II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2982 

To require a GAO study on the sale of illicit drugs online, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 28 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 22), 2023 

Mr. BOOKER (for himself, Mr. CRUZ, Mr. LEE, Mr. WELCH, Mr. TILLIS, and 

Mr. COONS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To require a GAO study on the sale of illicit drugs online, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Targeting Online Sales 

5 of Fentanyl Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. GAO STUDY ON THE SALE OF ILLICIT DRUGS ON7 LINE. 

8 (a) STUDY.—The Comptroller General of the United 

9 States shall conduct a study on the online sale of fentanyl 

10 and methamphetamine, including— 


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1 (1) business models employed by online sellers 

2 of fentanyl and methamphetamine, including an ex3 amination of supply chains, logistics, and strategies 

4 utilized for customer acquisition, retention, and com5 munication within illicit online marketplaces; 

6 (2) utilization of online illicit drug markets and 

7 providers (as defined in section 2258E of title 18, 

8 United States Code) for facilitating financial trans9 actions in the online sale of fentanyl and meth10 amphetamine, with a particular focus on their im11 pact on individuals who are 18 years of age and 

12 younger; 

13 (3) efforts of the Federal Government to com14 bat the online sale of fentanyl and methamphet15 amine, including— 

16 (A) interagency collaboration, including 

17 personnel detailed to other agencies to support 

18 efforts to combat the online trafficking of 

19 fentanyl and methamphetamine, and related il20 licit finance; 

21 (B) intergovernmental collaboration be22 tween the Federal Government and State, Trib23 al, local, and foreign governments; 


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1 (C) intersectoral collaboration with the pri2 vate sector, including businesses and non-gov3 ernmental organizations; 

4 (D) examination of existing procedures fol5 lowed by Federal law enforcement agencies in 

6 handling cases related to online sales of 

7 fentanyl and methamphetamine, encompassing 

8 the receipt, investigation, and prosecution proc9 esses; 

10 (E) analysis of aggregated outcomes from 

11 the past 10 years to identify patterns and areas 

12 for improvement; and 

13 (F) identification of gaps or resource defi14 ciencies in coordinating and collaborating activi15 ties described in subparagraphs (A) through 

16 (E) to combat the online sale of fentanyl and 

17 methamphetamine; 

18 (4) models utilized by providers, including ma19 chine learning, algorithmic technology, and data 

20 analysis techniques, to effectively detect and combat 

21 the sale of fentanyl and methamphetamine on their 

22 platforms; 

23 (5) enforcement mechanisms and processes em24 ployed by providers to penalize users involved in the 

25 sale of fentanyl and methamphetamine, including 


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1 user identification, verification procedures, and sub2 sequent actions, such as account suspension, report3 ing to law enforcement agencies, and collaboration 

4 with legal proceedings; and 

5 (6) analysis of referrals to the Federal Govern6 ment by providers detailing information about online 

7 sales of fentanyl and methamphetamine, including— 

8 (A) the number of referrals from providers 

9 to the Federal Government; 

10 (B) the number of referrals that were in11 vestigated by the Federal Government, includ12 ing the agencies involved in the investigation 

13 and the outcome of the investigation; 

14 (C) the number of referrals that resulted 

15 in an arrest, prosecution, or conviction, includ16 ing the offense of the arrest, prosecution, or 

17 conviction; and 

18 (D) the number of referrals that were 

19 shared by the Federal Government with a 

20 State, Tribal, or local government, including a 

21 law enforcement agency or prosecutor’s office. 

22 (b) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 1 year after 

23 the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

24 of the United States shall submit to Congress a report 


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1 containing all findings and determinations made in car2 rying out the study required under subsection (a). 

Æ 


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