[Senate Report 118-16]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 44
118th Congress } { Report
1st Session } SENATE { 118-16
_______________________________________________________________________
END FENTANYL ACT
__________
R E P O R T
of the
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND
GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
to accompany
S. 206
TO REQUIRE THE COMMISSIONER OF U.S. CUSTOMS
AND BORDER PROTECTION TO REGULARLY REVIEW
AND UPDATE POLICIES AND MANUALS RELATED TO
INSPECTIONS AT PORTS OF ENTRY
May 4, 2023.--Ordered to be printed
______
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
39-010 WASHINGTON : 2023
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
GARY C. PETERS, Michigan, Chairman
THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware RAND PAUL, Kentucky
MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin
KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma
JACKY ROSEN, Nevada MITT ROMNEY, Utah
ALEX PADILLA, California RICK SCOTT, Florida
JON OSSOFF, Georgia JOSH HAWLEY, Missouri
RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut ROGER MARSHALL, Kansas
David M. Weinberg, Staff Director
Zachary I. Schram, Chief Counsel
Christopher J. Mulkins, Director of Homeland Security
Katie A. Conley, Professional Staff Member
William E. Henderson III, Minority Staff Director
Christina N. Salazar, Minority Chief Counsel
Kendal B. Tigner, Minority Professional Staff Member
Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk
Calendar No. 44
118th Congress } { Report
SENATE
1st Session } { 118-16
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END FENTANYL ACT
_______
May 4, 2023.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Peters, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 206]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 206) to require the
Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection to regularly
review and update policies and manuals related to inspections
at ports of entry, having considered the same, reports
favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that the
bill do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
I. Purpose and Summary..............................................1
II. Background and Need for the Legislation..........................2
III. Legislative History..............................................3
IV. Section-by-Section Analysis of the Bill, as Reported.............3
V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact..................................4
VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................4
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............5
I. Purpose and Summary
S. 206, the Eradicating Narcotic Drugs and Formulating
Effective New Tools to Address National Yearly Losses of life
Act or the END FENTANYL Act, requires the Commissioner of U.S.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to review and update, as
needed, the current policies and manuals for the Office of
Field Operations (OFO) related to inspections at ports of entry
at least every three years. In addition, shortly after making
any updates, the CBP Commissioner is required to submit a
report to Congress summarizing the policy changes.\1\
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\1\On August 3, 2022, the Committee approved S. 4460, Eradicating
Narcotic Drugs and Formulating Effective New Tools to Address National
Yearly Losses of life Act, with an amendment offered by Senator Scott
that clarified that the requirement for CBP to update its inspection
policies at least once every three years applies to the CBP's active
policies and made a change in terminology. The Scott substitute
amendment was adopted by voice vote en bloc with Senators Peters,
Hassan, Sinema, Rosen, Padilla, Ossoff, Lankford, Romney, Scott, and
Hawley present. That bill is exactly the same as S. 206. Accordingly,
this committee report is, in many respects, similar to the committee
report for S. 4460. See S. Rept. 117-193.
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II. Background and Need for the Legislation
Drug overdose deaths in the United States have increased in
recent years with an estimated 107,622 overdose deaths
occurring in 2021, according to the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention.\2\ This epidemic has been exacerbated by the
increase of synthetic opioids--including illicitly manufactured
fentanyl--which have been involved in the majority of overdose
deaths in recent years.\3\
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\2\Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: U.S. Overdose Deaths
In 2021 Increased Half as Much as in 2020--But Are Still Up 15% (May
11, 2022) (https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/nchs_press_releases/2022/
202205.htm).
\3\Id.
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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) plays an
important role in preventing illicit drugs from entering the
United States. CBP is responsible for safeguarding the borders
of the United States from illicit activity--such as drug
smuggling--while facilitating legitimate trade and travel.\4\
Specifically, CBP's Office of Field Operations (OFO) is
responsible for inspecting pedestrians, passengers, and cargo
at the more than 320 air, land, and sea ports of entry.\5\
Within CBP, OFO has the greatest number of drug seizures, with
over 77,000 drug seizure events resulting in an estimated
734,000 pounds of seized drugs during fiscal year 2021.\6\
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\4\U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Home Page (www.cbp.gov/
about) (accessed Aug. 31, 2022).
\5\Government Accountability Office, Border Security: CBP Could
Improve How It Categorizes Drug Seizure Data and Evaluates Training
(GAO-22-104725) (May 2022).
\6\U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Drug Seizure Statistics
(www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/drug-seizure-statistics) (accessed Aug. 31,
2022).
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The Drug Enforcement Administration's National Drug Threat
Assessment report notes that the most common drug smuggling
method used by transnational criminal organizations is through
U.S. ports of entry in concealed compartments in passenger
vehicles or commingled with cargo on commercial vehicles.\7\
According to May 2022 testimony from CBP OFO Executive
Assistant Commissioner Pete Flores, while fentanyl is the most
commonly seized illicit synthetic opioid, CBP has also seized
50 synthetic opioids not classified as fentanyl, demonstrating
a trend of new and emerging drugs.\8\ CBP officers serve as the
first line of defense to interdict illicit opioids and emerging
drugs from entering the United States.\9\ In addition to drug
smuggling, CBP also encounters a variety of other illicit
activities at ports of entry, such as human smuggling, bulk
currency smuggling, and weapons trafficking.\10\
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\7\Drug Enforcement Administration, 2020 National Drug Threat
Assessment (DEA-DCT-DIR-008-21) (Mar. 2021).
\8\U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security,
Subcommittee on Border Security, Facilitation and Operations, Testimony
Submitted for the Record of Pete Flores, Executive Assistant
Commissioner, Office of Field Operations, U.S. Customs and Border
Protection, Department of Homeland Security, Hearing on Examining DHS's
Efforts to Combat the Opioid Epidemic, 117th Cong. (May 18, 2022).
\9\Id.
\10\U.S. Customs and Border Protection, CBP Enforcement Statistics
Fiscal Year 2022 (www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/cbp-enforcement-
statistics) (accessed Aug. 31, 2022).
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While CBP has policies in place that govern its inspection
processes, a 2019 U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO)
found that many of these policies specific to inspections at
land ports of entry were not regularly updated.\11\ The report
noted that according to OFO guidance, policies are required to
be updated at least once every three years.\12\ However, GAO
found that some had not been updated in 20 years and as a
result, some OFO inspection policies did not reflect the
current operating conditions, inspection processes, or
technology at ports of entry.\13\
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\11\Government Accountability Office, Land Ports of Entry: CBP
Should Update Policies and Enhance Analysis of Inspections (GAO-19-658)
(Aug. 2019).
\12\Id.
\13\Id.
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S. 206 addresses GAO's findings by requiring CBP review and
update, their OFO inspection policies for ports of entry as
needed, but at least every three years. By regularly reviewing
and updating these policies, CBP will have greater assurance
that its inspection practices are uniformly implemented across
its ports of entry. CBP will also have assurance that its
policies are current and responsive to tactics and techniques
designed to disguise illicit activity, such as drug and human
smuggling. In addition, S. 206 requires CBP to report changes
and updates to its inspection policies to the Committee on
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and
the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of
Representatives.
III. Legislative History
Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) introduced S. 206, the END
FENTANYL Act, on February 1, 2023, along with Senators Mike
Braun (R-IN), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Margaret Wood Hassan (D-
NH), and Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV).
The bill was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs. The Committee considered S. 206 at a
business meeting on March 29, 2023. The Committee ordered the
bill to be reported favorably by a roll call vote of 11 yeas
and 0 nays, with Senators Peters, Hassan, Rosen, Padilla,
Ossoff, Blumenthal, Paul, Lankford, Romney, Scott, and Hawley
voting in the affirmative, and with Senators Carper, Sinema,
Johnson, and Marshall voting yea by proxy, for the record only.
IV. Section-by-Section Analysis of the Bill, as Reported
Section 1. Short titles
This section designates the name of the bill as the
``Eradicating Narcotic Drugs and Formulating Effective New
Tools to Address National Yearly Losses of life Act'' or the
``END FENTANYL Act''.
Section 2. Ensuring timely updates to U.S. Customs and Border
Protection Field Manuals
Subsection (a) requires that the Commissioner of CBP review
and update current OFO policies and manuals for inspections at
ports of entry at least once every three years. The review and
update process is intended to ensure the uniform implementation
of inspection practices across ports of entry so that OFO is
able to effectively respond to changes in tactics and
techniques designed to disguise illicit activity, such as drug
and human smuggling.
Subsection (b) requires that the Commissioner of CBP submit
a report to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Homeland Security of
the House of Representatives summarizing the changes described
in subsection (a) shortly after making them.
V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact
Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 11(b) of rule
XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has
considered the regulatory impact of this bill and determined
that the bill will have no regulatory impact within the meaning
of the rules. The Committee agrees with the Congressional
Budget Office's statement that the bill contains no
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would impose no costs
on state, local, or tribal governments.
VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate
S. 206 would require the U.S. Customs and Border Protection
(CBP) to review at least once every three years its current
policies and manuals related to inspections at ports of entry.
The bill would also require CBP to submit a report to the
Congress highlighting any changes implemented that result from
such a review.
Based on information from CBP, CBO estimates that
implementing S. 206 would cost less than $500,000 over the
2023-2028 period. Such spending would be subject to the
availability of appropriated funds.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jeremy Crimm.
The estimate was reviewed by Chad Chirico, Deputy Director of
Budget Analysis.
Phillip L. Swagel,
Director, Congressional Budget Office.
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
This legislation would make no change in existing law,
within the meaning of clauses (a) and (b) of subparagraph 12 of
rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, because this
legislation would not repeal or amend any provision of current
law.