[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 128 (Tuesday, July 25, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H3910-H3913]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   STOP CHINESE FENTANYL ACT OF 2023

  Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(H.R. 3203) to impose sanctions with respect to Chinese producers of 
synthetic opioids and opioid precursors, to hold Chinese officials 
accountable for the spread of illicit fentanyl, and for other purposes, 
as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 3203

       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 ``Stop Chinese Fentanyl Act of 
     2023''.

     SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

       It is the sense of Congress that the Government of the 
     People's Republic of China should--
       (1) work with the United States Government to identify a 
     list of unregulated chemicals used to create precursor 
     chemicals that bear increased scrutiny;
       (2) require the proper labeling of chemical and equipment 
     shipments in accordance with international rules;
       (3) immediately implement ``know-your-customer'' procedures 
     for chemical shipments; and
       (4) direct all relevant departments and agencies, including 
     the National Narcotics Control Commission, the Ministry of 
     Public Security, the General Administration of Customs, and 
     the National Medical Products Administration of the 
     Government of the People's Republic of China to establish new 
     rules to crack down on precursor trafficking and enforce such 
     rules swiftly.

     SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO THE FENTANYL SANCTIONS ACT.

       (a) Definitions.--Section 7203(5) of the Fentanyl Sanctions 
     Act (21 U.S.C. 2302(5)) is amended--
       (1) by striking ``The term `foreign opioid trafficker' 
     means any foreign person'' and inserting the following: ``The 
     term `foreign opioid trafficker'--
       ``(A) means any foreign person'';
       (2) by striking the period at the end and inserting ``; 
     and''; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(B) includes--
       ``(i) any entity of the People's Republic of China that the 
     President determines--

       ``(I) produces, manufactures, distributes, sells, or 
     knowingly finances or transports any goods described in 
     clause (i) or (ii) of paragraph (8)(A); and
       ``(II) fails to take credible steps, including through 
     implementation of appropriate know-your-customer procedures 
     or through cooperation with United States counternarcotics 
     efforts, to detect or prevent opioid trafficking; and

       ``(ii) any senior official of the Government of the 
     People's Republic of China or other Chinese political 
     official that--

       ``(I) has significant regulatory or law enforcement 
     responsibilities with respect to the activities of an entity 
     described in clause (i); and
       ``(II) aids and abets, including through intentional 
     inaction, opioid trafficking.''.

       (b) Identification of Foreign Opioid Traffickers.--Section 
     7211 of the Fentanyl Sanctions Act (21 U.S.C. 2311) is 
     amended--
       (1) in subsection (a)(1)(A), by adding at the end before 
     the semicolon the following: ``, including whether the heads 
     of the National Narcotics Control Commission, the Ministry of 
     Public Security, the General Administration of Customs, and 
     the National Medical Products Administration of the 
     Government of the People's Republic of China are foreign 
     opioid traffickers''; and
       (2) in subsection (c), by striking ``5 years'' and 
     inserting ``10 years''.

     SEC. 4. AMENDMENTS TO THE INTERNATIONAL EMERGENCY ECONOMIC 
                   POWERS ACT AND THE TRADING WITH THE ENEMY ACT.

       (a) International Emergency Economic Powers Act.--
       (1) Periodic evaluation.--Section 203 of the International 
     Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702) is amended by 
     adding at the end the following:
       ``(d) Periodic Evaluation.--
       ``(1) In general.--If the authority granted to the 
     President under this section is exercised with respect to a 
     covered national emergency, the President shall transmit to 
     the appropriate congressional committees,

[[Page H3911]]

     not less frequently than annually, a periodic evaluation in 
     writing that--
       ``(A) assesses the effectiveness of the exercise of such 
     authority in resolving the covered national emergency;
       ``(B) considers the views of public- and private-sector 
     stakeholders; and
       ``(C) discusses any potential changes to the exercise of 
     the authority for the purpose of more effectively resolving 
     the covered national emergency.
       ``(2) Definitions.--In this subsection--
       ``(A) the term `appropriate congressional committees' 
     means--
       ``(i) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on 
     Financial Services, and the Committee on Oversight and 
     Accountability of the House of Representatives; and
       ``(ii) the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
     Affairs, the Committee on Foreign Relations, and the 
     Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the 
     Senate; and
       ``(B) the term `covered national emergency' means a 
     national emergency that--
       ``(i) the President has declared, within the preceding 5-
     year period, with respect to any national emergency regarding 
     international drug trafficking; and
       ``(ii) has not terminated.''.
       (2) Consultation and reports.--Section 204 of the 
     International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1703) 
     is amended--
       (A) by striking ``the Congress'' each place it appears and 
     inserting ``the appropriate congressional committees''; and
       (B) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(e) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined.--In 
     this section, the term `appropriate congressional committees' 
     has the meaning given that term in section 203(d)(2).''.
       (3) Authority to issue regulations.--Section 205 of the 
     International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1704) 
     is amended--
       (A) by striking ``The President'' and inserting ``(a) The 
     President''; and
       (B) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(b) In issuing regulations under subsection (a) pursuant 
     to a covered national emergency (as defined in section 203), 
     the President shall--
       ``(1) consider the costs and benefits of available 
     statutory and regulatory alternatives;
       ``(2) evaluate the costs and benefits for the purpose of 
     expeditiously resolving the applicable national emergency;
       ``(3) establish criteria for the eventual termination of 
     the applicable national emergency; and
       ``(4) include in the basis and purpose incorporated in the 
     regulations--
       ``(A) an explanation of how the regulations will resolve 
     the applicable national emergency; and
       ``(B) a discussion of the costs and benefits.''.
       (4) Statute of limitations.--Section 206 of the 
     International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) 
     is amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(d) Statute of Limitations.--
       ``(1) Civil penalty.--An action, suit, or proceeding for 
     the enforcement of any civil fine, penalty, or forfeiture, 
     pecuniary or otherwise, shall not be entertained unless 
     commenced within 10 years from the latest date of the 
     violation upon which the civil fine, penalty, or forfeiture 
     is based.
       ``(2) Criminal penalty.--No person shall be prosecuted, 
     tried, or punished for any offense under this section unless 
     the indictment is found or the information is instituted 
     within 10 years from the latest date of the violation upon 
     which the indictment or information is based.''.
       (b) Trading With the Enemy Act.--Section 16 of the Trading 
     with the Enemy Act (50 U.S.C. 4315) is amended by adding at 
     the end the following:
       ``(d) Statute of Limitations.--
       ``(1) Criminal penalty.--No person shall be prosecuted, 
     tried, or punished for any offense under this section unless 
     the indictment is found or the information is instituted 
     within 10 years from the latest date of the violation upon 
     which the indictment or information is based.
       ``(2) Civil penalty.--An action, suit, or proceeding for 
     the enforcement of any civil fine, penalty, or forfeiture, 
     pecuniary or otherwise, shall not be entertained unless 
     commenced within 10 years from the latest date of the 
     violation upon which the civil fine, penalty, or forfeiture 
     is based.''.

     SEC. 5. EXCEPTION RELATING TO IMPORTATION OF GOODS.

       (a) In General.--A requirement to block and prohibit all 
     transactions in all property and interests in property 
     pursuant to this Act or any amendment made by this Act shall 
     not include the authority or a requirement to impose 
     sanctions on the importation of goods.
       (b) Good Defined.--In this section, the term ``good'' means 
     any article, natural or manmade substance, material, supply 
     or manufactured product, including inspection and test 
     equipment, and excluding technical data.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Kentucky (Mr. Barr) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Connolly) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Kentucky.


                             General Leave

  Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on this measure.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Kentucky?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of my legislation, the Stop Chinese 
Fentanyl Act, that is currently before the House.
  The fentanyl crisis is one that is affecting families and communities 
across the United States. As of 2021, 70,601 Americans died as a result 
of synthetic opioid overdoses. As of 2020, 82.3 percent of all opioid-
involved overdoses were the result of synthetic opioids. Last year, 
almost 70 percent of all drug overdose deaths were caused by fentanyl--
over 100,000 American lives destroyed because of this.
  This has certainly impacted my home State, the Commonwealth of 
Kentucky. A recent drug overdose report from the Kentucky Office of 
Drug Control Policy reported that there was a 14.5 percent increase in 
overdose deaths in my home State.
  According to cases autopsied by the Kentucky Office of the Medical 
Examiner and toxicology reports submitted by Kentucky coroners, the 
rise in the death toll was driven largely by an increased use of 
fentanyl, accounting for approximately 70 percent of all overdose 
deaths in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
  Unfortunately, this scourge has spread with the help of our greatest 
strategic threat, the People's Republic of China and the Chinese 
Communist Party. We know that China has historically been and remains 
the primary source of fentanyl in global circulation.
  Since the Trump administration tightened controls on the shipment of 
fentanyl into the United States, the CCP has adjusted their practices 
and begun producing precursor chemicals and outsourcing final 
production to cartel laboratories in Mexico to then exploit our porous 
southern border and poison the American people.
  In 2020, U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized 4,800 pounds of 
fentanyl, or enough to kill over a billion people. Just a tiny little 
bit of this very deadly synthetic opioid is enough to kill.
  This figure more than tripled in just 2 years to 14,700 pounds in 
2022. In the first 2 months of 2023, Customs and Border Protection 
seized 12,500 pounds. Much of this is originating from China exploiting 
the cartels and exploiting our open southern border.
  We must attack the production of fentanyl at its source by targeting 
the source of the precursors in China. My legislation places sanctions 
on Chinese producers of synthetic opioids and opioid precursors and 
holds senior government and Chinese political officials accountable for 
the spread of illicit fentanyl.
  Specifically, it amends the Fentanyl Sanctions Act to expand the 
definition of a foreign opioid trafficker to include any Chinese entity 
that produces, manufactures, distributes, sells, finances, or 
transports synthetic opioids or active pharmaceutical ingredients or 
chemicals used to produce synthetic opioids and fails to take credible 
steps to detect or prevent opioid trafficking, including know-your-
customer procedures or cooperation with U.S. counternarcotics efforts.
  The expanded definition also includes any senior officials of the PRC 
Government or other Chinese political official who has significant 
regulatory or law enforcement responsibilities and fails to take 
credible steps to combat foreign opioid traffickers.
  Their culpability, the culpability of the Chinese Communist Party in 
this epidemic in our country, does not end when the precursor products 
land in Mexico or illegally cross our southern border. We must look at 
every step of fentanyl's deadly supply chain.
  This bipartisan legislation passed the House Foreign Affairs 
Committee by voice vote earlier this year and is a needed step to 
control this deadly drug.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge support for this bill, and I reserve the balance 
of my time.

[[Page H3912]]

                                         House of Representatives,


                                 Committee on Foreign Affairs,

                                 Washington, DC, February 9, 2023.
     Hon. Patrick McHenry,
     Chairman, Committee on Financial Services
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman McHenry: Thank you for consulting with the 
     Foreign Affairs Committee and agreeing to be discharged from 
     further consideration of H.R. 3203, the Stop Chinese Fentanyl 
     Act of 2023, so that the measure may proceed expeditiously to 
     the House floor.
       I agree that your forgoing further action on this measure 
     does not in any way diminish or alter the jurisdiction of 
     your committee, or prejudice its jurisdictional prerogatives 
     on this measure or similar legislation in the future. I would 
     support your effort to seek appointment of an appropriate 
     number of conferees from your committee to any House-Senate 
     conference on this legislation.
       I will seek to place our letters on H.R. 3203 into the 
     Congressional Record during floor consideration. I appreciate 
     your cooperation regarding this legislation and look forward 
     to continuing to work together as this measure moves through 
     the legislative process.
           Sincerely,
                                                Michael T. McCaul,
     Chairman.
                                  ____

                                         House of Representatives,


                              Committee on Financial Services,

                                     Washington, DC, May 18, 2023.
     Hon. Michael McCaul,
     Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs,
     House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman McCaul: Thank you for consulting with the 
     Committee on Financial Services regarding H.R. 3203, the Stop 
     Chinese Fentanyl Act of 2023. I agree that the Committee 
     shall be discharged from further consideration of the bill so 
     that it may proceed expeditiously to the House Floor. The 
     Committee takes this action with the mutual understanding 
     that, by foregoing consideration of H.R. 3203 at this time, 
     we do not waive any jurisdiction over the subject matter 
     contained in this or similar legislation, and that the 
     Committee will be appropriately consulted and involved on 
     this or similar legislation as it moves forward. The 
     Committee also reserves the right to see appointment of an 
     appropriate number of conferees to any conference with the 
     Senate involving this or similar legislation, and we request 
     your support for any such request.
       Finally, as you mentioned in your letter, I ask that a copy 
     of our exchange of letters on this bill be included in your 
     Committee's report to accompany the legislation, as well as 
     in the Congressional Record during floor consideration 
     thereof.
           Sincerely,

                                              Patrick McHenry,

                                                         Chairman,
     Committee on Financial Services.
                                  ____

                                         House of Representatives,


                                   Committee on the Judiciary,

                                    Washington, DC, June 23, 2023.
     Hon. Michael McCaul,
     Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs,
     House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman McCaul: I write regarding H.R. 3203, the Stop 
     Chinese Fentanyl Act of 2023. Provisions of this bill fall 
     within the Judiciary Committee's Rule X jurisdiction, and I 
     appreciate that you consulted with us on those provisions. 
     The Judiciary Committee agrees that it shall be discharged 
     from further consideration of the bill so that it may proceed 
     expeditiously to the House floor.
       The Committee takes this action with the understanding that 
     forgoing further consideration of this measure does not in 
     any way alter the Committee's jurisdiction or waive any 
     future jurisdictional claim over these provisions or their 
     subject matter. We also reserve the right to seek appointment 
     of an appropriate number of conferees in the event of a 
     conference with the Senate involving this measure or similar 
     legislation.
       I ask that you please include this letter in your 
     committee's report to accompany this legislation or insert 
     this letter in the Congressional Record during consideration 
     of H.R. 3203 on the House floor. I appreciate the cooperative 
     manner in which our committees have worked on this matter, 
     and I look forward to working collaboratively in the future 
     on matters of shared jurisdiction. Thank you for your 
     attention to this matter.
           Sincerely,
                                                       Jim Jordan,
     Chairman.
                                  ____

                                         House of Representatives,


                                 Committee on Foreign Affairs,

                                    Washington, DC, July 24, 2023.
     Hon. Jim Jordan,
     Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman Jordan: Thank you for consulting with the 
     Foreign Affairs Committee and agreeing to be discharged from 
     further consideration of H.R. 3203, the Stop Chinese Fentanyl 
     Act, so that the measure may proceed expeditiously to the 
     House floor.
       I agree that your forgoing further action on this measure 
     does not in any way diminish or alter the jurisdiction of 
     your committee, or prejudice its jurisdictional prerogatives 
     on this measure or similar legislation in the future. I would 
     support your effort to seek appointment of an appropriate 
     number of conferees from your committee to any House-Senate 
     conference on this legislation.
       I will seek to place our letters on this bill into the 
     Congressional Record during floor consideration. I appreciate 
     your cooperation regarding this legislation and look forward 
     to continuing to work together as this measure moves through 
     the legislative process.
           Sincerely,
                                                Michael T. McCaul,
                                                         Chairman.

  Mr. CONNOLLY. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3203, the Stop 
Chinese Fentanyl Act of 2023, and I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  On both sides of the aisle, we recognize the devastating impact the 
opioid crisis has had on our families and communities. There has been 
too much tragic loss of life and too many families torn apart. 
Challenging problems require our working together to find solutions.
  Here at home, we need expanded education programs for students so 
that they understand the deadly risks associated with fentanyl 
consumption and better funded rehab programs to help people get clean. 
We need law enforcement and prosecutors to target major trafficking 
networks, but we should be careful not to repeat the excesses and 
inequities that undermined the war on drugs previously.
  In the international context, we need to incentivize countries to 
work with us, but we also need to demonstrate there are consequences 
for actions that increase the supply of these dangerous drugs with 
impunity. This bill takes the latter approach. It will beef up 
sanctions on major Chinese fentanyl traffickers that aid and abet 
opioid traffickers. The legislation bolsters reporting requirements on 
fentanyl trafficking under the national emergency declared by the 
President and includes reforms to the International Economic Emergency 
Powers Act.
  I want to be clear: We can't sanction our way out of this fentanyl 
crisis alone. Sanctions are an important tool, but we will also need 
cooperation, as well.
  If we want countries to limit the export of fentanyl precursors and 
work with us to prevent such substances from entering our country and 
poisoning our people, we will need the cooperation of law enforcement 
in other nations like China and Mexico. That is a simple fact.
  Tough talk and asset freezes have their role, and I support them, but 
diplomacy and law enforcement cooperation are also part of the picture 
we need if we are going to conquer this problem.
  I thank Mr. Barr, my friend from Kentucky, and Chairman McCaul for 
their advocacy on this important issue and bringing this legislation 
forward.
  Congress works on behalf of the American people best when we can 
collaborate, when we can support each other, when we work together. 
Both sides worked in good faith to get this deal done, and I salute the 
gentleman from Kentucky for his leadership.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I 
reserve the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1630

  Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CONNOLLY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to 
close.
  Again, this is a scourge that has cost way too many lives. Educating 
our young people about its dangers but also cracking down on those who, 
with abandon, are willing to poison our young people and damage our 
country is an important step.
  I support Mr. Barr's effort. I support this legislation, and I urge 
my colleagues to support this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to 
close.
  I thank the gentleman from Virginia for his bipartisan support of 
this important legislation. This is a bipartisan bill for good reason, 
Mr. Speaker: Because China has blamed the rise in overdose deaths in 
the United States and illicit fentanyl in the United States on the 
United States.
  The Chinese Communist Party has refused to address its role in this 
crisis. While Mexico is now the principal source of illicit fentanyl 
and its analogues, cartels manufacture these drugs in covert 
laboratories with ingredients, precursor chemicals sourced largely from 
Communist China.
  China is the primary source of chemical precursors used to synthesize 
fentanyl and other novel synthetic

[[Page H3913]]

opioids, and this illicit fentanyl made in Mexican labs is then 
smuggled into the United States across our open and unenforced southern 
border, making its way into communities and killing Americans, killing 
many Americans in my home State of Kentucky.
  No, Kentucky is not a border State, but Kentucky is impacted by the 
fact that these Chinese precursors are making their way into China and 
then smuggled across our southern border.
  This is a huge problem, and we need to hold those individuals, those 
Chinese Communist Party officials, accountable for this scourge, for 
poisoning the American people.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to 
defend the American people, to stop this scourge, and to hold the 
Chinese Communist Party accountable for their role in this poison that 
is pouring across our borders.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Fulcher). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Barr) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3203, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________