[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 205 (Wednesday, December 13, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S5958]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          PRESIDENTIAL MESSAGE

                                 ______
                                 

     REPORT OF THE CONTINUATION OF THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY THAT WAS 
ORIGINALLY DECLARED IN EXECUTIVE ORDER 14059 OF DECEMBER 15, 2021, WITH 
           RESPECT TO GLOBAL ILLICIT DRUG TRAFFICKING--PM 33

  The PRESIDING OFFICER laid before the Senate the following message 
from the President of the United States, together with an accompanying 
report; which was referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 
Urban Affairs:

To the Congress of the United States:
  Section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)) 
provides for the automatic termination of a national emergency unless, 
within 90 days prior to the anniversary date of its declaration, the 
President publishes in the Federal Register and transmits to the 
Congress a notice stating that the emergency is to continue in effect 
beyond the anniversary date. In accordance with this provision, I have 
sent to the Federal Register for publication the enclosed notice 
stating that the national emergency with respect to global illicit drug 
trafficking declared in Executive Order 14059 of December 15, 2021, is 
to continue in effect beyond December 15, 2023.
  The trafficking into the United States of illicit drugs, including 
fentanyl and other synthetic opioids, is causing the deaths of tens of 
thousands of Americans annually, as well as countless more non-fatal 
overdoses with their own tragic human toll. Drug cartels, transnational 
criminal organizations, and their facilitators are the primary sources 
of illicit drugs and precursor chemicals that fuel the current opioid 
epidemic, as well as drug-related violence that harms our communities. 
International drug trafficking--including the illicit production, 
global sale, and widespread distribution of illegal drugs; the rise of 
extremely potent drugs such as fentanyl and other synthetic opioids; as 
well as the growing role of internet-based drug sales--continues to 
pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, 
foreign policy, and economy of the United States. Therefore, I have 
determined that it is necessary to continue the national emergency 
declared in Executive Order 14059 with respect to global illicit drug 
trafficking.
                                                 Joseph R. Biden, Jr.  
The White House, December 13, 2023.

                          ____________________