Fentanyl Policy Working Group Unveils Bipartisan Legislation

WATCH: Lawmakers on the Select Committee' Fentanyl Policy Working Group unveil new bipartisan legislation in the working group's last meeting of the 118th Congress.

WASHINGTON, D.C.-- Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI) and Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party joined Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) and Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA), co-leads of the Committee’s Fentanyl Policy Working Group, to introduce bipartisan legislation that helps hold China responsible for the fentanyl crisis.

Spearheaded by Reps. Newhouse and Auchincloss, the working group spent months building on the Select Committee’s bipartisan investigation which uncovered for the first time how the CCP directly subsidizes fentanyl precursors and analogues, while also showing how the CCP has failed to aggressively pursue exporters of deadly substances or meaningfully police PRC-based e-commerce platforms for these sales. The lawmakers are now introducing three bipartisan bills aimed at better coordinating law enforcement efforts, strengthening sanctions on China-based and CCP-backed entities engaged in drug trafficking, and leveraging fines against PRC shippers that fail to implement appropriate transparency and related safeguards that hinder drug trafficking.

Members of the Fentanyl Policy Working Group are Rep. Newhouse, Rep. Auchincloss, Rep. Neal Dunn (R-FL), Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD), Ritchie Torres (D-NY), and Michelle Steel (R-CA).

The bills developed by the working group are the Joint Task Force to Counter Illicit Synthetic Narcotics Act of 2024, The CCP Fentanyl Sanctions Act, and the International Protecting from PRC Fentanyl and Other Synthetic Opioids Act.

Summaries of the bill can be found below.

“Earlier this spring, the Select Committee uncovered new evidence showing how the Chinese Communist Party directly fuels America’s fentanyl crisis. China has programs in place to reward companies with subsidies for exporting fentanyl and other drugs illegal under Chinese law to the United States. It is now abundantly clear that the CCP is not just turning a blind eye to the fentanyl crisis, it is causing it,” said Chairman Moolenaar. “Thank you to Rep. Newhouse and Rep. Auchincloss, for their bipartisan leadership and the solutions they have crafted to hold the CCP accountable for the fentanyl crisis.”

“Earlier this year, the Select Committee’s bipartisan investigation proved that the CCP could be doing much more to stop the flow of fentanyl. But if the CCP won’t take action, Congress will,” said Ranking Member Krishnamoorthi. “I want to commend Congressmen Auchincloss and Newhouse for their leadership of this working group. Building off the findings of our investigation, the three bills put forth today would help save lives, and help ensure that companies in China that produce and export deadly chemicals are held accountable.”

“For too long, China has profited from the destruction of American lives, and the fentanyl crisis they are manufacturing knows no boundaries. As we continue our work fighting the immediate threat the drug poses, we are also going after the CCP and their central role in subsidizing, producing, and exporting the precursors that fuel this epidemic,” said Congressman Newhouse.

"Dismantling the fentanyl supply chain starts at the source. The CCP Fentanyl Sanctions Act sanctions Chinese chemical manufacturers that are profiting by poisoning the American people," said Congressman Auchincloss.

“For far too long, the Chinese Communist Party has been targeting American civilians by intentionally fueling our country’s opioid epidemic,” said Congressman Dunn. “We must take swift action to protect the American public and hold the CCP accountable for their brazen and unacceptable practices. I am proud to be part of this unified response to CCP aggression and look forward to playing an active role in passing these overwhelmingly bipartisan bills into law.”

"Fentanyl has taken too many loved ones and devastated communities across America. We owe it to those families to close trade loopholes used by the CCP to ship fentanyl into the US and perpetuate one of our nation’s worst drug epidemics. I am proud to support these bipartisan bills that include establishing a task force to address the CCP’s role in international trafficking networks with new sanction authorities, compliance requirements, and penalties for PRC ports, vessels, and exporters,” said Congressman Khanna.

“China has been flooding our nation with fentanyl for years, profiting on the destruction and poisoning of American lives,” said Congressman Johnson. “The Working Group has done an incredible job at identifying ways to curtail the flow of fentanyl into our country. These bills will make our streets safer and protect American families.” 

"The fentanyl crisis is one of the most urgent public health and national security challenges facing our nation today. The Fentanyl Working Group is pursuing critical steps to address the dual threats of synthetic opioid trafficking and the role of the Chinese Communist Party in enabling this epidemic," said Congressman Torres. "From disrupting trafficking networks to holding PRC entities accountable for their complicity, these bipartisan efforts reflect the resolve of this committee and Congress to confront this crisis head-on. We must act with the urgency and unity this moment demands.” 

The Joint Task Force to Counter Illicit Synthetic Narcotics Act of 2024

• The Joint Task Force to Counter Illicit Synthetic Narcotics Act of 2024 would establish a coordinated task force to combat the trafficking of synthetic narcotics like fentanyl. The task force will bring together representatives from relevant federal agencies to conduct joint operations, disrupt trafficking networks, and enforce sanctions. It will focus on international and domestic coordination, including addressing the role of the People’s Republic of China in the opioid crisis.
• The task force aims to streamline interagency collaboration, enhance legal enforcement, and report regularly to Congress.

The CCP Fentanyl Sanctions Act

• The CCP Fentanyl Sanctions Act targets what the Select Committee’s bipartisan fentanyl report described as the “Achilles’ heel” of fentanyl and related synthetic narcotics producers—their exposure to the U.S. banking system courtesy of their licit activity. This legislation would codify important new authorities to address this threat while working to target those responsible for the epidemic.
• It codifies and builds on Executive Order 14059, which established critical new sanctions authorities against actors involved fentanyl trafficking. It also expands existing sanctions authorities to target PRC vessels or ports that knowingly or recklessly facilitate shipment/transportation of illicit synthetic narcotics, as well as PRC online marketplaces and other entities that knowingly or recklessly facilitate sale of illicit synthetic narcotics.
• The legislation also provides authority to restrict foreign financial institution correspondent accounts and payable-through accounts if the President determines the account has knowingly facilitated transactions on behalf of individuals engaging in synthetic narcotics trafficking.

International Protection from PRC Fentanyl and Other Synthetic Opioids Act

• The International Protection from PRC Fentanyl and Other Synthetic Opioids Act aims to combat fentanyl trafficking by imposing civil penalties on PRC shippers that fail to implement appropriate transparency and related safeguards that hinder drug trafficking. It introduces compliance requirements for PRC ports, vessels, and exporters, to properly manifest fentanyl precursors and related chemicals, as well as to follow formal entry when shipping to the United States.
• PRC shippers that fail to follow these requirements would be subject to escalating civil penalties adjusted to the value of goods present on a given vessel. Any such penalties would go towards funding anti-trafficking and related efforts. 

View the Joint Task Force to Counter Illicit Synthetic Narcotics Act of 2024 HERE

View the CCP Fentanyl Sanctions Act HERE

View the International Protection from PRC Fentanyl and Other Synthetic Opioids Act HERE