    quickly evolved to match the demand in our communities, and
    folks with substance abuse disorder turned to heroin and then
    sometimes unknowingly to synthetic opioids including fentanyl.
        That is why in 2015 I founded the bipartisan Heroin Task
    Force with my former colleague Congressman Guinta. I still
    remember when I would talk to my colleagues about the work of
    the task force in the overdose crisis, and they would say so
    confidently, oh, no, we don't have that in my District, and I
    would be the bearer of bad news saying oh, yes, but you do.
        Today there are 145 members of the House of Representatives
    as part of our new Bipartisan Addiction and Mental Health Task
    Force including Congressman Pappas because like this epidemic,
    our Task Force has evolved to address not just opioids, not
    just heroin, but the challenges of the addiction crisis.
        The complexity of this crisis is urgent. Our most recent
    data shows that over 100,000 Americans lost their lives to
    overdose just in the past year alone, the highest number ever
    recorded in a 12-month period, and many more overdose, survive
    and continue to struggle with substance use disorder. I was
    pleased to see President Biden's Unity Agenda include historic
    investments to address addiction in the overdose epidemic, both
    through support and treatment efforts as well as greater
    investments in interdiction to reduce the availability in
    trafficking of illicit drugs, and just last week the House
    included an extension of the emergency scheduling of fentanyl-
    related substances to continue to provide law enforcement with
    the tools they have requested while a more permanent solution
    is explored, and I know Representative Pappas will be getting
    into that because as many of our witnesses have pointed out in
    their written testimony, the fentanyl and synthetic drug crisis
    is a critical threat both to public safety and to public health
    in our communities.
        As we begin our discussion today, I would like to submit
    for the record the final report from the Commission on
    Combatting Synthetic Opioid Trafficking\1\ cochaired by Senator
    Tom Cotton and my colleague and cofounder of the Task Force,
    Congressman David Trone from Maryland.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ The Commission on Combatting Synthetic Opioid Trafficking
    report appears in the Appendix on page 67.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        I hope today's hearing will bring a better understanding of
    current efforts in stopping the flow of fentanyl to our
    communities and how we can provide our communities with the
    most appropriate and effective tools to combat the overdose
    epidemic, and I look forward to this discussion. Thank you and
    I yield back.
        Senator Hassan. Thank you, Congresswoman Kuster. Without
    objection we will include in the record the report that you
    referenced.
        Now to my colleague Congressman Pappas. Thank you for being
    here, Congressman.

          OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. CHRISTOPHER C. PAPPAS, A
       REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

        Mr. Pappas. Thank you very much, Madame Chair, for holding
    this hearing here in Manchester, and I want to thank all our
    members of the law enforcement community who are here for this
    hearing today for your longstanding commitment to doing all we
    need to do to keep the people of New Hampshire safe. It could
    not be a more important conversation that we are having here
    this morning. Thank you so much for what you are doing as we
    face this crisis that we know continues to take far too many
    lives in communities here in New Hampshire and all across the
    country. We are eager to hear today from our panels of experts
    from what they are seeing on the ground and learning what can
    be improved and how we can support your work with our efforts
    on the policy side in Washington.
        As Congresswoman Kuster mentioned, we lost 100,000
    Americans last year to drug overdoses. At that rate we can
    expect by the end of this hearing to lose another 12 Americans
    to drugs like fentanyl which is the leading cause of death for
    Americans aged 18 to 45.
        We know that the cartels work day and night to evade law
    enforcement and work around measures that we take to stop
    trafficking so that they can continue to push their deadly
    products out to more citizens. I remember talking with a police
    chief recently in my district who told me about ever more
    creative ways that the cartels are undertaking to get drugs
    here to New Hampshire, and so that is why the efforts of law
    enforcement are so crucial and why we have to do all we can to
    stay ahead of them, and to provide those on the frontlines of
    this fight with the resources and tools that they need to bring
    these individuals to justice. One tool that we do have and
    Congresswoman Kuster mentioned it is to permanently schedule
    fentanyl analogues as Schedule 1 under the Controlled
    Substances Act. We know that all the traffickers need to do to
    evade prosecution sometimes is to make a minor change to
    fentanyl and that law enforcement must work hard to analyze and
    individually reschedule that substance. This takes time, and it
    is something that we do not have an ample supply of in this
    fight.
        That is why recently I introduced a bipartisan bill, the
    Safe Act of 2022, that would permanently schedule all fentanyl-
    related substances as Schedule 1 drugs and would ensure that
    law enforcement can keep them off the streets. DEA's temporary
    order to keep fentanyl-related substances in Schedule 1 expired
    last week. It was continued though in the Omnibus
    Appropriations Bill through the end of year so we have some
    time to get this right.
        We know that there is more work to do beyond this
    scheduling issue, and in my conversations with law enforcement
    and those in the treatment and recovery space we know that
    there is no one solution that is going to solve this crisis. It
    is going to take everyone coming to the table, it is going to
    take us both focusing on the supply issue as well as the demand
    issue and making sure that we have the infrastructure of
    treatment and recovery that is strong for the future here in
    New Hampshire, and we do have to take every step possible to
    hold those who are bringing drugs into this country accountable
    to the fullest extent of law.
        I know we are all committed to that work. I thank you
    again, Senator Hassan, for hosting this hearing here, and I
    will yield back my time.
        Senator Hassan. Thank you very much, Congressman Pappas. In
    just a moment I am going to swear the witnesses. So people have
    a sense of how the hearing will proceed, we will hear from each
    of the witnesses, and then each of us will have the opportunity
    for at least one 7-minute round of questions.
        It is the practice of the Homeland Security and
    Governmental Affairs Committee to swear in witnesses so if all
    of you could please stand and raise your right hand.
        Do you swear that the testimony you give before this
    Subcommittee will be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but
    the truth so help you, God?
        (Panel responds affirmatively)
        Thank you.
        Please be seated.
        We are going to start with our first witness today is who
    is Special Agent Matthew Millhollin, Special Agent in Charge
    (SAC) of the New England Field Office for Homeland Security
    Investigations. Special Agent Millhollin previously led HSI's
    international investigation team in Mexico, was the Department
    of Homeland Security (DHS) attache to Israel, served as HSI's
    Chief of Staff for International Operations, and previously
    served several years as a Special Agent in the New England
    Field Office. Welcome, Special Agent Millhollin. You are
    recognized for your opening statement.

    TESTIMONY OF MATTHEW B. MILLHOLLIN,\1\ SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE,
     NEW ENGLAND HOMELAND SECURITY INVESTIGATIONS, IMMIGRATION AND
       CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

        Mr. Millhollin. Chair Hassan, Distinguished Members of the
    New Hampshire Delegation, thank you for the opportunity to
    appear before you today to discuss the efforts of Homeland
    Security Investigations to secure the homeland from
    transnational organized crime (TCOs), particularly those that
    threaten our communities through illegal narcotics trafficking.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ The prepared statement of Mr. Millhollin appears in the
    Appendix on page 41.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        As the principal investigative component of the Department
    of Homeland Security, HSI is the premier global law enforcement
    organization responsible for conducting Federal criminal
    investigations at every critical location in the illegal
    narcotics economy: internationally, in cooperation with foreign
    counterparts where transnational criminal and terrorist
    organizations procure and produce narcotics; at our nation's
    physical borders and ports of entry where smuggling networks
    attempt to exploit American's legitimate trade, travel, and
    transportation systems; and in communities--large and small--
    throughout the United States where criminal organizations earn
    substantial profits off their illicit activities.
        HSI gathers evidence used to identify and build criminal
    cases against transnational criminal organizations and
    facilitators and other criminal elements that threaten the
    homeland. HSI works with prosecutors to indict and arrest
    violators, execute criminal search warrants, seize criminally
    derived money and assets, and take other actions designed to
    disrupt and dismantle criminal organizations operating around
    the world.
        HSI's unique authority allows us to span the international
    border and collaborate with law enforcement both around the
    world and here in New Hampshire. This empowers HSI to employ a
    holistic strategy that starts with a focus on the foreign
    sourcing of illicit substances and extends to the cities and
    towns across America where the goal is to disrupt and dismantle
    the TCOs who profit from the poisoning of American citizens.
        HSI's international presence is a key facet of its approach
    to countering transnational organized crime. With over 80
    offices in more than 50 countries, HSI develops and fosters
    relationships with host government law enforcement partners to
    exchange information, coordinate and support investigations,
    and facilitate enforcement actions and prosecutions to degrade
    the ability of TCOs to smuggle drugs, people, and other
    contraband into and out of the United States.
        A principal element of this strategy is HSI's Transnational
    Criminal Investigation Program (TCIU), which is comprised of
    vetted foreign law enforcement officials and prosecutors who
    facilitate information exchange and rapid bilateral
    investigations involving violations that fall within HSI's
    broad investigative mandate. HSI has established 11 TCIUs
    around the world, including in Mexico, where our colleagues and
    HSI are particularly focused on disrupting illegal narcotics
    trafficking.
        HSI has a forward leaning approach to identify and mitigate
    threats before they reach our borders by targeting the movement
    of elicit precursor chemicals within commercial air and
    maritime transportation systems. HSI uses a methodology
    developed by special agents and analysts that blends
    interagency collaboration, industry partnerships, and analytic
    tools and techniques to process and analyze large volumes of
    data. These efforts have contributed to shifts in the direct
    sourcing of Chinese fentanyl to the United States and have
    driven the government's focus further toward Mexico's role in
    producing fentanyl and other illicit opioids.
        HSI's efforts continue at the border and within our field
    offices throughout the United States where HSI special agents
    respond to and investigate schemes that manifest themselves in
    various forms such as smuggling incidents at the border;
    referrals from Federal, State and local law enforcement
    partners; sources of information; tip line or social media
    reporting; community relations and public affairs outreach; and
    information gleaned from existing operations.
        HSI New England and our Manchester office take particular
    pride in our network of partnerships which includes agencies
    represented here today by CBP, DEA, New Hampshire State Police,
    and the New Hampshire Attorney General's Office, as well as the
    U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Manchester Police
    Department, Nashua Police Department, Keene Police Department,
    Portsmouth Police Department, and multiple Sheriff's Offices,
    including Merrimack and Strafford counties.
        These partnerships are amplified by the programs such as
    the Office of National Drug Control Policy's (ONDCP) High
    Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) Program which plays a
    critical role in enabling participation by State and local law
    enforcement on Task Forces that are focused on investigating
    the criminal organizations that traffic fentanyl and
    methamphetamine. This comes in the form of funding for overtime
    and vehicles for State and local Task Force officers which
    would otherwise go unfunded.
        Similarly, the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces
    (OCDETF), Program allows HSI special agents and other law
    enforcement partners to collaborate in investigations using our
    unique and far-reaching authorities to make local impacts in
    places like New Hampshire. We have dedicated personnel on 11
    OCDETF colocated Strike Forces, including the Boston OCDETF
    Strike Task Force where HSI recently led several investigations
    that have impacted TCOs who supplied the New England region
    with illicit narcotics.
        HSI's authorities and dynamic approaches to
    counternarcotics allows us to pursue impactful investigations
    and attack all aspects of the organizations responsible for
    this ongoing public health crisis. While our collective efforts
    are executed with diligence and commitment to public safety,
    significant work remains at all levels--internationally, on the
    border, and in our communities. HSI is committed to continuing
    the fight against the opioid epidemic on all fronts and with
    essential partners.
        Thank you again for the opportunity to appear here today
    and for your continued support of HSI and the critical
    investigative role it plays in attacking the fentanyl supply
    chain. I look forward to your questions.
        Senator Hassan. Thank you very much, Special Agent.
        Our second witness today is Assistant Director Michael
    Manning, Assistant Director of Field Operations and Border
    Security for the Boston Field Office of Customs and Border
    Protection. Assistant Director Manning oversees all Border
    Security operations in the New England area including at the
    airports, seaports and land ports of entry in New England and
    New Hampshire. Assistant Director Manning has 20 years of
    experience serving US Customs and Border Protection including
    in counterterrorism, intelligence and Border Security roles.
    Welcome, Assistant Director Manning. You're recognized for your
    opening Statement.

     TESTIMONY OF MICHAEL P. MANNING,\1\ ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FIELD
     OPERATIONS BORDER SECURITY, BOSTON FIELD OFFICE, CUSTOMS AND
        BORDER PROTECTION, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

        Mr. Manning. Chairwoman Hassan, Representative Kuster,
    Representative Pappas. Thank you for the opportunity to appear
    today to discuss U.S. Customs and Border Protection's efforts
    to combat the flow of illicit drugs into New Hampshire
    communities and across the United States.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ The prepared statement of Mr. Manning appears in the Appendix
    on page 47.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        The CBP Office of Field Operations (OFO), Boston Field
    Office, as an area of responsibility that spans six New England
    States and includes 473 miles of coastline, 750 miles of land
    border with Canada, and 63 international ports of entry. Today
    I would first like to highlight drug trends and seizures in the
    region and then discuss CBP's multi-layered enforcement
    approach to countering the drug threat.
        First, as you are aware, the reach and influence of
    Transnational Criminal Organizations continues to expand across
    and beyond our borders. TCOs increasingly demonstrate the
    ability to produce sophisticated synthetic drugs and analogues
    that are difficult to detect and legally enforce.
        They also continually adjust their operations to circumvent
    detection and interdiction by law enforcement by shifting to
    drugs that can be transported in small quantities and improving
    fabrication and concealment techniques.
        Nationwide, CBP seizures of fentanyl have increased
    sharply. In fiscal year (FY) 2021, CBP seized more than 11,000
    pounds of fentanyl, more than twice the weight seized in fiscal
    year 2020 and about four times as much as fiscal year 2019.
        In fiscal year 2021 within the New England region--that is,
    the OFO Boston Field Office Area of Responsibility (AOR) and
    Border Patrol's Swanton and Houlton Sectors--CBP seized more
    than 2.8 tons of illegal drugs, the majority being marijuana,
    but also cocaine, fentanyl and methamphetamine.
        However, for the purpose of this hearing I would like to
    highlight the 264 shipments of narcotics that CBP seized
    destined to New Hampshire during the course of fiscal year
    2021, a 45 percent increase compared to the 181 seizures in
    fiscal year 2020.
        Almost all of these seizures occurred outside the Boston
    Field Office AOR at an Express Consignment Courier (ECC) or
    International Mail Facility (IMF) and most involved
    prescription opioid medication such as Oxycodone, Tramadol or
    Tapentadol.
        CBP recognizes the significant impact opioids and other
    narcotics continue to have on our local communities and has
    implemented an aggressive and strategic enforcement approach
    that leverages partnerships, advance information and
    intelligence, and sophisticated detection and scientific
    laboratory capabilities to combat the cross-border flow of
    drugs and address the trends I just discussed.
        Our partnerships are critical. We work closely with our
    Federal partners, especially U.S. Immigration and Customs
    Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug
    Enforcement Administration, the United States Postal Service
    (USPS), as well as State, local, tribal, and international
    partners to share, inform and collaborate in joint enforcement
    operations to identify, target, and disrupt illicit drug
    activity.
        The authorities and mechanisms that enable CBP to obtain
    advance electronic shipping information are crucial to CBP's
    ability to identify shipments that are potentially at a higher
    risk of obtaining contraband.
        At CBP's National Targeting Center (NTC), this advance data
    and law enforcement and intelligence records converge to
    facilitate the identification of suspect high-risk shipments,
    cargo, and travelers.
        At all CBP operational environments, nonintrusive
    inspection systems efficiently and quickly detect the presence
    of suspect illegal narcotics within shipments, passenger
    belongings, cargo containers, commercial trucks, rail cars and
    privately owned vehicles.
        For narcotics seized through the international mail and at
    express consignment facilities, CBP uses various field-testing
    devices to rapidly screen suspected controlled substances.
        Onsite CBP laboratories and scientists as well as 24/7
    teleforensic reachback service that enables CBP officers to
    submit sample data electronically to CBP scientists facilitate
    swift scientific interpretation and identification of suspected
    narcotics.
        Canine operations are also an invaluable component of our
    counternarcotics operations. The CBP Canine Training Program
    maintains the largest and most diverse law enforcement canine
    training program in the country. Adapting to current treads,
    all Concealed Human and Narcotic Detection canine teams have
    completed training to include the odor of fentanyl and fentanyl
    analogues. All CBP information and laboratory identification
    data are provided to the NTC and our Federal investigative
    partners.
        CBP's enforcement approach not only focuses on efficient
    detection of suspected illicit drugs but also prioritizes swift
    identification of substances and information sharing. It is
    this collaborative approach that leads to investigations,
    prosecutions, and the dismantling of TCO networks and
    operations.
        As the threat of illicit drugs persists in communities
    across the United States, CBP will continue to work with our
    partners, share information, and prioritize and dedicate
    resources to counter TCOs and disrupt the flow of illicit drugs
    that cross our borders.
        Thank you for the opportunity to testify today. I look
    forward to your questions.
        Senator Hassan. Thank you so much.
        Our third witness today is Special Agent Jon DeLena, Deputy
    Special Agent in charge of the New England Field Division
    (NEFD) for the Drug Enforcement Administration. Special Agent
    DeLena has nearly 30 years of law enforcement experience,
    including more than 25 years with the DEA. Special Agent DeLena
    previously served in the DEA's Office of Global Operations and
    in its Office of Special Projects.
        Welcome, Special Agent DeLena. You are recognized for your
    opening statement.

    TESTIMONY OF JON DELENA\1\, DEPUTY SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE, NEW
     ENGLAND FIELD DIVISION, DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION, U.S.
                         DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

        Mr. DeLena. Good morning, Chair Hassan, Congresswoman
    Kuster, and Congressman Pappas. On behalf of the Department of
    Justice (DOJ) and in particular the approximately 9,000
    employees of the Drug Enforcement Administration, it is my
    honor to appear before you here today.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ The prepared statement of Mr. DeLena appears in the Appendix on
    page 55.
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        Today's hearing comes at a critical moment in our country's
    history. Our nation is in the midst of a devastating overdose
    epidemic that claimed the lives of 104,000 people this past
    year. 286 people die every day from drug overdoses and
    countless more overdose victims survive. I speak for all of DEA
    when I say overdose deaths at this rate are devastating
    families, friends, communities, and our entire country.
        I have had the privilege of being a DEA Special Agent for
    26 years, having worked in Colorado, Florida, Virginia, and of
    course New England, covering Connecticut, Rhode Island,
    Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont, and my home, New Hampshire.
        As I look back on my career and service to the citizens of
    the United States, the challenges we face with the ongoing
    opioid crisis along with the sophistication, capacity, and
    global reach of the Mexican polydrug cartels is what worries
    and concerns me the most.
        As the Deputy Special Agent in charge of the New England
    Field Division, I have seen firsthand the extreme lawlessness
    and other atrocities committed by Mexican cartels to maintain
    their dominant market in New Hampshire and throughout New
    England. The ruthlessness of these cartels combined with the
    callous greed is destroying families and communities resulting
    in an increase of violence and crime here in the Granite State
    and throughout our entire country.
        Dangerous and highly sophisticated cartels operating in
    both Mexico and the United States have been and will likely
    continue to be the most significant source of illicit narcotics
    trafficked into and throughout New Hampshire.
        As you well know though, illicit fentanyl is devastating
    New England one person at a time. Fentanyl originating in
    Mexico led the DEA to issue a public safety alert to raise
    public awareness that Mexican cartels are putting fentanyl into
    pills to look like legitimate pharmaceutical medications. This
    cartel strategy results in people believing they are getting
    the legitimate prescription drug. Sadly, it has become so
    deadly.
        If that isn't tragic enough, fentanyl isn't the only drug
    that we are encountering in these fake pills. There has been a
    vast increase in the availability of Mexican-sourced
    methamphetamine. This increase is largely attributed to an
    increase in fake pills designed to look like Adderall pills
    which have been popular especially on college campuses and
    throughout circles of young Americans.
        New Hampshire State Police report a more than 7-fold
    increase in the volume of meth cases from 2015 to 2021. Clearly
    our challenges, especially with deadly fake pills, are immense.
    This calculated move from plant-derived drugs to chemically
    derived synthetic drugs has become a game changer. It has
    created a limitless supply of fentanyl and methamphetamine. As
    a result these drugs are flooding our communities in record
    amounts.
        The model of the drug cartels right now is simple.
    Relentless expansion and addiction. They simply don't care if
    Americans die. They only want to reach more Americans in
    unprecedented ways. This is a moment in time, our moment where
    we have to do everything we can to reverse this deadly trend.
        DEA is committed to removing as many drugs as possible from
    our communities but we are also dedicated to engaging the
    public to help keep our communities safe and healthy. This is
    why DEA launched the One Pill Can Kill (OPCK) initiative. This
    campaign is a multi-faceted approach to remove deadly
    counterfeit pills from the streets while also engaging the
    community to help prevent further harm caused by these deadly
    pills.
        This campaign has yielded tremendous results throughout New
    Hampshire and the entire country. Over 20 million fake pills
    were seized nationally in 2021. This campaign was a full court
    press to get the word out and inform parents about how their
    kids may also be able to buy fake pills on the internet and via
    social media apps. Our website DEA.gov has resources for
    parents and educators and provides information on how to detect
    if your child may be using drugs and strategies on how to
    intervene. Programs such as these have been an invaluable tool
    in the fight against opioids here in New Hampshire.
        We have also been working to get the word out to New
    Hampshire youth. Last fall I, along with Administrator Milgram,
    participated in a Virtual Youth Summit with middle and high
    school students throughout New Hampshire. In collaboration with
    several of our tremendous prevention partners here in the
    Granite State, we ensured that the focus of this Summit was to
    educate about the dangers of drugs and the benefits of healthy
    living.
        Working together we can accomplish a lot when it comes to
    keeping our children safe and healthy. We reached over 15,000
    students that day. This also followed the nation's first ever
    Opioid SUMMIT which we conducted in 2017 bringing over 8,000
    students into the Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU)
    arena to deliver that same critical message.
        I am passionate about our work with prevention, outreach,
    and young leaders and I will never stop doing that.
        Make no mistake, no matter the challenge, DEA will never
    stop aggressively pursuing the most dangerous and prolific
    criminals trafficking in illicit drugs throughout our
    communities. While this is a situation where the cartels are
    driving the drug crisis and building new drug markets and new
    users, we will not tire in our resolve to keep the children of
    our communities safe and drug free.
        Thank you for the opportunity to testify before the
    Subcommittee here today on this very important issue, and I
    look forward to your questions.
        Senator Hassan. Thank you very much, Special Agent. Now we
    will turn to Commander Ellen Arcieri, Commander of the New
    Hampshire Attorney General's (AG) Drug Task Force. Commander
    Arcieri oversees the 20 Drug Task Force Investigators assigned
    to four regional teams covering designated geographical areas
    of New Hampshire. Commander Arcieri most recently served as the
    Chief of the Brentwood Police Department and has 35 years of
    law enforcement experience.
        Welcome, Commander. You are recognized for your opening
    statement.

      TESTIMONY OF ELLEN M. ARCIERI,\1\ COMMANDER, NEW HAMPSHIRE
    ATTORNEY GENERAL'S DRUG TASK FORCE, NEW HAMPSHIRE DEPARTMENT OF
                                JUSTICE

        Mr. Arcieri. Thank you and good morning, ladies and
    gentlemen of the Subcommittee. My name is Ellen Arcieri, and I
    presently hold the Commander of the New Hampshire Attorney
    General's Drug Task Force. The Drug Task Force was created in
    1986 under the Attorney General's office as a statewide
    multijurisdictional effort to combat the increasing effects
    illicit drugs were having on the State of New Hampshire and to
    investigate violations of the New Hampshire controlled drug
    act.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ The prepared statement of Ms. Arcieri appears in the Appendix
    on page 62.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        The Drug Task Force is made up of investigators from the
    AG's Office and police officers from local, county, and State
    Police departments. These departments will lend police officers
    to the Drug Task Force for a period of several years in an
    effort to combat the drug crisis occurring in their
    communities.
        In exchange, these departments receive funding from the
    Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) to assist in
    backfilling the Department's positions left vacant. Presently,
    the Drug Task Force has four regional teams servicing central,
    western, and northern sections of New Hampshire. These teams
    comprise 13 Drug Task Force officers from other police
    departments and three New Hampshire Attorney General
    investigators to include the Commander, Deputy Commander, and a
    New Hampshire Attorney General criminal investigator.
        To meet the demands and mission of the New Hampshire
    Attorney General's Drug Task Force the following goals were
    created fairly recently. First is to combat the proliferation
    of illegal narcotics by concentrating enforcement in a
    multiagency, multijurisdictional task force that focuses on the
    distribution and sale of street level illegal narcotics.
        Second, increase collaboration with New Hampshire State
    Police, the DEA, HIDTA, the Federal Bureau of Investigation
    (FBI), and other State, local, and Federal partners to maximize
    resources.
        Third, focus on communities in need of a drug enforcement
    presence. The top priority are towns and communities with no
    investigative presence due to a critical shortage of personnel
    and resources. Top priority to the towns and communities that
    have dedicated personnel to the drug task force. Investigations
    that have potential to develop into long-term, large scale drug
    investigations involving other State jurisdictions, the DTF
    will work collaboratively with agencies tasked with working
    such investigations. These agencies include but are not limited
    to the New Hampshire State Police, DEA, HIDTA, FBI, Immigration
    and Customs Enforcement, Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms (ATF),
    just to name a few of the Federal agencies.
        As previously mentioned, one of the goals of the New
    Hampshire Attorney General's Drug Task Force is working
    collaboratively with numerous agencies. The most recent example
    of this cooperation was an investigation initiated by the Drug
    Task Force. That was advanced to the next level working
    deliberately with DEA, HIDTA, FBI, and the New Hampshire State
    Police. This investigation began with undercover purchases of
    methamphetamine and fentanyl from street level to mid-level
    drug traffickers in central New Hampshire. Through extensive
    investigative efforts, this investigation was advanced to an
    electronic T3 also known as a wiretap investigation resulting
    in the dismantling of an organization distributing large
    quantities of methamphetamine, fentanyl, and cocaine.
        This organization spanned the States of Massachusetts, New
    Hampshire, Rhode Island, Maine, and ties to the Mexican drug
    cartels. To accomplish such investigations takes additional
    funding for personnel and equipment as well as continued
    communication with contributing agencies. The funding for this
    investigation was a three-tiered effort between the New
    Hampshire Attorney General's Office, the New Hampshire State
    Police, and DEA.
        The needs for the New Hampshire Attorney General's Task
    Force. In 2022 the Drug Task Force received funding through the
    COPS Anti-Heroin Task Force program. This funding will enable
    the Drug Task Force to purchase essential equipment, training,
    and overtime for officers and investigators to perform their
    duties more effectively.
        However, the most pressing need for the DTF is funding for
    additional grant positions as well as increasing the total
    amount per grant annually. Presently, the New Hampshire
    Attorney General's Drug Task Force will provide $60,000
    annually to a police department who furnishes the DTF with an
    investigator. This amount does not adequately cover the average
    cost of salary, benefits, training, and equipment. Simply put,
    this amount does not cover the cost to backfill the vacant
    officer's position, resulting in police departments unable to
    provide an officer to the DTF. Furthermore, because of the
    critical shortage of law enforcement in New Hampshire, the
    majority of police departments cannot provide support due to
    the need of provide coverage and services to their own
    communities. In closing, the optimum situation for the Drug
    Task Force would be to, number 1, continue to receive Federal
    funding through the COPS Anti-Heroin grant to sustain the
    essential needs of equipment, overtime, and training for our
    mission; and number 2, to receive sustained additional funding
    to increase the number of DTF grant positions available as well
    as increase the annual amount per grant. In closing, I would
    like to thank everyone on the panel for allowing me the
    opportunity to educate you on the New Hampshire Attorney
    General's Drug Task Force mission as well as our recent
    successes and present challenges that we have shared with our
    State and Federal partners.
        Senator Hassan. Thank you very much, Commander. Our final
    witness today is Major Joseph Ebert, Commander of the
    Investigative Services Bureau of the New Hampshire State
    Police.
        As Commander of the Investigative Services Bureau, Major
    Ebert oversees several investigative terms for the New
    Hampshire State Police including the Narcotics Investigation
    Unit (NIU) and the Terrorism Intelligence Unit (TIU) which both
    play an important role in investigating drug trafficking in the
    Granite State. Major Ebert has 20 years of experience with the
    New Hampshire State Police.
        Welcome, Major. You are recognized for your opening
    statement.

    TESTIMONY OF JOSEPH M. EBERT,\1\ MAJOR, INVESTIGATIVE SERVICES
              BUREAU COMMANDER, NEW HAMPSHIRE STATE POLICE

        Major Ebert. Good morning. As was mentioned, my name is
    Joseph Ebert. I am a Major with the State Police overseeing the
    Investigative Services Bureau which is your Detectives from the
    New Hampshire State Police. As part of that position I oversee
    both the Narcotics Investigations Unit and the Terrorism and
    Intelligence Unit. Both of those units are significantly
    involved in the challenge of stemming the tide of illegal drugs
    into New Hampshire, and by proxy to rates of associated crime,
    injury, and death that results from the presence of those drugs
    in our communities.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ The prepared statement of Mr. Ebert appears in the Appendix on
    page 65.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Members of the State Police NIU are tasked with complex
    undercover narcotics investigations, the management of
    confidential informants, and the coordination of case
    investigations with numerous law enforcement partners. The TIU
    via personnel assigned to the New Hampshire Information and
    Analysis Center (NHIAC) are tasked with things like the
    exchange of narcotics information and intelligence.
        The State of New Hampshire via the Information and Analysis
    Center has led the way in drug information exchange and
    intelligence exchange both regionally and nationally. The
    Center produces a monthly product that has been nationally
    recognized known as the Drug Monitoring Initiative (DMI) which
    provides data that is used across our societal spectrum for
    stakeholders dealing with the effects of illegal narcotics.
    This product has played a pivotal role in informing
    policymakers, guiding resources, and identifying areas of dire
    concern.
        The DMI would not be possible without the collaboration of
    numerous law enforcement and civilian partners from all levels
    of government and civilian communities. The NHIAC also supports
    the needs of sworn law enforcement agencies who are tasked with
    the enforcement of narcotics laws. Specifically, the NHIAC
    provides strategic analysis, case support, and intelligence
    exchange related to narcotics investigations.
        The Center has employees from agencies including but not
    limited to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department
    of Homeland Security, the High Intensity Drug Trafficking
    program, and several more. The NHIAC also benefits from several
    Federal grant programs, the Homeland Security Grant Program
    (HSGP), the Emergency Management and Preparedness Grant Program
    (EMPG) which respectively support the employment of local law
    enforcement and State analysts within the center.
        I want to highlight the value of the HSGP program in
    particular because it funds local law enforcement officers
    within the NHIAC who work with Intelligence Liaison Officers
    (ILO). The local relationships and knowledge that each ILO
    brings to the center is an invaluable resource to the
    intelligence collection and dissemination process within the
    State.
        The State Police Narcotics Investigations Unit has an
    incredibly dangerous job. However, they do not work
    unilaterally. Members of the NIU are assigned to various State
    and Federal task forces to include the FBI's Major Offender
    Task Force, the DEA's HIDTA Task Force, and the New Hampshire
    Attorney General's Task Force as well as the United States
    Postal Inspectors Task Force. The State Police is involved with
    Federal Task Forces because they act as a force multiplier and
    because they increase the communication and information
    exchange among all levels of law enforcement.
        The State of New Hampshire has limited resources, and as a
    result collaboration isn't just a concept but a necessity. The
    State Police has forged tremendously strong relationships
    within the law enforcement community that are all directed
    toward increasing the safety of New Hampshire residents and
    those who visit our State.
        The State Police NIU has been incredibly privileged to be
    the recipient of Federal grants and State grants. On the State
    level, the State Police receives funding through Operation
    Granite Shield which not only funds drug enforcement but also
    encourages joint enforcement operations. At the Federal level
    the State Police NIU has received funding from the COPS Anti-
    Heroin Task Force Grants which have provided resources that
    would otherwise likely have not been attainable.
        We believe here in New Hampshire we have created a
    successful model for drug enforcement which consists of
    collaboration, dedication, and unity in the goal of protecting
    our communities and preserving life.
        Recently, this model for success was again exhibited by the
    New Hampshire law enforcement community, led by the Colonel of
    the New Hampshire State Police with the creation of the
    statewide methamphetamine enforcement incentive. The same model
    used to combat opiates was applied to the emerging trends of
    methamphetamine, and many similar gains have been seen.
        The State Police is proud of our enforcement and
    intelligence exchange efforts. However, we know that the
    successes and gains we have made in protecting society from the
    ills of narcotics are in large part only possible because of
    our partners and the support we received in the form of grant
    funding.
        I have been honored to speak this morning about the many
    progressive and successful drug enforcement efforts that the
    State Police and the State of New Hampshire law enforcement
    community currently participate in.
        It is truly important to my agency and me that each Member
    of this committee and anyone who hears this testimony
    understands that the New Hampshire State Police will always
    strive to improve the safety of our residents and our visitors,
    and further, we will continue to work toward carrying on the
    honorable traditions of the State Police that so many troopers
    in our history have sacrificed so much to uphold.
        With that, I thank you for the opportunity to testify, and
    I look forward to your questions.
        Senator Hassan. Thank you so much, Major. What we are going
    to do now is allow each of us rounds of questions. As I look at
    our timing, we have good time so this committee does 7-minute
    rounds of questions. We should be able to do at least a couple
    of rounds. I will ask you all to try to be relatively brief in
    your answers because we will be able to come back, and my hope
    is that at the end of the hearing to give you each an
    opportunity for any kind of closing comment you want to make.
    If something occurs to you and a question has not been directed
    right at you, you will get a chance to make the point, but also
    feel free to raise your hand if you want to add something.
        Let me start with a question to Special Agent Millhollin
    and Special Agent DeLena. You both discussed security along our
    Southern Border and how it affects communities in New
    Hampshire. Transnational Criminal Organizations operating out
    of Mexico smuggle drugs over the Southern Border before they
    are distributed across the country. What are Homeland Security
    Investigations and DEA doing to stop manufacturing of drugs
    such as fentanyl in Mexico? Are there particular challenges
    that you are encountering that Congress may be able to help
    alleviate?
        We will start with you, Special Agent Millhollin.
        Mr. Millhollin. Thank you for that question, and thank you,
    Chairwoman, for all your efforts to support HSI and efforts to
    support law enforcement throughout the years. We appreciate
    that.
        Senator Hassan. Thank you.
        Mr. Millhollin. As I spoke a little bit in my opening
    statement, HSI has over 80 offices in more than 50 countries.
    One of those offices is in Mexico. It is our largest overseas
    office. I had the pleasure of serving there for 4 years and
    overseeing not only our office in Mexico City but 7 outlying
    offices there which as you can imagine has a lot of
    difficulties that comes with it.
        One of the main ways that we work there is through our
    Transnational Criminal Investigative Units. These are vetted
    units provided by the Mexican government. They are local
    investigators that work directly with us on investigations of
    joint interest of the United States and Mexico. We recruit
    those folks. They come into our office. We train them, we send
    them to the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Georgia.
    We bring them back to Mexico after that extensive training and
    put them to work, fund them, and equip them with the things
    they need to do that.
        One of the unique ways that HSI works these types of cases
    is we really come in from a financial angle. We know and a lot
    of my colleagues say we can not interdict or seize our way out
    of this problem. We really have to attack those financial
    networks, take out the assets that these drug cartels have to
    really affect them. We do that through our vetted units in
    Mexico. We have had a lot of luck with that over the years.
        One area that we could really maybe use a little bit of
    help in is being able to pay those vetted unit members a salary
    supplement. Obviously, they come from agencies where they do
    not make a lot of money. To incentivize them to come over to
    our agency, to be able to recruit and retain the brightest
    folks from there would be very useful to us. Thank you for your
    question.
        Senator Hassan. Thank you. Special Agent DeLena.
        Mr. DeLena. Thank you, Madam Chair. It is obvious that the
    work in Mexico is vital to everything that is happening
    throughout the United States. It is the goal of DEA always to
    try to map these networks to take these investigations
    literally from Mexico to Main Street, and that's our goal every
    single time.
        We have a lot of challenges. The assistance that we could
    always seek is enhanced cooperation and collaboration with the
    Mexican government to build up our special investigative units
    as Mr. Millhollin talked about on the HSI front. We need to be
    able to collaborate with the Mexican military, the Mexican
    government, and Mexican law enforcement to be able to fully
    enhance these investigations as far as we can. What we are
    doing now in all 11 offices throughout Mexico is trying to
    target the highest level violators within the Sinaloa cartel
    and Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) who ultimately are
    impacting the East Coast of the United States more than anybody
    right here in New Hampshire as well. It is those drugs that are
    ending up in all of our communities, and that is what we need
    to work to put a stop to.
        Senator Hassan. Thank you very much. This is a question to
    Assistant Director Manning. We have heard that a lot of the
    drugs and other contraband smuggled into the country are
    smuggling through ports of entry. Can you elaborate on how
    Customs and Border Protection targets and inspects cargo
    vehicles and passengers that it believes may be smuggling drugs
    across the border?
        Mr. Manning. CBP uses a multilayered enforcement approach
    to securing the borders. Using enhanced communication with our
    foreign and our local law enforcement, we use comprehensive
    training programs for our frontline officers and canines, and
    then we use the use of emerging technology to really put the
    best tools foward for our officers.
        We essentially look at the needle in a haystack. We deal
    with 490,000 passenger pedestrians a day and 98,000 trucks a
    day. What we are trying to do is use all those tools and
    resources to stop the nefarious actors, and let the lawful
    passengers and traffic and go through.
        It is critical for us that we need to look at our
    adversaries are continually getting better. They have unlimited
    resources. We have to look at the ports of the future. What's
    our goals and desires to get to have a modern port of entry and
    protect our borders. Currently we scan approximately 2 percent
    of all passenger vehicles and 15 percent of commercial
    vehicles.
        With modern technology and the support of Congress, we will
    be able to get to 40 percent and 70 percent by 2023. We need to
    look at the comprehensive modern port in the future, how we can
    really move that forward and in that time.
        Senator Hassan. Great. Are you able to do research about
    developing new technologies and solutions to interdict drugs
    that are crossing the border including drugs concealed on
    people? Do you have resources to kind of do the research and
    think ahead of the curve a bit?
        Mr. Manning. Yes, ma'am. We currently are piloting some
    technology in multiple places that is for actually looking at
    pedestrians. We are still piloting that right now and we are
    assessing the operational value of it. As far as our
    intelligence groups, we are continually working with our State
    and local partners to really get and to maximize the impact of
    our seizures. We can't seize our way out of this. We have to go
    after the networks. Every CBP seizure is an opportunity for our
    law enforcement partners to make a case and to take down a TCO
    and take down a gang.
        Senator Hassan. Thank you. I am going to yield the rest of
    my time and ask Congresswoman Kuster to start her rounds of
    questions.
        Mr. Kuster. Thank you, Senator Hassan, and thank you again
    for convening this incredibly important, fascinating but
    chilling presentation.
        I want to begin my remarks by thanking all of the Members
    and witnesses today for the discussion thus far on efforts to
    stop the flow of illicit drugs into the Granite State. In the
    recent final report from the Commission on Combatting Synthetic
    Opioid Trafficking, the Commission weighed the need to include
    a stronger understanding of the demand for opioids as a
    critical factor that attracts illegal suppliers. Congress
    established this commission to examine the causes of the influx
    of synthetic opioids to understand how to reduce the
    trafficking of the drugs and to identify solutions to mitigate
    a worsening overdose death crisis.
        The report concluded, and I quote, the supply of illicit
    fentanyl cannot be permanently stopped through enforcement
    alone, and a number of you have said we won't confiscate our
    way out of this. Only temporarily disruptive before another
    cartel, another trafficking method or analogue steps in to fill
    the market that addiction creates. The United States and
    Mexican efforts can disrupt the flow of synthetic opioids
    across the U.S. borders, but, and I emphasize, real progress
    can come only by pairing illicit synthetic opioid supply
    disruption with decreasing the domestic U.S. demand for these
    drugs.
        Ultimately, it is nearly impossible to reduce the
    availability of synthetic opioids through efforts solely
    focused on supply. In fact, it is the pull of demand that
    continues to drive supply. That is why I introduced the Stop
    Fentanyl Act which supports a comprehensive public health and
    safety approach to the epidemic through improved data sharing,
    investments in affordable fentanyl detection devices, and
    Department of Justice Forensic Laboratory Grants, policies that
    would improve access to overdose reversal drugs and to
    medication assistant treatment.
        Let me start with Ms. Arcieri. I appreciate that in your
    testimony you quoted Grafton County Attorney Hornick who
    stated, while we certainly cannot incarcerate our out of the
    opioid crisis, if we hold accountable those who prey on the
    addicted, we can hopefully start making progress in this fight.
        I could not agree more. We are not going to incarcerate out
    of the crisis. Much of our conversation this morning has
    appropriately focused on law enforcement and disrupting the
    supply of illicit drugs, but I would like to take this
    opportunity to look at the criminal justice system more broadly
    and discuss its role in reducing demand.
        As a second wave of the epidemic flooded our communities
    with heroin, Sullivan County here in New Hampshire was faced
    with incredibly high recidivism rates and an overcrowded jail.
    The Superintendent there had a decision to make. Spend $42
    million of taxpayer funds on building a new jail or 7 million
    to bring treatment into the existing jail. He decided on the
    latter, bringing medication-assisted treatment and mental
    health services into the jail to help those battling substance
    abuse disorder.
        Importantly, this approach also included social supports
    for the individuals for a year following their release, whether
    it be relocation services, job training, child care, snow
    tires, to enable them to continue on with their lives. This was
    a critical piece to ensuring the success of the justice
    involved. The result of bringing health care into the jail was
    a drop in the recidivism rate in Sullivan County from 54
    percent to 18 percent. By offering treatment and addressing the
    demand for illicit drugs, the cycle of addiction and
    incarceration ended. This approach saved lives and importantly
    saved taxpayer dollars.
        It was a similar situation when I visited the Concord
    Women's Prison right before Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
    started. The majority of incarcerated woman in New Hampshire
    suffered from addiction, and one thing that I learned that day,
    100 percent of the inmates suffered from, and are victims of
    trauma--75 percent sexual assault, 25 percent domestic violence
    or abuse and neglect in their childhood. Though the prison is
    able to provide medication-assisted treatment for substance use
    disorder, greater investments in health care and coordinated
    support to ensure successful re-entry is key to breaking this
    cycle.
        This is the crux of the issue for me on the treatment side.
    Over 50 years ago, 1965, the Medicaid program was established.
    It did not allow for coverage of the justice-involved
    population. There is an exclusion. On the day a person enters
    into incarceration, they lose their health care coverage. Maybe
    in 1965 that assumption made sense. There would be an infirmary
    in the jail. They could fix a broken arm, give you Tylenol for
    headache, but that's not the case today as we face this
    addiction epidemic.
        The Medicaid Inmate exclusion is a Draconian policy that
    hurts those with substance abuse disorder, mental illness, and
    trauma who cycle in and out of our justice system at great
    expense to our society. There are currently 7 States who have
    applied for waivers to expand care to justice-involved
    individuals and my legislation will repeal the exclusion policy
    for every State and end this outdated policy that's fueling the
    cycle of addiction and incarceration.
        Again, Ms. Arcieri, thank you for your testimony today
    outlining some of the alternative programs to incarceration.
    Could you discuss what programs in the justice system you have
    been successful in supporting those struggling with substance
    use disorder and thereby reducing demand for illicit drugs.
    What have you seen work here in New Hampshire?
        Ms. Arcieri. I believe you are going off a different
    statement that I submitted, but----
        Ms. Kuster. I am sorry.
        Ms. Arcieri. That is quite all right if I can get to that.
    I do talk about that statement.
        I think to answer the question I talked about some of the
    alternative programs in that initial statement, and in theory,
    it's much needed. The issue that we have seen on a State level
    are the amount of times that someone is arrested and convicted
    and receiving suspended sentences. I can use an example of,
    from that initial statement that I had.
        Ms. Kuster. Are they able to get access to treatment or no?
        Ms. Arcieri. Yes, but they are still offending while they
    are in that program, in similar programs. When an offender
    continues to repeat offend, not just two times, three times and
    four times, there is no level of accountability, there's no
    deterrence with the repeat offenders, and what I'm advocating
    for is when we were encountering that situation that we hold
    them more accountable, and if that means that they are going to
    be incarcerated in either county jail or State prison and they
    have access to those programs, then that's successful or
    potentially can be successful.
        The issue with deterrence especially with what we do when
    we work with what we call informants, back in the days 10, 15
    years ago, there was a level of deterrence. When someone was
    arrested, they would cooperate with law enforcement in an
    active capacity, and there is no level there now. On what we do
    on the ground level, we need confidential informants or sources
    to provide us intelligence and information and also active in
    cooperation. Whether that's an individual making buys or
    introducing an undercover, that's simply not there so we don't
    have the intelligence and the active cooperation that we once
    did.
        What ends up happening is we start falling back on other
    investigative needs that are not as effective.
        Senator Hassan. Thank you. I am going to move on to
    Congressman Pappas now for his first round of questions.
        Mr. Pappas. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you again to our
    panel for your comments here today. I think many of you touched
    on the picture of in terms of substances coming into this
    country, coming into New Hampshire, is every changing. If we
    talked about 10 years ago, you might have been more focused on
    heroin. We know now that the focus is on fentanyl analogues,
    and meth among other substances, pills, and the way that it's
    getting here obviously continues to change and evolve.
        I wanted to zero in on the issue of fentanyl analogues and
    the legislation around permanent scheduling and maybe I could
    throw it open to the panel about why this tool will be
    important for law enforcement to be able to respond to this
    threat. We know that fentanyl and its analogues are a hundred
    times more potent than morphine. Clearly they are deadly
    substances that we can't tolerate. I am wondering if you can
    comment on the effort to achieve permanent scheduling for those
    analogues.
        Mr. DeLena. Sure, Congressman. I will jump in first. As I
    stated in my statement, 104,000 Americans died this past year
    of a drug overdose, 65 percent of which were attributed to
    fentanyl. We need to be able to move fast and fluidly. As you
    just said in your question, if we were here years ago, we may
    have been talking about prescription opioids, legitimate
    prescription opioids, and then fentanyl and then heroin, heroin
    mixed with fentanyl. It is constantly evolving. It is
    constantly changing. We, too, all of us here on this panel need
    to be able to move equally as fast as the criminal cartels do.
        As I said, their model is expansion and addiction. They
    have pushed drugs like crystal methamphetamine which was
    predominantly a West Coast drug to the East Coast. They have
    now pushed fentanyl which was an East Coast drug to the West
    Coast.
        We are seeing that, that expansion. We need to be able to
    respond in realtime to these ever changing analogues that they
    put forward so that's why it would be critically important for
    us here. Thank you.
        Mr. Manning. Going off of the realtime and the need for
    this to be as quickly as possible, we have deployed mobile
    operating labs in our mail facilities and in our largest border
    crossings so we can quickly and swiftly identify these
    substances and analogues and get them over to our investigative
    partners so they can start the cases on it. So yes.
        Mr. Pappas. Thanks very much. Maybe I could ask our State
    folks this question. Obviously, we have a number of individuals
    from local law enforcement represented here today. Can you talk
    about the interaction, we talked about partnership and
    collaboration and all the Task Forces that you all are a part
    of. Can you talk about the role that local law enforcement can
    play in these efforts and how we communicate with local law
    enforcement from the Federal level on down and if you feel like
    that's adequate and is working so that they understand at the
    street level and the community level how that threat is
    evolving and how they can be an important partner.
        Mr. Ebert. Congressman, I would be happy to try and answer
    that question. The first in terms of communication, a great
    deal of the communication that comes from the Federal
    Government is shared with our local partners through our Fusion
    Center, and I think it would be best to ask the local law
    enforcement themselves if they feel like they are getting that
    message clearly, but I certainly hope that they are, and that's
    a goal of us at the Fusion Center.
        In terms of our collaboration and cooperation with our
    local agencies, it is an invaluable resource. As I mentioned in
    my statement, we cannot conduct at the State level the
    enforcement efforts in dealing with narcotics that we need to
    in communities without the local knowledge first. The local
    police officers are often aware of the players who are involved
    as well as the areas that are areas of concern. Without that
    knowledge and without involving the local agencies, we simply
    can't get to where we need to be with enforcing the laws.
        Mr. Pappas. Thank you. Commander.
        Ms. Arcieri. On that note, too, as far as collaboration
    with the local law enforcement, I can use an example here. We
    have and throughout the State they have Chiefs meetings, if you
    will, or County Association meetings between the different law
    enforcement Police Chiefs and the Sheriffs in the community,
    and those are held monthly, sometimes every other month, and
    issues are discussed during that time with was what's going on
    in that community, in that county, whether it's personnel
    staffing, intelligence, legislative updates, legal updates, and
    so on and so forth, that kind of keeps us in the loop.
        In addition to that there's intelligence meetings for those
    different regions. A most recent example would be our Coos
    County where they had an intelligence meeting sponsored by
    State Police, and our DTF were able to get surveillance out on
    this individual that was threatening law enforcement. They
    communicated with local law enforcement, they were able to
    apprehend this individual after a high speed pursuit and take
    that individual into custody that had numerous firearms in the
    vehicle and also on his person. There's an example of how that
    information gets shared.
        Being a recent Police Chief myself in a small town, in
    Brentwood, what I found and I know that a lot of police chiefs
    in the area will probably say the same thing I'm about to tell
    you is that we are strapped with a critical shortage of law
    enforcement and constant turnover. One, because it takes a lot
    to be in this profession, and two, a lot of them are not able
    to be eligible to be in the profession. They can't get past the
    background investigation. They might not be able to pass a
    physical agility test. They might not be able to pass the oral
    board, the psychological examination, the polygraph, all that
    goes into it just to get in the door. Then we send them off to
    the Academy for 16 weeks, and we hope that they are able to
    sustain that. They come back to a small agency where they are
    paid $22 an hour to start and the average age is 21, 22, and we
    put them out there in the field training program as best as we
    can. We do the best job that we can with the training with the
    resources that we have.
        We put them through an extensive field training program and
    then when we get past that we put them out working midnight
    shifts because that's what they start out doing. We wish we had
    more supervision and mentoring, but we are so short-staffed
    that we don't have that available. We are asking these young
    officers to perform in highly critical crisis situations.
        I will use an example, when I was the Chief, I hired an
    individual when he was 22 years old. I swore him in which was
    great, was a very exciting time for him and his family, and his
    mother turned to me and said please keep him safe. I cannot
    tell you the awesome responsibility that resonated with me.
        Since that time he's had to cover suicides, he's had to
    administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) as I have myself
    as a Police Chief if you just don't have the resources out
    there.
        You are the first responders reacting and responding to
    highly critical situations with domestics, assaults, mental
    health issues, and overdose epidemics. In the span of one year,
    that's what that officer has been exposed to. That is the
    plight of working in a small town in a local agency in the
    State of New Hampshire and probably nationwide.
        Mr. Pappas. Thank you for that perspective and sharing the
    important work that local law enforcement do here in New
    Hampshire. We are so grateful for it, and it's an important
    piece of this overall conversation. I will yield back so we can
    get to another round.
        Senator Hassan. Thank you, Congressman, and just a note to
    thank all of you, both State and Federal, but also all our
    local law enforcement for the extraordinary work you do in very
    difficult circumstances.
        I want to start my round with a question to Special Agents
    DeLena and Millhollin and Major Ebert. Parts of the drug trade
    have migrated to the internet, both through social media and on
    the dark web. I recently introduced a bipartisan bill with
    Senator Cornyn, the Dark Web Interdiction Act, which aims to
    strengthen the ability to go after drug trafficking on the dark
    web and increase penalties for using the dark web to sell
    deadly drugs.
        How are DEA, Homeland Security Investigations, and the New
    Hampshire State Police tackling the growing problem of the
    online drug trade and what more can Congress do to help, and we
    will start with you, Special Agent Millhollin.
        Mr. Millhollin. Thank you for that question, and thank you
    for that bill you introduced. I think that's going to be a
    really good thing.
        I think we combat this in a couple different ways. We have
    really unique undercover authorities through HSI to combat all
    cybercrime. The rise in the dark web is obviously one of those
    and one of those we are tracking very closely. We have several
    groups we are standing up throughout the United States that are
    targeting the dark crime exclusively, and as you know all
    transactions pretty much that happen on the dark web are with
    cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrency is increasingly coming into our
    investigations as something we are tracking. As far as many
    money laundering it's very difficult.
        To be able to recruit and retain the right people to work
    those types of investigations is a whole different applicant
    pool than we have ever looked into in the last 20 years. Being
    able to bring those people over, it's been tough, and that's
    something that we have been looking at is if we can get some
    kind of cyber incentive pay to bring those people over and make
    sure we are recruiting the best people from the private sector
    to do that.
        One other thing that I bring up with cryptocurrency is
    every country in the world has different regulations on how
    they handle cryptocurrency, United States as well, and so
    trying to streamline all those together is increasingly
    difficult to make significant investigations and inroads into
    those transnational criminal organizations.
        One way that we can possibly help tie those together is
    through some kind of global regulatory type of standards so
    that we could all start on the same level playing field. Then
    finally I would invite you to come down and see our Cyber
    Crimes Center in Fairfax, Virginia. It is a huge state-of-the-
    art facility where you can kind of see what we are doing on the
    front line of the dark net right now.
        Senator Hassan. Thank you very much. Special Agent DeLena.
        Mr. DeLena. Thank you, Madam Hassan. Thank you for the
    question.
        As I mentioned in my statement, DEA launched the One Pill
    Can Kill initiative. A major part of that was trying to raise
    awareness to the drugs that were being sold on the internet and
    using social media apps that many children are commonly using
    every single day and buying pills that were unfortunately laced
    with fentanyl and in some cases, methamphetamine. But it's not
    just young people that are using that. Many Americans are going
    online to try to buy drugs at a cheaper price, prescription
    drugs that they may need. At the end of the day, they are being
    fooled as to what they end up getting. DEA's Special Operations
    Division, which is based in Virginia, works with all agencies
    throughout the government and many local partners as well to
    try to expand the investigations that we are doing domestically
    and internationally. Obviously, we would like to host you there
    at any time to get in and see exactly what's going on inside
    the Special Operations Division.
        With over 71 nations and 91 different cities represented by
    DEA, it's imperative that all of us are enhancing our cyber
    capabilities, but this, too, as Special Agent Millhollin
    mentioned is difficult. It is not easy to attract the right
    applicants at all times and to be able to train them. We also
    need the equipment to be able to keep up with these billion
    dollar cartels who don't have those challenges or those
    difficulties. They get the best equipment when they want it and
    in the government, sometimes that can be a challenge.
        Senator Hassan. For sure. Major.
        Mr. Ebert. Thank you for the question, Senator. At the
    State level, we found our greatest level of success in
    combatting dark web purchases from partnering with our Federal
    partners. Most notably, the Drug Enforcement Agency but also
    more recently the United States Postal Inspection Service.
        It is very important to highlight that although the
    procedure in which drugs are purchased on the dark web is
    incredibly difficult to track down, those drugs have to make
    their way into our country in one mechanism or another. We
    found that trying to interdict them at the shipping point can
    be successful. We have assigned troopers to that Task Force in
    hopes that will stem the tide of illegal drugs that are coming
    through dark web purchases.
        Senator Hassan. Thank you, and that leads into my next
    question because I was going to ask Assistant Director Manning
    and Special Agent Millhollin about the work you are all doing
    with the Postal Service as well because we know that Customs
    border Protection and Homeland Security Investigations work
    with the Postal Inspection Service. Can you talk about your
    work with the Postal Service and private sector partners to
    investigate and disrupt drug trafficking facilitated by mail or
    parcel delivery, and are there additional resources or data
    sources you need to more effectively target and interdict drugs
    trafficked through the mail and express delivery services?
        We will start with you, Assistant Director Manning, and
    then go to Special Agent Millhollin.
        Mr. Manning. We work hand in hand with the Postal Service.
    We have actually recently we have four Postal Service employees
    that are embedded in our centers. We have a data scientist, a
    postal inspector and two analysts. As they mentioned before, we
    need to make sure that we are doing everything in our power to
    get the information into our system so we can identify illicit
    packages as they are coming through. The Synthetics Trafficking
    and Overdose Prevention (STOP) Act has helped us significantly.
    We have seen fentanyl basically stop coming through the mail,
    and it's coming down the Southern Border, and we continue to
    work with our investigative partners to continue to get that
    information into our systems.
        To go back to our State and local partners, even the local
    information we get is the local smallest investigation in the
    small town, we are able to actually identify and take down
    whole dark websites based off of that information we get and
    put in our systems, but all hand in hand with HSI and postal
    inspectors.
        Senator Hassan. Great. Thank you.
        Mr. Millhollin. We work this hand in hand through our
    Border Enforcement Security Task Force. We have only 80 of
    these Task Forces throughout the United States. We have over
    2000 Task Force officers from State and local departments
    assigned to that. We have them located in all the international
    mail facilities so that they can work the follow up
    investigation of anything that CBP is seizing at those
    facilities.
        One of the ways that we work obviously is through the
    Postal Inspection Service. Work very closely with them. They
    are on all those Task Forces. Operation Die Another Day, I
    think you have been briefed on was an operation we worked for a
    long time through our best units that was targeting the
    importation of pill presses that were coming into our
    communities, being able to press these small fentanyl pills. We
    had a lot of success with that. One of the areas that we
    struggle a little bit on is to get the right people from those
    State and local agencies on to those Task Forces. A lot of the
    departments aren't able to give up those people that we need.
    To be able to pay their salary, and it would be very helpful
    for us to be able to supplement those local departments and
    make sure they are on these Task Forces.
        Senator Hassan. Thank you very much. We are hearing a
    significant and important theme which is resources and people,
    and people are the most important resource along with the
    technology and the other things we have talked about.
    Congresswoman.
        Mr. Kuster. Thank you, Madam Chair, and I wanted to echo
    that comment. Every single one of you at every level from the
    smallest towns like a Brentwood Chief of Police all the way up
    through to State and Federal and all of these agencies have
    talked about workforce, recruitment, training, equipment,
    retention, right down to the hourly wage. Right up to the most
    sophisticated new techniques in cryptocurrency and the dark
    web, and clearly the three of us here are here today to
    understand your needs for funding, funding the police at every
    level, and I think that's a really important theme today, and
    you have our strong support.
        I want to turn to Mr. DeLena if I could. I serve on the
    House Energy and Commerce Committee, and recently we heard from
    both the Office of National Drug Control Policy and the Drug
    Enforcement Agency on the administration's recommendations as
    Representative Pappas mentioned on the scheduling of fentanyl-
    related substances.
        The Office of National Drug Control Policy emphasized the
    need for a comprehensive approach to addressing fentanyl
    analogues, and I know our Task Force had a hearing a few years
    back with the DEA, and I remember the testimony was just
    chilling. They were talking about criminal chemists in China at
    that time that were literally changing one molecule and getting
    around our scheduling.
        The COVID pandemic has shown the value in realtime data
    availability and exchange when faced with a crisis. Knowing the
    number of cases, the types of cases, the number of vaccines,
    number of tests, et cetera. We know the number of COVID-19
    cases and deaths the very next day. Yet we still wait months
    for overdose data and critical information on the development
    of new and more powerful drugs.
        How can we better access data on synthetic opioids quickly
    in both the public safety and the public health space? I will
    ask you, and if then there are others that want to weigh in on
    that, that would be very helpful. What resources do you need
    from us for that?
        Mr. DeLena. Congresswoman, thank you for the question.
    Working for Administrator Milgram, it is very clear that one of
    her binding principles is the expansion of data in all that we
    do every day, and she is bringing that forward to DEA every
    single day.
        When thinking about your question, a few things immediately
    jump out to me. We constantly need to find ways to connect, and
    while New Hampshire is the gold standard for collaboration as
    you see from the people here in this room, we need to be able
    to do that throughout the entire United States and throughout
    all of our offices. DEA needs to be able to collect the
    prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP), information from
    local States which will help us get a better look at who is
    getting drugs prescribed to them, either illicitly or legally
    in some cases.
        But we need to map the overdose data. That's challenging.
    While New Hampshire again was ahead of everybody in terms of
    how we do that and a lot of that comes from the Information and
    Analysis Center that Major Ebert talked about, it's the data of
    overdose responses and Narcan administration. We need to be
    able to look at that, to take that holistic approach to how we
    can better serve all of our communities. We talk about Narcan
    and being administered throughout New Hampshire, but sadly,
    most of that Narcan is going into communities and neighborhoods
    and to people who are dealing with what they think is opioid
    and fentanyl abuse.
        We are seeing now polydrug use where cocaine is being
    illicitly laced with fentanyl. We are seeing clusters of
    overdoses in locations throughout the United States where
    people are thinking they are taking cocaine only to find out
    that somewhere in that supply chain somebody added fentanyl to
    it. We need to make sure that we are getting that information
    in realtime to the law enforcement communities but also to our
    leaders so that we can ensure things like Narcan and naloxone
    ends up in the right hands.
        Mr. Kuster. Anyone else want to comment on resources needed
    for data sharing?
        Mr. Ebert. Congresswoman, I will mention that Special Agent
    DeLena brought up a great point in terms of being able to
    quickly disseminate that information. I think in terms of the
    more information that can be shared with us in realtime the
    more that those barriers can be broken down.
        We are always looking to balance personal privacy with the
    need to get law enforcement out information, and though I won't
    point to a specific item, I can certainly say having overseen
    the intelligence unit that there are many barriers that exist
    where the line between personal privacy and intelligence
    exchanges is very difficult.
        I would say continued support from Congress to help us
    break down those barriers, to always keep in mind personal
    privacy and the need for that, but to really push for getting
    the information realtime as fast as we can to our Fusion
    Centers so we can disseminate that out to all of our law
    enforcement partners.
        Mr. Kuster. Hopefully, there were lessons that can be
    learned from COVID 19 and from data collection, and there were
    privacy issues there as well, and we overcame them in the face
    of a highly contagious pandemic. I hope we can overcome them in
    the face of what is determined to be a deadly crisis as well,
    and with that I will yield back.
        Senator Hassan. Thank you, Congresswoman Kuster and
    Congressman Pappas. You are recognized for your round of
    questions.
        Mr. Pappas. Thank you, Madam Chair. I want to thank you for
    submitting that legislation in the Senate on the dark web issue
    because I have heard about that in communities here in New
    Hampshire. You have all identified why that is a serious issue.
    With your agreement we will work to submit that in the House to
    make sure the other side of the Capitol could see some action
    on it.
        Senator Hassan. That would be great.
        Mr. Pappas. I want to zero in on the issue of China. It's
    been mentioned here a number of times. This is a situation
    where the picture in China is changing in terms of what we are
    seeing flow into Mexico and into the United States. I am
    wondering if you all have some comments if we could start with
    you, Mr. Millhollin, on the role that China plays in the drug
    supply chain.
        Mr. Millhollin. Thanks for the question. As we remember at
    the beginning of this epidemic, fentanyl was coming into the
    United States directly from China. A little bit of diplomatic
    pressure changed that and it was going directly into Mexico and
    being smuggled into the United States.
        Now what we are seeing is that is not happening anymore.
    Precursor chemicals are coming directly into Mexico and now
    what we see is pre-precursor chemicals coming directly into
    Mexico that are then being synthesized to bring that fentanyl
    into the United States.
        One way that we have been able to make some significant
    inroads is this is through Operation Hydra. It is a complex
    financial operation that HSI runs analyzing financial
    transactions between multiple countries including the United
    States, Mexico, and China to be able to target those precursor
    chemicals coming into Mexico from China. We have been able to
    seize over one million pounds of those precursor chemicals in
    the last several years.
        One recent seizure out of our Mexico City office was 750
    kilograms of a precursor that when that was converted to
    fentanyl within 14,000 kilograms of fentanyl, 30 thousands
    pounds. Can you imagine that's more fentanyl in that one
    seizure than was seized on the whole Southwest Border in the
    last year. That's one shipment.
        But I think it is also important to keep our eyes on that.
    If we can stop China from bringing these precursor chemicals
    into Mexico, the cartels are going to divert to another
    country. India has significant supplies of these precursor
    chemicals that they could bring in right away, too, so I think
    we have to keep identifying these other countries and keep
    pushing out our borders where we can.
        Mr. DeLena. Thank for the question, Congressman, and I
    thought my partner here answered really well. I thought back
    though to a time that I traveled to Mexico, I see Marshal
    Willard here, and we took some police executives from New
    England down into Mexico to try to understand exactly just how
    big this threat is, and we had the occasion to go into a lab, a
    production lab in the jungle, and, the amount of chemicals with
    labels from China that were throughout that entire process was
    absolutely incredible.
        We do work hard trying to stop the flow of those illicit
    chemicals as they are leaving China, as they are arriving in
    Mexico. Obviously, we are targeting the highest level violators
    in Mexico to try to disrupt those chemicals from ever getting
    in those hands, but as I said earlier, with this move to
    synthetics they don't have to worry about a grow cycle, a grow
    season or a plant product, and that has been a complete game
    changer to the amount of drugs that they are producing, and
    ultimately what we are seeing right here at home in New
    Hampshire.
        Mr. Pappas. Thank you for your comments about that threat,
    and I look forward to continuing the conversation about how we
    can help. I will yield back my time.
        Senator Hassan. Thank you very much, Congressman. I have
    more questions. I will do them for about a 7-minute round, and
    then we will see if you guys have any follow up. Does that make
    sense? You are welcome to a full another round.
        I wanted to give Major Ebert and Commander Arcieri an
    opportunity here with your Federal colleagues at the table and
    with a number of Federal and State and local folks and us here.
    We talk a lot about the importance of coordination and
    information sharing between and among Federal, State, and local
    law enforcement including outside task forces, and how
    important that is, but from your perspective, how effective has
    the coordination and information sharing been between Federal
    law enforcement and State and local law enforcement in New
    Hampshire, what are the primary drivers of success, what were
    the obstacles to effective coordination and information
    sharing, and last, anything Congress can do to help.
        We will start with you, Major, and then Commander Arcieri.
        Mr. Ebert. Certainly. Thank you for the question, Senator.
    I think the most important thing for this panel and anybody who
    hears this testimony to know is that here in the State of New
    Hampshire, I think we all really pride ourselves on
    collaboration at all levels. I know the representatives from
    all the Federal agencies by first name as does everyone else
    who is in law enforcement. I know them by face. I know them to
    know that if I need them, if I need resources from them, the
    State Police needs collaboration from them, they are going to
    provide that. I can't emphasize enough that here in the State
    of New Hampshire because it is such a small law enforcement
    community, we do collaborate across every spectrum.
        In terms of information exchange and intelligence exchange,
    I would say that we have an optimum model for that intelligence
    exchange. We really have very, very few barriers with our
    Federal partners in receiving that information and then
    disseminating it out to partners who are on a need-to-know
    basis.
        In terms of what Congress may be able to do to try to
    support us, I think there's two distinct areas that come to
    mind.
        The first is the voice of a Congresswoman, a Congressman,
    or a Senator carries so much weight and that unified voice in
    support of law enforcement goes a tremendously long way. We
    really need this. At this moment where there is so much
    criticism of law enforcement, that supportive voice lends
    itself to improving the morale of the rank and file law
    enforcement. The first thing I would say is that united voice
    in support of law enforcement.
        The second thing is long-term funding. What we typically
    will see is a 2 or 3 year grant which is tremendous. It is
    tremendous. It gets us training, gets us equipment, but what it
    does not allow for us to do is to ask for positions because as
    certainly the three of you know, we need to absorb those
    positions into the State budget at the end of the Federal
    grant, and it's simply too short a period of time, a 2 or 3-
    year window for the New Hampshire legislature to pass a budget
    that will then absorb those positions in. Longer term structure
    of funding would be tremendously helpful to give the New
    Hampshire legislature time to absorb those positions in.
        Senator Hassan. All right. Commander, your thoughts?
        Ms. Arcieri. I would say for the most part we have done a
    very good job with sharing information. I used the example of a
    recent investigation that we had that started on our level
    which was undercover street level purchases, and by recognizing
    the importance and where we could take that investigation, we
    employed the services of State Police and DEA. That is not done
    in an isolated circumstance. A lot of it is information sharing
    and making it happen. A lot of meetings to share the
    information and deciding who is going to have what
    responsibilities in these different investigations. That is
    critical for the success of what we do.
        As I mentioned before, we have regular intelligence
    meetings which are attended by local, State, county officials,
    and Federal officials as well so we are all on the same page as
    far as what we are facing in each different area.
        As far as what the Federal Government would be able to
    provide to law enforcement, I am going to mirror what Major
    Ebert had said, being the leaders and fostering an environment
    of greater accountability in the criminal justice services with
    repeat offenders. Many in the law enforcement community would
    agree that there needs to be more emphasis on effective
    rehabilitation programs with drug addicted offenders.
        However, when offenders are arrested and convicted numerous
    times and receiving suspended sentences on all convictions, it
    does not foster a level of deterrence, and I think what goes
    along with that is the recruitment and retainment issue that we
    have in law enforcement. To be able to provide more support in
    that area.
        The other area that I would like to address in addition to
    what Major Ebert had addressed which pretty much follows suit
    with the Drug Task Force is we have many senior officers, if
    you will, that are now retired or getting ready to retire that
    have 20-plus years of experience which is very critical. When
    they retire, a lot of them leave the profession, and they are
    not able to give back. On a State level, when they retire, they
    are limited to 26 hours a week generally speaking if they want
    to come back into the profession. It used to 32 hours. Having
    26 hours a week is very difficult.
        If we could have some insight as to the importance of
    having those retired officers, if you will, one of my best
    investigators, employees, is a retired officer, and he brings a
    level of experience and especially in these critical times
    where you have young officers as I talked about, they need a
    great level of mentoring and supervision, and we get that with
    our senior officers that are getting ready to retire.
        Senator Hassan. Thank you. I have a couple of more
    questions, but let me also thank not only all of you but all of
    the men and women in law enforcement, and if there is one thing
    that I hear from Granite Staters on a regular basis it is how
    grateful they are to you and the men and women you work with
    for the work you do keeping our communities safe.
        I will also note that you go into just about any community
    in New Hampshire and right at the forefront of whatever
    community work needs to be done is a member of law enforcement
    just pitching in, whether it's coaching a team or whether it is
    helping at a food bank. We are deeply appreciative for the work
    you do, and we are also appreciative to your families because
    very few of us have a job where our loved ones have to worry
    whether we are going to come home safe at night. We are all
    really grateful to your families, too.
        Let me follow up with a couple of more questions. Then I
    will check in with my colleagues and I will give you guys a
    chance to, my final question for you all so you can be thinking
    about it is just if you had one recommendation for us all to
    take away for today what would that be. We will do one final
    round with all of you.
        I want to follow up though first with a question to Special
    Agent DeLena because 6 months ago, Special Agent, I wrote a
    letter to DEA Administrator Milgram about the dangerous rise in
    counterfeit pills which are often indistinguishable from
    legitimate medication but as you pointed out can be laced with
    dangerous drugs like meth and fentanyl. People think they are
    getting a legitimate prescription medication, and they are not.
        That letter that I sent was based on a WMUR News 9 report
    that featured you talking about how this issue keeps you up at
    night, and that really stood out to me, especially because
    these pills are often marketed to teenagers usually as we have
    discussed over social media.
        I spoke with Administrator Milgram about this issue a few
    months ago, but I am hoping to hear from you about how this
    issue has evolved over the past 6 months and what we are now
    seeing on the ground in terms of counterfeit pills. It was
    great to hear, Special Agent Millhollin, that we have had some
    success with going after the pill presses, but can you just
    talk to me, Special Agent DeLena, about what you are now seeing
    on the ground?
        Mr. DeLena. Thank you for the question, Chair Hassan. I
    remember exactly when I said those words, and I remember that
    interview very well. We had been seeing pills in New Hampshire
    laced with fentanyl, but it was really the influx of the pills
    laced with methamphetamine targeting children to look exactly
    like an Adderall that I thought was an insidious move on behalf
    of these drug cartels to target young Americans.
        It is widely known that it's young people throughout our
    country that appropriately use Adderall, but in some cases
    unfortunately they abuse Adderall, and those pills are traded
    around and passed around throughout our colleges, high schools,
    and even our middle schools.
        When I saw the amount of those pills that were crossing
    throughout New England but particularly here in New Hampshire,
    it troubled me more than anything I had seen or experienced in
    my entire career. They are coming after our kids, make no
    mistake about it, it's this relentless move toward widespread
    addiction, and that's exactly how these cartels are trying to
    achieve that, and going back to something that, Congresswoman
    Kuster, that you talked about with us needing to do more in
    terms of prevention, to limit the demand that is exactly what
    the One Pill Can Kill campaign was designed to do.
        First of all, the Administrator and all of DEA knew, we
    needed to very quickly educate Americans about how deadly and
    dangerous these pills are. That was the first part of that. We
    needed to educate them on how easy these pills are being
    manufactured to look identical to a prescription drug. The
    exact same color, weight to it, marking, scoring, everything
    that you can imagine, they have figured it out. Sadly, these
    pills are widespread throughout all of our communities. That is
    why I said at the time and it still continues to keep me up at
    night. More than anything I have prided myself on the amount of
    work that we have done in the prevention world here in New
    Hampshire trying to connect to those young people, and that's
    why we did that Virtual Summit at the time, and I wish it could
    have been in person. That is why in 2017 we had the nation's
    first ever Youth Opioid Summit right here in Manchester, New
    Hampshire. We need to continue to message across all
    communities just how deadly and pervasive those drugs are. We
    can't stop.
        One thing I'm very proud of in the work that I have been
    doing recently is I am seeing across the entire nation where
    communities are still talking about One Pill Can Kill, and how
    we are linking those back to social media companies, to the
    internet, but also toward local manufacturing and distribution.
    Americans need to be aware that this is a problem. There are a
    lot of people who sadly think they are immune from this crisis
    simply because they are not injecting themselves with fentanyl.
    That is what they attribute that sort of addiction to. They
    need to know it is in the form of pills, and now more than ever
    it's being laced into other drugs that we have seen such as
    cocaine.
        Senator Hassan. All right. Thank you. I am going to ask one
    another question, check in with my colleagues, and then give
    you each a couple of minutes at the end.
        The other question I had was to Special Agent Millhollin
    and Special Agent DeLena about field testing for narcotics in
    particular, and our other witnesses are also welcome to chime
    in here. The evolution of the types of drugs being smuggled
    into New Hampshire communities as well as their purity exposes
    Task Force personnel to ever increasing risk. Obviously to
    Border Protection, too, but I want to drill down a little bit
    on the Task Force issue.
        Field testing equipment can help law enforcement personnel
    quickly identify dangerous drugs so that they can respond
    appropriately. However, while Task Force personnel generally
    have access to field testing equipment used to identify
    dangerous drugs, Task Force personnel may not have this
    equipment readily available for all operations. How would
    universal access to field testing equipment improve operational
    efficiency and effectiveness for your Task Forces. Are there
    other tools that your Task Forces need which Congress could
    provide resources for. Start with you, Special Agent.
        Mr. Millhollin. Thank you for that question. I mentioned
    earlier Border Enforcement Task Forces have about 2000
    different State and local officers assigned to them. Generally
    when they seize narcotics, those are processed through either a
    CBP or a DEA lab. As you can imagine there's back loads in
    those labs and multiple agencies, not only Federal but State
    and local that use those labs. Turnaround times can get pretty
    long.
        With the rise in fentanyl and opioids, obviously having
    field testing equipment on hand to be able to test those
    narcotics is not only beneficial for the investigation but for
    officer safety so we know immediately what we have in our
    hands. We started trying to equip some of those 80 Border
    Enforcement Task Forces with mobile device testing. Those come
    at about $20,000 per item. We have 10 of our best teams that
    have those now, but we would like to expand those to our other
    80. I was told there wouldn't be any math questions. I think
    that's maybe 1.5 million or so dollars so any help that comes
    would be great.
        Mr. DeLena. Madam Chair, thank you for the question, and,
    while I agree it is so important to get those type of devices
    into the hands of the men and women of law enforcement who are
    encountering these drugs on the street every day, we also to
    have keep in mind how rapidly evolving those drugs are, and
    having worked here in New Hampshire now and actually thinking
    back to the last Field Hearing on Drugs was about 6 years and 6
    months almost to the day that was hosted here in New Hampshire,
    and I think how much has changed just in that amount of time.
    It really has. These drugs continue to evolve.
        We also need to make sure that the technology evolves along
    with it so that if we do invest in these type of devices, and
    we have invested in many, they don't become a paperweight
    because the drugs quickly evolve and it's not something that
    that certain device can test.
        I also want to mention that it was Senator Shaheen who
    pushed so hard for funding for the Drug Enforcement
    Administration to create a new lab which is coming here to New
    Hampshire which I think will be a game changer for us to be
    able to have that proximity of a lab to quickly get substances
    tested for all of our State, local, and Federal partners.
        Because especially there are investigations where we need a
    timely answer. That successful prosecution can quickly be met.
    I think that's a great step for us, and we look forward to the
    opening of that lab in the future.
        Senator Hassan. Great. Commander.
        Ms. Arcieri. Presently, each team has a Trunarc analyzer
    which we have used quite frequently. My recommendation would be
    for the smaller agencies that don't have the funding to have
    access to those analyzers. We certainly when we get the call we
    go and we do what we need to do, and most recently we did that
    in a case in Lebanon, New Hampshire, where the police
    department up there seized some Adderall, it appeared to be
    Adderall, and it was tested and in fact it was fentanyl.
        We provided that service to that community. However, there
    are a lot of other communities that can probably use that
    Trunarc themselves.
        Senator Hassan. Thank you very much.
        Before I turn to the panel of witnesses final
    recommendations, do either of my colleagues have anything you
    want to follow up on? All right. We will do closings in a
    minute.
        My final question to the witnesses is what is one
    recommendation each of you want to highlight for policymakers
    on how to better support law enforcement efforts to fight drug
    trafficking, and you have made a lot of them so if you feel
    like you have said your piece, that's fine, but please go
    ahead, and we will just go right down the line starting with
    you, Special Agent Millhollin.
        Mr. Millhollin. I would highlight briefly, I know you have
    done a lot of work to make sure this agency is fully funded in
    their new inspection equipment along the south borders worse. I
    think by 2026 We will be scanning most vehicles and cargo
    equipment coming into the United States. With that, obviously
    HSI responds to all seizures of contraband at every port of
    entry. We think that we will see significant increases in the
    seizures there and obviously we need additional personnel there
    so I would like to bring that to your attention.
        Senator Hassan. That's great. Assistant Director.
        Mr. Manning. I want to thank you for your continued support
    of CBP, the investment in the infrastructure in the ports of
    entry on the Southern Border and also the Northern Border is
    critical. We need to stay up to date and ahead of our
    adversaries to continue to make these seizures and protect
    these communities. Anything you can do to continue just to fund
    this infrastructure would be great. Appreciate it.
        Senator Hassan. Thank you. Special Agent DeLena.
        Mr. DeLena. Madam Chair, thank you. I think it's important
    that this type of collaboration and conversation continues.
    There are a lot of other men and women in law enforcement who
    can probably fill these chairs equally and tell their story
    which are all equally important, but there's 104,000 Americans
    dying of a drug overdose every single year. 286 a day. We need
    to continue to fully fund these agencies so that we can keep up
    with the ever-evolving drug cartels in terms of staffing and
    equipment. Thank you.
        Senator Hassan. Thank you. Commander.
        Ms. Arcieri. On that note, to follow up, as I mentioned
    before, with the mission of the Drug Task Force is the street
    level narcotics investigations, the ones that are plaguing the
    small communities that don't have their resources. On that note
    is the pervasive attitude throughout New Hampshire that drug
    users do not fit the description of serious drug traffickers
    which is accurate. Although these individuals may not be
    trafficking in major quantities of fentanyl and methamphetamine
    by definition as the level we talked about here on the Federal
    level, these individuals are the ones who are directly
    supplying the victims of overdoses of fentanyl and heroin, many
    leading to deaths.
        To illustrate this point, within the last several months in
    one community alone a DTF investigation yielded the arrest of
    two individuals suspected of trafficking quantities of fentanyl
    and heroin. By definition, they were drug misusers, if you
    will. However, by one of the suspect's own admission, it was
    determined that this individual had distributed approximately
    182,000 bags, individual bags, of fentanyl and heroin over the
    period of a year.
        That's what I would like to leave the panel with today is
    that's what this State is confronting right now are those users
    that are addicted, and there's no question that we need to have
    better rehabilitation programs without a doubt, but these
    individuals are the ones that are trafficking these quantities
    of drugs that are causing the opiate epidemic that we have in
    this State with the number of overdoses and death resulting
    from the overdoses. I would like to leave with just that
    picture.
        Senator Hassan. Thank you.
        Ms. Arcieri. I want to thank you for taking the time to
    administer this panel.
        Senator Hassan. Commander, I appreciate it very much.
    Major?
        Mr. Ebert. I want to thank the Panel again for the
    opportunity to be here today. It is truly a honor, and I
    figured I would close with something that didn't cost any
    money, and it was something that I said earlier that I really
    want to reemphasize.
        As of late there have been those in the community that have
    sought to demonize law enforcement, and this has caused
    tremendous ill effects through the law enforcement system.
    Retention and recruitment have been hindered by it, and what I
    would ask is that, Senator, you are truly the gold standard of
    support for law enforcement. You were as the Governor, you
    continue to be as a Senator, and what I would ask is that the
    Senator's conduct and statements on law enforcement just be
    echoed by your colleagues so that we can continue to recruit
    good people into this profession who want to do it for the
    right reason. They want to do it because it's a noble
    profession. We want to break down that barrier, that stigma
    that has been attached to it.
        In closing, I would ask for the collective support of
    Congress for a positive review of law enforcement, and where
    there are issues that we need to work with, know that we are
    always willing to have that conversation. Thank you again.
        Senator Hassan. Thank you, Major, very much. I am now going
    to turn to my colleagues for any closing remarks that they
    have, and then, as promised, by 11:25 or so we will wrap up.
        Mr. Kuster. Great. I will be brief. I have so many things
    going through my mind right now, but just to start where you
    left off, my father-in-law who is no longer with us was a
    policeman, and I think he would be proud, we are all proud of
    your exemplary service and the way you presented the challenges
    of your profession today, and please know that all of us are
    here to support you, to fund the police, to make sure you have
    the resources you need for recruitment and retention and
    equipment and everything we have discussed today.
        The Senator mentioned your families, and I want to make
    sure that I echo that as well. I will say personally I never
    expected my own life to be in danger until January 6, 2021 and
    it was a Capitol Hill policeman that saved my life, and I'm
    very grateful for that.
        This hearing today hits very close to home for many of us
    and many of our colleagues, and I can just say out of 435 house
    members, dozens of our colleagues have lost family members to
    drug overdose death. For me, it hits very close to home. I just
    spent a week with my own brother out on the West Coast who is
    in surgery trying to help him through but the understanding
    issue is sadly addiction, and it comes from prescribed
    medication.
        It is very challenging, and I appreciate everything that
    you are doing, and everything that everyone in the treatment
    community is doing, and I want to say that's my commitment to
    it. It's as though it's your family, it is, and my family, and
    it's very hard to go up against Mexican cartels and criminal
    chemists in China and true evil that is profiting at the
    expense of our communities. I thank you, thank your families,
    we are here to support you. We are working very hard at it.
    Thank you.
        Senator Hassan. Congressman Pappas.
        Mr. Pappas. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you again to the
    Panel for your contributions today, the intellectual resources
    that you are providing to us to make sure that we are
    responding in a way that is appropriate, but also just for your
    work day in and day out, and I know the people of New Hampshire
    are so grateful for what our law enforcement community does,
    and I think this panel, myself included, is very grateful for
    what law enforcement does day in and day out. There's a lot
    that falls under that umbrella. It's not just the core
    functions or maybe what's on the job description, but it's
    everything else, and just about every problem that we have in
    society falls in front of our police officers and law
    enforcement here in New Hampshire, and we continue to ask you
    all to do more, to take greater risks, and to respond, and we
    have to make sure we are backing you up with the resources and
    support that you all need to do your job even more effectively,
    to provide things like greater training and just greater
    funding to be able to keep people in place to grow the force,
    to increase professionalism and to be able to respond to
    everybody that is going on out there in the community.
        I have no doubt that you all are incredible, capable
    partners, and I hope we can continue to spread that message as
    best as possible and make sure more folks are interested in
    pursuing this profession because our community, our country, is
    really depending on that.
        There is some good news in the appropriation bill that
    passed recently. It's about a 200 million dollar increase for
    Border Control in that bill, a 16 percent increase for the
    technology that's being deployed at the ports of entry, full
    funding for programs like the Byrne Grant and the COPS program
    that I know our State and local partners are really drawing on
    support from.
        We have to continue to grow those numbers because we know
    the threat is evolving, the threat continues to grow, and as
    Congresswoman Kuster mentioned, we all measure the impact of
    this drug crisis in a very personal way, and you can't put a
    price tag on someone's life. You can measure it in terms of a
    person who's not showing up at work anymore because they have
    been lost or a friend or a family member who unfortunately has
    succumbed or a grandparent who is raising a grandchild because
    their parents are no longer there. That's what we see all
    across New Hampshire, and we want to make sure that we are
    doing all we can to support your work and support all the great
    community initiatives that are creating pathways for people to
    have a healthy and safe future.
        Thank you for that, look forward to staying in touch, and
    thank you, Senator Hassan, for convening this.
        Senator Hassan. Thank you very much, Congressman Pappas. I
    will add my thanks to those of my colleagues and frankly to the
    people of the Granite State who I know if they were here with
    us would be thanking each and every one of you for the work you
    do.
        I will add to Congressman Pappas and Congresswoman Kuster's
    thoughts about the importance of the work you are doing and
    what a difference it makes to people all across our State and
    all across our country.
        Relatively soon after I became a Senator, I visited with
    some families who either had lost somebody to opioid addiction
    or people who were in recovery, and as I was leaving this
    meeting which was in a church in one of our towns, there was a
    little girl I had been introduced to at the beginning of the
    meeting and she was hovering around the edge. You know how
    grownups always like push kids forward and say go talk to the
    Senator, and she was hesitant.
        I asked her to walk me out to my car, and I asked her if
    there was something she wanted to talk to me about, and she
    said yes, 9 years old, she said Senator I just wanted you to
    know what my life is like since my favorite cousin died of an
    overdose. He was 19. I was so proud of this 9-year-old little
    girl for having the wherewithal to figure out a way to pull her
    Senator aside to tell her that, but boy, I wish that 9 year old
    had never have to have that conversation with me, and I know
    all of you do, too.
        With that, we are extraordinarily grateful for your
    service. The urgency that you all feel, and it came right
    through here today, is urgency that we need to maintain because
    of the impact that these deadly drugs particularly now that
    they can be manufactured with synthetics so quickly. We have to
    keep at this with everything we have. You all are on the front
    lines. So are the men and women that you lead, and we are very
    grateful to all of you.
        Thank you for your insight this morning. Your testimony
    here today will help us craft better bipartisan solutions to
    help Federal, State, and local law enforcement fight drug
    trafficking in our communities.
        The record for this hearing will remain open for 15 days
    until 5 p.m. on March 29th for submissions of statements and
    questions for the record, and with that this hearing is
    adjourned.
        [Whereupon at 11:30 a.m., the hearing was adjourned.]

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