[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 150 (Monday, September 19, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H7906-H7908]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




COUNTERING ASSAD'S PROLIFERATION TRAFFICKING AND GARNERING OF NARCOTICS 
                                  ACT

  Mr. MALINOWSKI. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 6265) to require a strategy by the United States Government 
to disrupt and dismantle the Captagon trade and narcotics networks of 
Bashar al-Assad in Syria.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 6265

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

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Countering Assad's 
     Proliferation Trafficking And Garnering Of Narcotics Act'' or 
     the ``CAPTAGON Act''.

     SEC. 2. INTERAGENCY STRATEGY TO DISRUPT AND DISMANTLE 
                   NARCOTICS PRODUCTION AND TRAFFICKING AND 
                   AFFILIATED NETWORKS LINKED TO THE REGIME OF 
                   BASHAR AL-ASSAD IN SYRIA.

       (a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
       (1) the Captagon trade linked to the regime of Bashar al-
     Assad in Syria is a transnational security threat; and
       (2) the United States should develop and implement an 
     interagency strategy to deny, degrade, and dismantle Assad-
     linked narcotics production and trafficking networks.
       (b) Report and Strategy Required.--Not later than 180 days 
     after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 
     Defense, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the 
     Treasury, the Administrator of the Drug Enforcement 
     Administration, the Director of National Intelligence, and 
     the heads of other appropriate Federal agencies shall provide 
     to the appropriate congressional committees a written 
     strategy to disrupt and dismantle narcotics production and 
     trafficking and affiliated networks linked to the regime of 
     Bashar al-Assad in Syria. Such strategy shall include each of 
     the following:
       (1) A strategy to target, disrupt, and degrade networks 
     that directly or indirectly support the narcotics 
     infrastructure of the Assad regime, particularly through 
     diplomatic and intelligence support to law enforcement 
     investigations and to build counter-narcotics capacity to 
     partner countries through assistance and training to law 
     enforcement services in countries, other than Syria, that are 
     receiving or transiting large quantities of Captagon.
       (2) Information relating to the use of statutory 
     authorities, including the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection 
     Act of 2019 (22 U.S.C. 8791 note), the Foreign Narcotics 
     Kingpin Designation Act (popularly referred to as the 
     ``Kingpin Act''), section 489 of the Foreign Assistance Act 
     (relating to the international narcotics control strategy 
     report), and associated actions to target individuals and 
     entities directly or indirectly associated with the narcotics 
     infrastructure of the Assad regime.
       (3) Information relating to the use of global diplomatic 
     engagements associated with the economic pressure campaign 
     against the Assad regime to target its narcotics 
     infrastructure.
       (4) A strategy for leveraging multilateral institutions and 
     cooperation with international partners to disrupt the 
     narcotics infrastructure of the Assad regime.
       (5) A strategy for mobilizing a public communications 
     campaign to increase awareness of the extent of the 
     connection of the Assad regime to illicit narcotics trade.
       (6) A description of the countries receiving or transiting 
     large shipments of Captagon, and an assessment of the 
     counter-narcotics capacity of such countries to interdict or 
     disrupt the smuggling of Captagon, including an assessment of 
     current United States assistance and training programs to 
     build such capacity in such countries.
       (c) Form of Report.--The report required under subsection 
     (b) shall be submitted in an unclassified form, but may 
     contain a classified annex.
       (d) Appropriate Congressional Committees.--In this section, 
     the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
       (1) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on the 
     Judiciary, the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on 
     Financial Services, the Committee on Appropriations, and the 
     Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of 
     Representatives; and
       (2) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on the 
     Judiciary, the Committee on Foreign Relations, the Committee 
     on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, the Committee on 
     Appropriations, and the Select Committee on Intelligence of 
     the Senate.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. Malinowski) and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Malinowski).


                             General Leave

  Mr. MALINOWSKI. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on H.R. 6265.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New Jersey?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. MALINOWSKI. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 6265, the CAPTAGON Act.
  I would like to first thank Representatives French Hill and Brendan 
Boyle, as well as Members from both sides of the aisle for 
reintroducing this bipartisan legislation and addressing an important 
issue which continues to fuel the Assad regime's coffers and campaign 
of brutality.
  Despite condemnation from the United States and the international 
community, Bashar al-Assad's military has continued its relentless 
assault on the Syrian people committing reprehensible crimes against 
humanity upon them.
  Even as American and European sanctions restrict this regime's 
ability to transact and deal internationally, its campaign of brutality 
continues to seek sources of revenue around the world.

[[Page H7907]]

  One of these illicit sources of revenue is the smuggling of the 
narcotic stimulant drug, Captagon, which is trafficked to, in, and 
around Syria, and has become a cash source for the Assad regime to 
enrich itself and prolong its atrocities against Syrians.
  Though initial steps have been taken by the State Department, our 
intelligence community, and the Drug Enforcement Agency to work with 
allies and partners to counter this traffic, more can and must be done.
  So the CAPTAGON Act would require the Federal Government to develop 
an interagency strategy to disrupt and dismantle narcotics trafficking 
and networks linked to the Assad regime in Syria. It also requires 
reporting on such efforts and on coordination with our partners.
  This is an important step in ensuring we can use every tool we have 
to stop the spread of Captagon in the region and to choke off illicit 
revenue for this brutal regime.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank the bipartisan group of Members, including you, 
Mr. Speaker, for presenting this measure.
  Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support it, and I reserve 
the balance of my time.

                                         House of Representatives,


                                   Committee on the Judiciary,

                               Washington, DC, September 19, 2022.
     Hon. Gregory Meeks,
     Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs,
     House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman Meeks: This letter is to advise you that the 
     Committee on the Judiciary has now had an opportunity to 
     review the provisions in H.R. 6265, the ``Countering Assad's 
     Proliferation Trafficking And Garnering Of Narcotics Act'' or 
     the ``CAPTAGON Act,'' that fall within our Rule X 
     jurisdiction. I appreciate your consulting with us on those 
     provisions. The Judiciary Committee has no objection to your 
     including them in the bill for consideration on the House 
     floor, and to expedite that consideration is willing to forgo 
     action on H.R. 6265, with the understanding that we do not 
     thereby waive any future jurisdictional claim over those 
     provisions or their subject matters.
       In the event a House-Senate conference on this or similar 
     legislation is convened, the Judiciary Committee reserves the 
     right to request an appropriate number of conferees to 
     address any concerns with these or similar provisions that 
     may arise in conference.
       Please place this letter into the Congressional Record 
     during consideration of the measure on the House floor. Thank 
     you for the cooperative spirit in which you have worked 
     regarding this matter and others between our committees.
           Sincerely,
                                                   Jerrold Nadler,
     Chairman.
                                  ____

                                         House of Representatives,


                                 Committee on Foreign Affairs,

                               Washington, DC, September 19, 2022.
     Hon. Jerrold Nadler,
     Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary,
     House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman Nadler: I am writing to you concerning H.R. 
     6265, the ``Countering Assad's Proliferation Trafficking And 
     Garnering Of Narcotics Act'' or the ``CAPTAGON Act. I 
     appreciate your willingness to work cooperatively on this 
     legislation.
       I acknowledge that provisions of the bill fall within the 
     jurisdiction of the Committee on the Judiciary under House 
     Rule X, and that your Committee will forgo action on H.R. 
     6265 to expedite floor consideration. I further acknowledge 
     that the inaction of your Committee with respect to the bill 
     does not waive any future jurisdictional claim over the 
     matters contained in the bill that fall within your 
     jurisdiction.
       I also acknowledge that your Committee will be 
     appropriately consulted and involved as this or similar 
     legislation moves forward and will support the appointment of 
     Committee on the Judiciary conferees during any House-Senate 
     conference convened on this legislation.
       Lastly, I will ensure that our exchange of letters is 
     included in the Congressional Record during floor 
     consideration of the bill. Thank you again for your 
     cooperation regarding the legislation. I look forward to 
     continuing to work with you as the measure moves through the 
     legislative process.
           Sincerely,
                                                 Gregory W. Meeks,
                                                         Chairman.

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. 
Hill), who is the ranking member on the Financial Services Committee. 
He is author of this important legislation, and in the past, Mr. 
Speaker, he served under George Herbert Walker Bush as the Deputy 
Assistant Secretary of Treasury. He also was the special assistant for 
economic policy under 41, George Herbert Walker Bush, so he brings a 
wealth of knowledge and information that we are blessed to have here in 
this House.
  Mr. HILL. Mr. Speaker, I thank my two friends from New Jersey for 
managing the floor, and I thank my good friend, the Speaker pro tempore 
(Mr. Brendan F. Boyle) for working with me on this important 
legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I do rise in support of H.R. 6265, the CAPTAGON Act. I 
really appreciate Chairman Meeks and Ranking Member McCaul shepherding 
this legislation through the committee and now to the House floor. As I 
said, Congressman Boyle and I worked collectively on this over the past 
year, and I appreciate his leadership on our Friends of Syria Caucus.
  The decade of destruction and deteriorating human rights situation in 
Syria is well known. But just look at the poster next to me for a 
snippet of the headlines coming out of the region as it relates to this 
poison, this drug, Captagon.
  In addition to regularly committing war crimes against his own 
people, the Assad regime in Syria has now become a narco state. 
Narcotic production and trafficking in Syria and its neighbors have 
become more expansive and more widespread.
  The current epicenter of the drug trade is in territory controlled by 
the Assad regime. This has been well known now for at least 2 years. 
Yet despite that, just last week the State Department and White House 
failed to include Syria in their required determinations of major drug 
transit and major illicit drug producing countries.
  Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a letter dated July 15, 2022, 
from Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas, Representative Brendan Boyle, 
and myself to Secretary Blinken urging that Syria be added to this 
determination.
                                    Washington, DC, July 15, 2022.
     Hon. Antony Blinken,
     Secretary of State,
     Department of State.
       Dear Mr. Secretary: We are writing to respectfully request 
     that your administration review and determine whether Syria 
     meets the criteria of a ``major illicit drug producing 
     country'' or ``major drug-transit country'' as defined in 
     sections 481(e)(2) and 481(e)(5) of the Foreign Assistance 
     Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. Sec. 2291(e)(2) and Sec. 2291(e)(5)).
       Elements of the Assad regime and regime-affiliated networks 
     have reportedly engaged in state-sponsored amphetamine 
     production and trafficking. We have seen a troubling increase 
     in Captagon exports from Assad regime-affiliated networks 
     relying on a robust pharmaceutical sector and smuggling 
     routes between Syria and neighboring countries. This uptick 
     has also coincided with increased Assad-affiliated Captagon 
     seizures globally.
       Not only is this trade a potential source of revenue for 
     elements of the Assad regime and its affiliates, but the 
     industrial-scale amphetamine production represents a security 
     threat to the region itself, particularly as Captagon 
     production can become methamphetamine with a few changes to 
     the production process. In response, the House of 
     Representatives designed an amendment to the National Defense 
     Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2022 to encourage 
     your administration to develop a multi-agency strategy to 
     disrupt and dismantle these networks. The Joint Explanatory 
     Statement for the FY2022 NDAA noted that ``the Captagon trade 
     is a cause of instability in the Middle East that has 
     negative implications for the national security of the United 
     States and its allies and partners. We support development of 
     a strategy to guide appropriate action against narcotics 
     production and trafficking and affiliated networks linked to 
     the regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria.''
       As you know, section 706 of the Foreign Relations 
     Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 2003 (P.L. 107-228) requires 
     that the President submit an annual report no later than 
     September 15 of each year that identifies each country 
     determined by the President to be a major drug transit 
     country or major illicit drug-producing country. In its most 
     recent report, the White House did not list Syria among the 
     22 countries identified as major drug transit or major 
     illicit drug producing countries. If a country is designated 
     as having ``failed demonstrably'' in its counternarcotics 
     commitments, the United States must cease providing certain 
     categories of foreign assistance (as defined in section 
     481(e)(4) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961; 22 U.S.C. 
     Sec. 2291(e)(4)) to such country unless the President 
     determines that the provision of such assistance is vital to 
     U.S. national interests or that the country, at any time 
     after the President's initial report to Congress, has made 
     ``substantial efforts'' to comply with the counternarcotics 
     conditions in the legislation. This prohibition does not 
     affect narcotics-related assistance and humanitarian 
     assistance (i.e., disaster relief assistance, assistance 
     involving the provision of food or medicine, and assistance 
     for refugees).
       We, therefore, request that you determine whether the 
     Government of Syria meets the criteria for designation as a 
     major drug transit country or major illicit drug-producing 
     country.

[[Page H7908]]

       Thank you for your time and attention to this matter. We 
     look forward to receiving your expeditious response.
           Sincerely,
                                                   Roger Marshall,
                                            United States Senator.
                                                    Brendan Boyle,
                                               Member of Congress.
                                                      French Hill,
                                               Member of Congress.

  Mr. HILL. Mr. Speaker, this recent omission tracks with the 
administration's diplomacy disconnect from our American values. First, 
earlier this year, State erred and did not include Nigeria, leaving 
them off as a country of particular concern for religious freedom. And 
now it is Syria left off as a major drug-producing country.
  Mr. Speaker, this is why this bill is so critical and important at 
this time.
  We need an all-of-Government approach to addressing the Assad 
regime's drug production and trafficking.
  Captagon has already reached Europe, and it is only a matter of time 
before it reaches our shores. If we do not work with our like-minded 
partners to first hinder the narcotics trade and replace it with a 
working system of institutions that serve the Syrian people, then Assad 
will, in fact, add the title drug kingpin to his recognized global 
status as a leading mass murderer.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to support this important bill.
  Mr. MALINOWSKI. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend, French Hill, for authoring this 
very, very important piece of legislation. It mandates an interagency 
strategy on how the U.S. is responding to the destabilizing Captagon 
drug trade in the Middle East.
  Captagon, as I think my colleagues know, is a highly addictive 
amphetamine that is fast becoming the most widely abused drug in the 
Middle East. Given the growing threat Captagon poses to the stability 
in the region and to individual human lives, the lack of resources 
devoted to address its proliferation is alarming.
  In addition to this drug trade creating a crisis along Jordan's 
border, there is growing evidence that the murderous Assad regime is 
deeply involved in Captagon trafficking. This narco trafficking fuels 
Assad's war on the Syrian people and further threatens regional 
stability. The administration clearly is not doing enough, as was 
pointed out by my good friend and colleague, French Hill, to focus on 
this threat, which is why we need this bill to admonish the 
administration and to force the administration, the executive branch, 
to acknowledge this problem and to respond to it.
  The CAPTAGON Act will help ensure that we are countering this 
destabilizing drug trade which is helping to bankroll one of the most 
brutal tyrants of our time.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. MALINOWSKI. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to 
close.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank, once again, my colleagues, Representatives 
French Hill and Brendan Boyle, for introducing this critical 
legislation. I hope all of our colleagues will join us in supporting 
it, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Malinowski) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 6265.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. HICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

                          ____________________