[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 185 (Thursday, December 12, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Page S7041]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




DETECTION EQUIPMENT AND TECHNOLOGY EVALUATION TO COUNTER THE THREAT OF 
                   FENTANYL AND XYLAZINE ACT OF 2024

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs be discharged 
from further consideration of H.R. 8663, and the Senate proceed to its 
immediate consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (H.R. 8663) to require the Science and Technology 
     Directorate in the Department of Homeland Security to develop 
     greater capacity to detect, identify, and disrupt illicit 
     substances in very low concentrations.

  There being no objection, the committee was discharged, and the 
Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Mr. SCHUMER. I further ask that the Cornyn-Ossoff substitute 
amendment be considered and agreed to; that the bill, as amended, be 
considered read a third time and passed; that the Cornyn-Ossoff title 
amendment at the desk be considered and agreed to; that the title, as 
amended, be agreed to; and that the motion to reconsider be considered 
made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment (No. 3329) in the nature of a substitute was agreed to 
as follows:

                (Purpose: In the nature of a substitute)

        Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
     following:

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLES.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Detection Equipment and 
     Technology Evaluation to Counter the Threat of Fentanyl and 
     Xylazine Act of 2024'' or the ``DETECT Fentanyl and Xylazine 
     Act of 2024''.

     SEC. 2. ENHANCING THE CAPACITY TO DETECT AND IDENTIFY DRUGS 
                   SUCH AS FENTANYL AND XYLAZINE.

       Section 302 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 
     182) is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (13), by striking ``and'' at the end;
       (2) in paragraph (14), by striking the period at the end 
     and inserting ``; and''; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(15) carrying out, in coordination with the Drug 
     Enforcement Administration, research, development, testing, 
     evaluation, and cost-benefit analyses to improve the safety, 
     effectiveness, and efficiency of equipment and the 
     effectiveness and efficiency of reference libraries for use 
     by Federal, State, local, Tribal, and territorial law 
     enforcement agencies for the accurate detection of drugs, 
     such as fentanyl and xylazine, including--
       ``(A) portable equipment that can detect and identify drugs 
     with minimal or no handling of the sample;
       ``(B) equipment that can separate complex mixtures 
     containing low concentrations of drugs and high 
     concentrations of cutting agents into their component parts 
     to enable signature extraction for field identification and 
     detection; and
       ``(C) technologies that use machine learning or artificial 
     intelligence (as defined in section 5002 of the National 
     Artificial Intelligence Initiative Act of 2020 (15 U.S.C. 
     9401)) and other techniques to predict whether the substances 
     in a sample are controlled substance analogues or other new 
     psychoactive substances not yet included in available 
     reference libraries.''.

     SEC. 3. REQUIREMENTS.

       In carrying out section 302(15) of the Homeland Security 
     Act of 2002, as added by section 2, the Under Secretary for 
     Science and Technology shall--
       (1) follow the recommendations, guidelines, and best 
     practices described in the Artificial Intelligence Risk 
     Management Framework (NIST AI 100-1) or any successor 
     document published by the National Institute of Standards and 
     Technology; and
       (2) establish the Directorate of Science and Technology's 
     research, development, testing, evaluation, and cost-benefit 
     analysis priorities under such section 302(15) based on the 
     latest available information, including specific drugs 
     identified as threats in--
       (A) the latest Homeland Threat Assessment published by the 
     Department of Homeland Security;
       (B) the latest State and Territory Report on Enduring and 
     Emerging Threats published by the Drug Enforcement 
     Administration; or
       (C) any successor documents.

     SEC. 4. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.

       Nothing in this Act may be construed to limit the authority 
     of agencies currently managing, overseeing, or otherwise 
     involved in drug equipment and reference libraries.

  The amendment was ordered to be engrossed and the bill to be read a 
third time.
  The bill was read the third time.
  The bill (H.R. 8663), as amended, was passed.
  The title amendment (No. 3330) was agreed to as follows:

                     (Purpose: To amend the title)

       Amend the title so as to read: ``An Act to require the 
     Science and Technology Directorate in the Department of 
     Homeland Security to develop greater capacity to detect and 
     identify illicit substances in very low concentrations.''.

  The title, as amended, was agreed to.

                          ____________________