I 
117TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 9050 
To restrict the flow of illicit drugs into the United States, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 29, 2022 
Mrs. FLORES introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Homeland Security, and in addition to the Committees on the 
Judiciary, Oversight and Reform, Foreign Affairs, and Ways and Means, 
for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 
for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
committee concerned 
A BILL 
To restrict the flow of illicit drugs into the United States, 
and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Enhancing DHS Drug Seizures Act’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Drug testing and detection tools. 
Sec. 3. Coordination and information sharing. 
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Sec. 4. Danger pay for Department of Homeland Security personnel deployed 
abroad. 
Sec. 5. Improving training to foreign-vetted law enforcement or national secu-
rity units. 
Sec. 6. Enhancing the operations of U.S. Customs and Border Protection in 
foreign countries. 
Sec. 7. Drug seizure data improvement. 
Sec. 8. Drug performance measures. 
Sec. 9. Penalties for hindering immigration, border, and customs controls. 
Sec. 10. Modification of Homeland Security Investigations’ authority for air-
craft seizure and forfeiture. 
SEC. 2. DRUG TESTING AND DETECTION TOOLS. 
The Secretary of Homeland Security shall enhance 
the research and development needs and activities of the 
Department of Homeland Security related to fentanyl and 
other illicit drugs in accordance with section 309(a) of the 
Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 189(a)) 
through coordination and communication with the Na-
tional Laboratories (as defined in section 2 of the Energy 
Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15801)) or other appro-
priate scientific research and development entities. 
SEC. 3. COORDINATION AND INFORMATION SHARING. 
(a) PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS.— 
(1) STRATEGY.—Not later than 180 days after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 
Homeland Security shall develop a strategy to 
strengthen existing and establish new public-private 
partnerships with shipping, chemical, and pharma-
ceutical industries to assist with early detection and 
interdiction of illicit drugs and precursor chemicals. 
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(2) CONTENTS.—The strategy required under 
paragraph (1) shall contain goals and objectives for 
employees of the Department of Homeland Security 
to ensure the tactics, techniques, and procedures 
gained from the public-private partnerships de-
scribed in paragraph (1) are included in policies, 
best practices, and training for the Department. 
(3) IMPLEMENTATION
PLAN.—Not later than 
180 days after developing the strategy required 
under paragraph (1), the Secretary of Homeland Se-
curity shall develop an implementation plan for the 
strategy, which shall outline departmental lead and 
support 
roles, 
responsibilities, 
programs, 
and 
timelines for accomplishing the goals and objectives 
of the strategy. 
(4) BRIEFING.—The Secretary of Homeland 
Security shall provide annual briefings to the Com-
mittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Af-
fairs of the Senate and the Committee on Homeland 
Security of the House of Representatives regarding 
the progress made in addressing the implementation 
plan developed pursuant to paragraph (3). 
(b) ASSESSMENT OF DRUG TASK FORCES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland 
Security shall conduct an assessment of the 
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counterdrug task forces in which the Department of 
Homeland Security, including components of the De-
partment, participates in or leads, which shall in-
clude— 
(A) areas of potential overlap; 
(B) opportunities for sharing information 
and best practices; 
(C) how the Department’s processes for 
ensuring accountability and transparency in its 
vetting and oversight of partner agency task 
force members align with best practices; and 
(D) corrective action plans for any capa-
bility limitations and deficient or negative find-
ings identified in the report for any such task 
forces led by the Department. 
(2) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 
Homeland Security shall submit a report to the 
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Home-
land Security of the House of Representatives that 
contains a summary of the results of the assessment 
conducted pursuant to paragraph (1). 
(3) CORRECTIVE ACTION PLAN.—The Secretary 
of Homeland Security shall— 
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(A) implement the corrective action plans 
described in paragraph (1)(D) immediately 
after the submission of the report pursuant to 
paragraph (2); and 
(B) provide annual briefings to the Com-
mittee on Homeland Security and Govern-
mental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee 
on Homeland Security of the House of Rep-
resentatives regarding the progress made in im-
plementing the corrective action plans. 
(c) COMBINATION OF BRIEFINGS.—The Secretary of 
Homeland Security may combine the briefings required 
under subsections (a)(4) and (b)(3). 
SEC. 4. DANGER PAY FOR DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SE-
CURITY PERSONNEL DEPLOYED ABROAD. 
Section 151 of the Foreign Relations Authorization 
Act, Fiscal Years 1990 and 1991 (Public Law 101–246; 
5 U.S.C. 5928 note) is amended by inserting ‘‘the Depart-
ment of Homeland Security,’’ after ‘‘Investigation,’’. 
SEC. 5. IMPROVING TRAINING TO FOREIGN-VETTED LAW 
ENFORCEMENT 
OR 
NATIONAL 
SECURITY 
UNITS. 
The Secretary of Homeland Security, or the designee 
of the Secretary, may waive reimbursement for salary ex-
penses of Department of Homeland Security for personnel 
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providing training to foreign-vetted law enforcement or 
national security units in accordance with an agreement 
with the Department of Defense pursuant to section 1535 
of title 31, United States Code. 
SEC. 6. ENHANCING THE OPERATIONS OF U.S. CUSTOMS 
AND 
BORDER 
PROTECTION 
IN 
FOREIGN 
COUNTRIES. 
(a) OPERATIONS IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES AND SUP-
PORT TO FOREIGN AUTHORITIES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Tariff Act of 1930 (19 
U.S.C. 1304 et seq.) is amended by inserting after 
section 629 the following: 
‘‘SEC. 629A. OPERATIONS IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES AND 
SUPPORT TO FOREIGN AUTHORITIES. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other pro-
vision of law, employees of U.S. Customs and Border Pro-
tection and other customs officers designated in accord-
ance with section 401(i) may provide the support de-
scribed in subsection (b) to authorities of the government 
of a foreign county, including by conducting joint oper-
ations with appropriate law enforcement officials within 
the territory of that country, if an arrangement has been 
entered into between the Government of the United States 
and the government of that country under which the provi-
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sion of such support by U.S. Customs and Border Protec-
tion is permitted. 
‘‘(b) SUPPORT DESCRIBED.—Support described in 
this subsection is air and marine support for— 
‘‘(1) the detection, deterrence, interdiction, and 
disruption of— 
‘‘(A) the transit of illegal drugs into the 
United States; 
‘‘(B) the illicit traffic of persons and goods 
into the United States; 
‘‘(C) terrorist threats to the United States; 
and 
‘‘(D) other threats to the security or econ-
omy of the United States; 
‘‘(2) emergency humanitarian efforts; and 
‘‘(3) law enforcement capacity-building ef-
forts.’’. 
(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 411(f) 
of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 
211(f)) is amended— 
(A) by redesignating paragraph (4) as 
paragraph (5); and 
(B) by inserting after paragraph (3) the 
following: 
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‘‘(4) PERMISSIBLE ACTIVITIES.—Air and Ma-
rine Operations may provide support to authorities 
of the government of a foreign county, including by 
conducting aviation and marine operations, in con-
junction with appropriate government officials from 
the United States and such foreign country in ac-
cordance with section 629A of the Tariff Act of 
1930.’’. 
(b) CLAIMS AGAINST U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER 
PROTECTION FOR ACTIONS IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES.— 
The Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1304 et seq.) is further 
amended by inserting after section 629A, as added by sub-
section (a)(1), the following: 
‘‘SEC. 629B. PAYMENT OF CLAIMS AGAINST U.S. CUSTOMS 
AND BORDER PROTECTION FOR ACTIONS IN 
FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) COVERED
CLAIM.—The term ‘covered 
claim’ means a claim against the United States— 
‘‘(A) for— 
‘‘(i) damage to, or loss of, real prop-
erty of a foreign country or a political sub-
division or resident of a foreign country, 
including damage or loss incident to use 
and occupancy of such real property; 
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‘‘(ii) damage to, or loss of, personal 
property of a foreign country or a political 
subdivision or resident of a foreign coun-
try, including property bailed to the United 
States; or 
‘‘(iii) personal injury to, or death of, 
a resident of a foreign country; and 
‘‘(B) if the damage, loss, personal injury, 
or death— 
‘‘(i) that occurred in a foreign coun-
try; and 
‘‘(ii) was caused by, or was otherwise 
incident to the activities of, U.S. Customs 
and Border Protection. 
‘‘(2) FOREIGN
COUNTRY.—The term ‘foreign 
country’ includes any place under the jurisdiction of 
the United States in a foreign country. 
‘‘(b) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland Se-
curity may settle and pay a covered claim in an amount 
that does not exceed $100,000 from amounts appropriated 
for the operating expenses of U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection. 
‘‘(c) APPOINTMENT OF APPROVAL AUTHORITIES.— 
The Secretary of Homeland Security, or an employee of 
the Department of Homeland Security who has been des-
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ignated by the Secretary, may appoint, under such regula-
tions as the Secretary may prescribe— 
‘‘(1) a claims commission, composed of one or 
more employees of the Department of Homeland Se-
curity, to settle and pay covered claims that do not 
exceed $100,000; and 
‘‘(2) an employee of the Department to act as 
an approval authority for settlement and payment of 
covered claims that do not exceed $10,000. 
‘‘(d) PAYMENT OF CLAIMS EXCEEDING $100,000.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary of Home-
land Security determines that a covered claim that 
exceeds $100,000 is meritorious, the Secretary 
may— 
‘‘(A) pay the claimant $100,000; and 
‘‘(B) report to the Secretary of the Treas-
ury, for payment under section 1304 of title 31, 
United States Code, the amount of the claim 
that— 
‘‘(i) exceeds $100,000; and 
‘‘(ii) the Secretary of Homeland Secu-
rity determines is meritorious. 
‘‘(2) ANNUAL
REPORT.—The Secretary shall 
submit an annual report to the Committee on Home-
land Security and Governmental Affairs of the Sen-
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ate and the Committee on Homeland Security of the 
House of Representatives that lists the claims dur-
ing the reporting period that exceeded $100,000, in-
cluding the amount of the claim paid and a descrip-
tion of the nature of the claim. The report shall be 
submitted in an unclassified form, but may include 
a classified annex. 
‘‘(e) LIMITATIONS.— 
‘‘(1) CLAIMS CONSIDERED.—The claim of an 
insured may be considered under this section, but 
the claim of a subrogee may not be considered under 
this section. 
‘‘(2) 
TIME
LIMITATION
ON
FILING
OF 
CLAIMS.—A covered claim may not be filed after the 
date that is 2 years after the occurrence of the dam-
age, loss, personal injury, or death that is the sub-
ject of the claim. 
‘‘(3) FULL SATISFACTION REQUIRED.—Except 
as provided in subsection (d), the Secretary of 
Homeland Security may not settle or pay a covered 
claim unless the amount of the payment is accepted 
by the claimant as full satisfaction for the claim.’’. 
SEC. 7. DRUG SEIZURE DATA IMPROVEMENT. 
(a) STUDY.—Not later than 180 days after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland 
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Security shall conduct a study to identify any opportuni-
ties for improving drug seizure data collection. 
(b) ELEMENTS.—The study required under sub-
section (a) shall— 
(1) include a survey of the entities that use 
drug seizure data; and 
(2) address— 
(A) any additional data fields or drug type 
categories that should be added to U.S. Cus-
toms and Border Protection’s SEACATS, U.S. 
Border Patrol’s e3 portal, and any other sys-
tems deemed appropriate by the Commissioner 
of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, in ac-
cordance with the first recommendation in the 
Government 
Accountability 
Office’s 
report 
GAO–22–104725, entitled ‘‘Border Security: 
CBP Could Improve How It Categorizes Drug 
Seizure Data and Evaluates Training’’; 
(B) how all the Department of Homeland 
Security components that collect drug seizure 
data can standardize their data collection ef-
forts and deconflict drug seizure reporting; 
(C) how the Department of Homeland Se-
curity can better identify, collect, and analyze 
additional data on precursor chemicals, syn-
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thetic drugs, novel psychoactive substances, and 
analogues that have been seized by U.S. Cus-
toms and Border Protection and U.S. Immigra-
tion and Customs Enforcement; and 
(D) how the Department of Homeland Se-
curity can improve its model of anticipated drug 
flow into the United States. 
(c) IMPLEMENTATION OF FINDINGS.—Following the 
completion of the study required under subsection (a)— 
(1) the Secretary of Homeland Security, in ac-
cordance with the Office of National Drug Control 
Policy’s 2022 National Drug Control Strategy, shall 
modify Department of Homeland Security drug sei-
zure policies and training programs, as appropriate, 
consistent with the findings of such study; and 
(2) the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and 
Border Protection, in consultation with the Director 
of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 
shall make any necessary updates to relevant sys-
tems to include the results of confirmatory drug 
testing results. 
SEC. 8. DRUG PERFORMANCE MEASURES. 
Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall de-
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velop and implement a Department of Homeland Security 
plan— 
(1) to ensure that components of the Depart-
ment develop and maintain outcome-based perform-
ance measures that adequately assess the success of 
drug interdiction; and 
(2) for how to utilize the existing drug-related 
metrics and performance measures to achieve the 
missions, goals, and targets of the Department, and 
if additional metrics and measures are needed. 
SEC. 9. PENALTIES FOR HINDERING IMMIGRATION, BOR-
DER, AND CUSTOMS CONTROLS. 
(a) PERSONNEL AND STRUCTURES.—Title II of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1151 et seq.) 
is amended by inserting after section 274D the following: 
‘‘SEC. 274E. DESTROYING OR EVADING BORDER CONTROLS. 
‘‘(a) ILLICIT SPOTTING.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—It shall be unlawful to 
knowingly surveil, track, monitor, or transmit the lo-
cation, movement, or activities of any officer or em-
ployee of a Federal, State, or Tribal law enforce-
ment agency with the intent to knowingly and will-
fully— 
‘‘(A) secure a financial gain; 
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‘‘(B) further the objectives of a criminal 
organization; and 
‘‘(C) violate— 
‘‘(i) section 274(a)(1)(A)(i); 
‘‘(ii) the customs and trade laws of 
the United States (as defined in section 
2(4) of the Trade Facilitation and Trade 
Enforcement Act of 2015 (Public Law 
114–125)); 
‘‘(iii) any other Federal law relating 
to transporting controlled substances, agri-
culture, or monetary instruments into the 
United States; or 
‘‘(iv) any Federal law relating to bor-
der controls measures of the United 
States. 
‘‘(2) PENALTY.—Any person who violates para-
graph (1) shall be fined under title 18, United 
States Code, imprisoned for not more than 5 years, 
or both. 
‘‘(b) DESTRUCTION
OF UNITED STATES BORDER 
CONTROLS.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—It shall be unlawful to 
knowingly and without lawful authorization— 
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