Preventing the Financing of Illegal Synthetic Drugs Act

Bill: 118-hr-1076
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. De La Cruz, Monica [R-TX-15]
Introduced: 2023-02-17
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Congressional oversight

Drug trafficking and controlled substances

Fraud offenses and financial crimes

Government studies and investigations

Internet, web applications, social media

Smuggling and trafficking
Latest action: action_date: 2024-09-13
text: Became Public Law No: 118-79.

Summaries:
action_date: 2023-02-17
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p><strong>Preventing the Financing of Illegal Synthetic Drugs Act</strong></p> <p>This bill requires the Government Accountability Office to carry out a study on illicit financing in connection with the trafficking of synthetic drugs, including fentanyl and methamphetamine, fentanyl- and methamphetamine-related substances, Captagon, and fentanyl and methamphetamine precursors, and to report to Congress.</p>

action_date: 2023-05-22
action_desc: Passed House
text: <p><strong>Preventing the Financing of Illegal Synthetic Drugs Act</strong></p> <p>This bill requires the Government Accountability Office to carry out a study on illicit financing in connection with the trafficking of synthetic drugs, including fentanyl and methamphetamine, fentanyl- and methamphetamine-related substances, Captagon, and fentanyl and methamphetamine precursors, and to report to Congress.</p>

action_date: 2024-09-13
action_desc: Public Law
text: <p><strong>Preventing the Financing of Illegal Synthetic Drugs Act</strong></p> <p>This bill requires the Government Accountability Office to carry out a study on illicit financing in connection with the trafficking of synthetic drugs, including fentanyl and methamphetamine, fentanyl- and methamphetamine-related substances, Captagon, and fentanyl and methamphetamine precursors, and to report to Congress.</p>

tv_txt: I One Hundred Eighteenth Congress of the United States of America At the Second Session Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday, the third day of January, two thousand and twenty-four H. R. 1076 AN ACT To require the Comptroller General of the United States to carry out a study on the trafficking into the United States of synthetic drugs, and related illicit finance, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Preventing the Financing of Illegal Synthetic Drugs Act . 2. Findings The Congress finds the following: (1) According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, over 107,000 people in the United States died from drug overdoses or drug poisonings in the 12-month period ending January 2022, with 67 percent of those deaths involving synthetic opioids like fentanyl. (2) According to the United National Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in its Synthetic Drug Strategy 2021-2025 , the number of synthetic drugs, also called New Psychoactive Substances, has increased 631 percent since 2009, with traffickers introducing an average of 80 new substances to the illicit drug market each year from 2009-2019. (3) In October 2022, F. Michael McDaniel, director of the Houston High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HITDA) program testified in Congress that one kilogram of fentanyl can produce one million counterfeit pills containing one milligram of fentanyl, saying, Currently in Houston, Texas, you can buy a kilogram of fentanyl for an average price of $25,000 to $30,000. This same kilogram of fentanyl in Culiacán (Mexico) could be purchased at an average price of $13,500. Currently, the price of a fentanyl pill in Houston ranges from $6 to $65. Therefore, an illicit investment of $30,000 or less could result in a return of $6 to $32.5 million. . (4) According to Celina B. Realuyo, Adjunct Professor, The George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs, in March 2022 Congressional testimony, Financing is essential to support and sustain the command and control, personnel, arms, communications, logistics and operations of organized crime groups. For this reason, following the money trail and depriving criminals of illicit financial flows can disrupt and disable these networks. . 3. GAO study on synthetic drugs trafficking (a) Study The Comptroller General of the United States shall carry out a study on illicit financing in connection with the trafficking of synthetic drugs, including fentanyl and methamphetamine, fentanyl- and methamphetamine-related substances, Captagon, and fentanyl and methamphetamine precursors, including— (1) the business of the trafficking of synthetic drugs and related illicit finance, such as the participation of transnational criminal organizations and terror syndicates and their notable trafficking corridors, including source and transit countries; (2) the business models used by these transnational criminal organizations, including U.S. domestic and foreign activities for precursor purchase or production, movement along the supply chain, manufacture of the completed product, marketing, distribution, sales, and return of proceeds; (3) the overlap of the business model of human trafficking and the trafficking of synthetic drugs and related illicit finance; (4) the use of online illicit drug markets and the use of social media for the marketing, sale, and payment for synthetic drugs; (5) financial methods used by such transnational criminal organizations, including— (A) payment; (B) money laundering; and (C) repatriation of proceeds; (6) the use of social media applications like Snap Chat, Discord, and Facebook and payment applications like CashApp to facilitate financial transactions for synthetic drug trafficking, especially among young people; and (7) U.S. Government activities to combat illicit finance related to the trafficking of synthetic drugs, including— (A) interagency collaboration, including personnel detailed to other agencies to support the effort to combat synthetic drugs trafficking and related illicit finance; (B) intergovernmental collaboration; (C) intersectoral collaboration with the private sector, including the business and non-governmental communities; and (D) identified gaps or resource deficiencies in combating the trafficking of synthetic drugs and related illicit finance in the coordination and collaboration activities described in subparagraphs (A) through (C). (b) Report required Not later than the end of the 1-year period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall issue a report to the Congress containing all findings and determinations made in carrying out the study required under subsection (a).

Speaker of the House of Representatives. Vice President of the United States and President of the Senate.

tv_txt: IIB 118th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 1076 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES May 30, 2023 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs AN ACT To require the Comptroller General of the United States to carry out a study on the trafficking into the United States of synthetic drugs, and related illicit finance, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Preventing the Financing of Illegal Synthetic Drugs Act . 2. Findings The Congress finds the following: (1) According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, over 107,000 people in the United States died from drug overdoses or drug poisonings in the 12-month period ending January 2022, with 67 percent of those deaths involving synthetic opioids like fentanyl. (2) According to the United National Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in its Synthetic Drug Strategy 2021-2025 , the number of synthetic drugs, also called New Psychoactive Substances, has increased 631 percent since 2009, with traffickers introducing an average of 80 new substances to the illicit drug market each year from 2009-2019. (3) In October 2022, F. Michael McDaniel, director of the Houston High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HITDA) program testified in Congress that one kilogram of fentanyl can produce one million counterfeit pills containing one milligram of fentanyl, saying, Currently in Houston, Texas, you can buy a kilogram of fentanyl for an average price of $25,000 to $30,000. This same kilogram of fentanyl in Culiacán (Mexico) could be purchased at an average price of $13,500. Currently, the price of a fentanyl pill in Houston ranges from $6 to $65. Therefore, an illicit investment of $30,000 or less could result in a return of $6 to $32.5 million. . (4) According to Celina B. Realuyo, Adjunct Professor, The George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs, in March 2022 Congressional testimony, Financing is essential to support and sustain the command and control, personnel, arms, communications, logistics and operations of organized crime groups. For this reason, following the money trail and depriving criminals of illicit financial flows can disrupt and disable these networks. . 3. GAO study on synthetic drugs trafficking (a) Study The Comptroller General of the United States shall carry out a study on illicit financing in connection with the trafficking of synthetic drugs, including fentanyl and methamphetamine, fentanyl- and methamphetamine-related substances, Captagon, and fentanyl and methamphetamine precursors, including— (1) the business of the trafficking of synthetic drugs and related illicit finance, such as the participation of transnational criminal organizations and terror syndicates and their notable trafficking corridors, including source and transit countries; (2) the business models used by these transnational criminal organizations, including U.S. domestic and foreign activities for precursor purchase or production, movement along the supply chain, manufacture of the completed product, marketing, distribution, sales, and return of proceeds; (3) the overlap of the business model of human trafficking and the trafficking of synthetic drugs and related illicit finance; (4) the use of online illicit drug markets and the use of social media for the marketing, sale, and payment for synthetic drugs; (5) financial methods used by such transnational criminal organizations, including— (A) payment; (B) money laundering; and (C) repatriation of proceeds; (6) the use of social media applications like Snap Chat, Discord, and Facebook and payment applications like CashApp to facilitate financial transactions for synthetic drug trafficking, especially among young people; and (7) U.S. Government activities to combat illicit finance related to the trafficking of synthetic drugs, including— (A) interagency collaboration, including personnel detailed to other agencies to support the effort to combat synthetic drugs trafficking and related illicit finance; (B) intergovernmental collaboration; (C) intersectoral collaboration with the private sector, including the business and non-governmental communities; and (D) identified gaps or resource deficiencies in combating the trafficking of synthetic drugs and related illicit finance in the coordination and collaboration activities described in subparagraphs (A) through (C). (b) Report required Not later than the end of the 1-year period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall issue a report to the Congress containing all findings and determinations made in carrying out the study required under subsection (a).

Passed the House of Representatives May 22, 2023. Cheryl L. Johnson, Clerk. Lisa P. Grant, Deputy Clerk.

tv_txt: I 118th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 1076 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AN ACT To require the Comptroller General of the United States to carry out a study on the trafficking into the United States of synthetic drugs, and related illicit finance, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Preventing the Financing of Illegal Synthetic Drugs Act . 2. Findings The Congress finds the following: (1) According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, over 107,000 people in the United States died from drug overdoses or drug poisonings in the 12-month period ending January 2022, with 67 percent of those deaths involving synthetic opioids like fentanyl. (2) According to the United National Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in its Synthetic Drug Strategy 2021-2025 , the number of synthetic drugs, also called New Psychoactive Substances, has increased 631 percent since 2009, with traffickers introducing an average of 80 new substances to the illicit drug market each year from 2009-2019. (3) In October 2022, F. Michael McDaniel, director of the Houston High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HITDA) program testified in Congress that one kilogram of fentanyl can produce one million counterfeit pills containing one milligram of fentanyl, saying, Currently in Houston, Texas, you can buy a kilogram of fentanyl for an average price of $25,000 to $30,000. This same kilogram of fentanyl in Culiacán (Mexico) could be purchased at an average price of $13,500. Currently, the price of a fentanyl pill in Houston ranges from $6 to $65. Therefore, an illicit investment of $30,000 or less could result in a return of $6 to $32.5 million. . (4) According to Celina B. Realuyo, Adjunct Professor, The George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs, in March 2022 Congressional testimony, Financing is essential to support and sustain the command and control, personnel, arms, communications, logistics and operations of organized crime groups. For this reason, following the money trail and depriving criminals of illicit financial flows can disrupt and disable these networks. . 3. GAO study on synthetic drugs trafficking (a) Study The Comptroller General of the United States shall carry out a study on illicit financing in connection with the trafficking of synthetic drugs, including fentanyl and methamphetamine, fentanyl- and methamphetamine-related substances, Captagon, and fentanyl and methamphetamine precursors, including— (1) the business of the trafficking of synthetic drugs and related illicit finance, such as the participation of transnational criminal organizations and terror syndicates and their notable trafficking corridors, including source and transit countries; (2) the business models used by these transnational criminal organizations, including U.S. domestic and foreign activities for precursor purchase or production, movement along the supply chain, manufacture of the completed product, marketing, distribution, sales, and return of proceeds; (3) the overlap of the business model of human trafficking and the trafficking of synthetic drugs and related illicit finance; (4) the use of online illicit drug markets and the use of social media for the marketing, sale, and payment for synthetic drugs; (5) financial methods used by such transnational criminal organizations, including— (A) payment; (B) money laundering; and (C) repatriation of proceeds; (6) the use of social media applications like Snap Chat, Discord, and Facebook and payment applications like CashApp to facilitate financial transactions for synthetic drug trafficking, especially among young people; and (7) U.S. Government activities to combat illicit finance related to the trafficking of synthetic drugs, including— (A) interagency collaboration, including personnel detailed to other agencies to support the effort to combat synthetic drugs trafficking and related illicit finance; (B) intergovernmental collaboration; (C) intersectoral collaboration with the private sector, including the business and non-governmental communities; and (D) identified gaps or resource deficiencies in combating the trafficking of synthetic drugs and related illicit finance in the coordination and collaboration activities described in subparagraphs (A) through (C). (b) Report required Not later than the end of the 1-year period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall issue a report to the Congress containing all findings and determinations made in carrying out the study required under subsection (a).

Passed the House of Representatives May 22, 2023. Cheryl L. Johnson, Clerk.

tv_txt: IB Union Calendar No. 55 118th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 1076 [Report No. 118–75, Part I] IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES February 17, 2023 Ms. De La Cruz (for herself, Ms. Pettersen , and Mr. Ogles ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services , and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary , and Energy and Commerce , 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 May 22, 2023 Additional sponsors: Mr. Lawler , Mrs. Chavez-DeRemer , Mr. Donalds , Mr. Steil , Mr. Pappas , and Ms. Perez May 22, 2023 Reported from the Committee on Financial Services with an amendment Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic May 22, 2023 Committees on the Judiciary and Energy and Commerce discharged; committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on February 17, 2023 A BILL To require the Comptroller General of the United States to carry out a study on the trafficking into the United States of synthetic drugs, and related illicit finance, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Preventing the Financing of Illegal Synthetic Drugs Act . 2. Findings The Congress finds the following: (1) According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, over 107,000 people in the United States died from drug overdoses or drug poisonings in the 12-month period ending January 2022, with 67 percent of those deaths involving synthetic opioids like fentanyl. (2) According to the United National Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in its Synthetic Drug Strategy 2021-2025 , the number of synthetic drugs, also called New Psychoactive Substances, has increased 631 percent since 2009, with traffickers introducing an average of 80 new substances to the illicit drug market each year from 2009-2019. (3) In October 2022, F. Michael McDaniel, director of the Houston High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HITDA) program testified in Congress that one kilogram of fentanyl can produce one million counterfeit pills containing one milligram of fentanyl, saying, Currently in Houston, Texas, you can buy a kilogram of fentanyl for an average price of $25,000 to $30,000. This same kilogram of fentanyl in Culiacán (Mexico) could be purchased at an average price of $13,500. Currently, the price of a fentanyl pill in Houston ranges from $6 to $65. Therefore, an illicit investment of $30,000 or less could result in a return of $6 to $32.5 million. . (4) According to Celina B. Realuyo, Adjunct Professor, The George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs, in March 2022 Congressional testimony, Financing is essential to support and sustain the command and control, personnel, arms, communications, logistics and operations of organized crime groups. For this reason, following the money trail and depriving criminals of illicit financial flows can disrupt and disable these networks. . 3. GAO study on synthetic drugs trafficking (a) Study The Comptroller General of the United States shall carry out a study on illicit financing in connection with the trafficking of synthetic drugs, including fentanyl and methamphetamine, fentanyl- and methamphetamine-related substances, Captagon, and fentanyl and methamphetamine precursors, including— (1) the business of the trafficking of synthetic drugs and related illicit finance, such as the participation of transnational criminal organizations and terror syndicates and their notable trafficking corridors, including source and transit countries; (2) the business models used by these transnational criminal organizations, including U.S. domestic and foreign activities for precursor purchase or production, movement along the supply chain, manufacture of the completed product, marketing, distribution, sales, and return of proceeds; (3) the overlap of the business model of human trafficking and the trafficking of synthetic drugs and related illicit finance; (4) the use of online illicit drug markets and the use of social media for the marketing, sale, and payment for synthetic drugs; (5) financial methods used by such transnational criminal organizations, including— (A) payment; (B) money laundering; and (C) repatriation of proceeds; (6) the use of social media applications like Snap Chat, Discord, and Facebook and payment applications like CashApp to facilitate financial transactions for synthetic drug trafficking, especially among young people; and (7) U.S. Government activities to combat illicit finance related to the trafficking of synthetic drugs, including— (A) interagency collaboration, including personnel detailed to other agencies to support the effort to combat synthetic drugs trafficking and related illicit finance; (B) intergovernmental collaboration; (C) intersectoral collaboration with the private sector, including the business and non-governmental communities; and (D) identified gaps or resource deficiencies in combating the trafficking of synthetic drugs and related illicit finance in the coordination and collaboration activities described in subparagraphs (A) through (C). (b) Report required Not later than the end of the 1-year period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall issue a report to the Congress containing all findings and determinations made in carrying out the study required under subsection (a).

May 22, 2023 Reported from the Committee on Financial Services with an amendment May 22, 2023 Committees on the Judiciary and Energy and Commerce discharged; committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

tv_txt: I 118th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 1076 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES February 17, 2023 Ms. De La Cruz (for herself, Ms. Pettersen , and Mr. Ogles ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services , and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary , and Energy and Commerce , 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 require the Comptroller General of the United States to carry out a study on the trafficking into the United States of synthetic drugs, and related illicit finance, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Preventing the Financing of Illegal Synthetic Drugs Act . 2. Findings The Congress finds the following: (1) According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, over 107,000 people in the United States died from drug overdoses or drug poisonings in the 12-month period ending January 2022, with 67 percent of those deaths involving synthetic opioids like fentanyl. (2) According to the United National Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in its Synthetic Drug Strategy 2021–2025 , the number of synthetic drugs, also called New Psychoactive Substances, has increased 631 percent since 2009, with traffickers introducing an average of 80 new substances to the illicit drug market each year from 2009–2019. (3) In October 2022, F. Michael McDaniel, director of the Houston High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HITDA) program testified in Congress that one kilogram of fentanyl can produce one million counterfeit pills containing one milligram of fentanyl, saying, Currently in Houston, Texas, you can buy a kilogram of fentanyl for an average price of $25,000 to $30,000. This same kilogram of fentanyl in Culiacán (Mexico) could be purchased at an average price of $13,500. Currently, the price of a fentanyl pill in Houston ranges from $6 to $65. Therefore, an illicit investment of $30,000 or less could result in a return of $6 to $32.5 million. . (4) According to Celina B. Realuyo, Adjunct Professor, The George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs, in March 2022 Congressional testimony, Financing is essential to support and sustain the command and control, personnel, arms, communications, logistics and operations of organized crime groups. For this reason, following the money trail and depriving criminals of illicit financial flows can disrupt and disable these networks. . 3. GAO study on synthetic drugs trafficking (a) In general The Comptroller General of the United States shall carry out a study on illicit financing in connection with the trafficking of synthetic drugs, including fentanyl and methamphetamine, fentanyl- and methamphetamine-related substances, Captagon, and fentanyl and methamphetamine precursors, including— (1) the business of the trafficking of synthetic drugs and related illicit finance, such as the participation of transnational criminal organizations and terror syndicates and their notable trafficking corridors, including source and transit countries; (2) the business models used by these transnational criminal organizations, including U.S. domestic and foreign activities for precursor purchase or production, movement along the supply chain, manufacture of the completed product, marketing, distribution, sales, and return of proceeds; (3) the overlap of the business model of human trafficking and the trafficking of synthetic drugs and related illicit finance; (4) the use of online illicit drug markets and the use of social media for the marketing, sale, and payment for synthetic drugs; (5) financial methods used by such transnational criminal organizations, including— (A) payment; (B) money laundering; and (C) repatriation of proceeds; (6) the use of social media applications like Snap Chat, Discord, and Facebook and payment applications like CashApp to facilitate financial transactions for synthetic drug trafficking, especially among young people; and (7) U.S. Government activities to combat illicit finance related to the trafficking of synthetic drugs, including— (A) interagency collaboration, including personnel detailed to other agencies to support the effort to combat synthetic drugs trafficking and related illicit finance; (B) intergovernmental collaboration; (C) intersectoral collaboration with the private sector, including the business and non-governmental communities; and (D) identified gaps or resource deficiencies in combating the trafficking of synthetic drugs and related illicit finance in the coordination and collaboration activities described in subparagraphs (A) through (C). (b) Report Not later than the end of the 1-year period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall issue a report to the Congress containing all findings and determinations made in carrying out the study required under subsection (a).