Stop Chinese Fentanyl Act of 2023

Floor Speech

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Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3203) to impose sanctions with respect to Chinese producers of synthetic opioids and opioid precursors, to hold Chinese officials accountable for the spread of illicit fentanyl, and for other purposes, as amended.

The Clerk read the title of the bill.

The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 3203

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Stop Chinese Fentanyl Act of 2023''. SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

It is the sense of Congress that the Government of the People's Republic of China should--

(1) work with the United States Government to identify a list of unregulated chemicals used to create precursor chemicals that bear increased scrutiny;

(2) require the proper labeling of chemical and equipment shipments in accordance with international rules;

(3) immediately implement ``know-your-customer'' procedures for chemical shipments; and

(4) direct all relevant departments and agencies, including the National Narcotics Control Commission, the Ministry of Public Security, the General Administration of Customs, and the National Medical Products Administration of the Government of the People's Republic of China to establish new rules to crack down on precursor trafficking and enforce such rules swiftly. SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO THE FENTANYL SANCTIONS ACT.

(a) Definitions.--Section 7203(5) of the Fentanyl Sanctions Act (21 U.S.C. 2302(5)) is amended--

(1) by striking ``The term `foreign opioid trafficker' means any foreign person'' and inserting the following: ``The term `foreign opioid trafficker'--

``(A) means any foreign person'';

(2) by striking the period at the end and inserting ``; and''; and

(3) by adding at the end the following:

``(B) includes--

``(i) any entity of the People's Republic of China that the President determines--

``(I) produces, manufactures, distributes, sells, or knowingly finances or transports any goods described in clause (i) or (ii) of paragraph (8)(A); and

``(II) fails to take credible steps, including through implementation of appropriate know-your-customer procedures or through cooperation with United States counternarcotics efforts, to detect or prevent opioid trafficking; and

``(ii) any senior official of the Government of the People's Republic of China or other Chinese political official that--

``(I) has significant regulatory or law enforcement responsibilities with respect to the activities of an entity described in clause (i); and

``(II) aids and abets, including through intentional inaction, opioid trafficking.''.

(b) Identification of Foreign Opioid Traffickers.--Section 7211 of the Fentanyl Sanctions Act (21 U.S.C. 2311) is amended--

(1) in subsection (a)(1)(A), by adding at the end before the semicolon the following: ``, including whether the heads of the National Narcotics Control Commission, the Ministry of Public Security, the General Administration of Customs, and the National Medical Products Administration of the Government of the People's Republic of China are foreign opioid traffickers''; and

(2) in subsection (c), by striking ``5 years'' and inserting ``10 years''. SEC. 4. AMENDMENTS TO THE INTERNATIONAL EMERGENCY ECONOMIC POWERS ACT AND THE TRADING WITH THE ENEMY ACT.

(a) International Emergency Economic Powers Act.--

(1) Periodic evaluation.--Section 203 of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``(d) Periodic Evaluation.--

``(1) In general.--If the authority granted to the President under this section is exercised with respect to a covered national emergency, the President shall transmit to the appropriate congressional committees, not less frequently than annually, a periodic evaluation in writing that--

``(A) assesses the effectiveness of the exercise of such authority in resolving the covered national emergency;

``(B) considers the views of public- and private-sector stakeholders; and

``(C) discusses any potential changes to the exercise of the authority for the purpose of more effectively resolving the covered national emergency.

``(2) Definitions.--In this subsection--

``(A) the term `appropriate congressional committees' means--

``(i) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Financial Services, and the Committee on Oversight and Accountability of the House of Representatives; and

``(ii) the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, the Committee on Foreign Relations, and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate; and

``(B) the term `covered national emergency' means a national emergency that--

``(i) the President has declared, within the preceding 5- year period, with respect to any national emergency regarding international drug trafficking; and

``(ii) has not terminated.''.

(2) Consultation and reports.--Section 204 of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1703) is amended--

(A) by striking ``the Congress'' each place it appears and inserting ``the appropriate congressional committees''; and

(B) by adding at the end the following:

``(e) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined.--In this section, the term `appropriate congressional committees' has the meaning given that term in section 203(d)(2).''.

(3) Authority to issue regulations.--Section 205 of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1704) is amended--

(A) by striking ``The President'' and inserting ``(a) The President''; and

(B) by adding at the end the following:

``(b) In issuing regulations under subsection (a) pursuant to a covered national emergency (as defined in section 203), the President shall--

``(1) consider the costs and benefits of available statutory and regulatory alternatives;

``(2) evaluate the costs and benefits for the purpose of expeditiously resolving the applicable national emergency;

``(3) establish criteria for the eventual termination of the applicable national emergency; and

``(4) include in the basis and purpose incorporated in the regulations--

``(A) an explanation of how the regulations will resolve the applicable national emergency; and

``(B) a discussion of the costs and benefits.''.

(4) Statute of limitations.--Section 206 of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``(d) Statute of Limitations.--

``(1) Civil penalty.--An action, suit, or proceeding for the enforcement of any civil fine, penalty, or forfeiture, pecuniary or otherwise, shall not be entertained unless commenced within 10 years from the latest date of the violation upon which the civil fine, penalty, or forfeiture is based.

``(2) Criminal penalty.--No person shall be prosecuted, tried, or punished for any offense under this section unless the indictment is found or the information is instituted within 10 years from the latest date of the violation upon which the indictment or information is based.''.

(b) Trading With the Enemy Act.--Section 16 of the Trading with the Enemy Act (50 U.S.C. 4315) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``(d) Statute of Limitations.--

``(1) Criminal penalty.--No person shall be prosecuted, tried, or punished for any offense under this section unless the indictment is found or the information is instituted within 10 years from the latest date of the violation upon which the indictment or information is based.

``(2) Civil penalty.--An action, suit, or proceeding for the enforcement of any civil fine, penalty, or forfeiture, pecuniary or otherwise, shall not be entertained unless commenced within 10 years from the latest date of the violation upon which the civil fine, penalty, or forfeiture is based.''. SEC. 5. EXCEPTION RELATING TO IMPORTATION OF GOODS.

(a) In General.--A requirement to block and prohibit all transactions in all property and interests in property pursuant to this Act or any amendment made by this Act shall not include the authority or a requirement to impose sanctions on the importation of goods.

(b) Good Defined.--In this section, the term ``good'' means any article, natural or manmade substance, material, supply or manufactured product, including inspection and test equipment, and excluding technical data.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of my legislation, the Stop Chinese Fentanyl Act, that is currently before the House.

The fentanyl crisis is one that is affecting families and communities across the United States. As of 2021, 70,601 Americans died as a result of synthetic opioid overdoses. As of 2020, 82.3 percent of all opioid- involved overdoses were the result of synthetic opioids. Last year, almost 70 percent of all drug overdose deaths were caused by fentanyl-- over 100,000 American lives destroyed because of this.

This has certainly impacted my home State, the Commonwealth of Kentucky. A recent drug overdose report from the Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy reported that there was a 14.5 percent increase in overdose deaths in my home State.

According to cases autopsied by the Kentucky Office of the Medical Examiner and toxicology reports submitted by Kentucky coroners, the rise in the death toll was driven largely by an increased use of fentanyl, accounting for approximately 70 percent of all overdose deaths in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

Unfortunately, this scourge has spread with the help of our greatest strategic threat, the People's Republic of China and the Chinese Communist Party. We know that China has historically been and remains the primary source of fentanyl in global circulation.

Since the Trump administration tightened controls on the shipment of fentanyl into the United States, the CCP has adjusted their practices and begun producing precursor chemicals and outsourcing final production to cartel laboratories in Mexico to then exploit our porous southern border and poison the American people.

In 2020, U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized 4,800 pounds of fentanyl, or enough to kill over a billion people. Just a tiny little bit of this very deadly synthetic opioid is enough to kill.

This figure more than tripled in just 2 years to 14,700 pounds in 2022. In the first 2 months of 2023, Customs and Border Protection seized 12,500 pounds. Much of this is originating from China exploiting the cartels and exploiting our open southern border.

We must attack the production of fentanyl at its source by targeting the source of the precursors in China. My legislation places sanctions on Chinese producers of synthetic opioids and opioid precursors and holds senior government and Chinese political officials accountable for the spread of illicit fentanyl.

Specifically, it amends the Fentanyl Sanctions Act to expand the definition of a foreign opioid trafficker to include any Chinese entity that produces, manufactures, distributes, sells, finances, or transports synthetic opioids or active pharmaceutical ingredients or chemicals used to produce synthetic opioids and fails to take credible steps to detect or prevent opioid trafficking, including know-your- customer procedures or cooperation with U.S. counternarcotics efforts.

The expanded definition also includes any senior officials of the PRC Government or other Chinese political official who has significant regulatory or law enforcement responsibilities and fails to take credible steps to combat foreign opioid traffickers.

Their culpability, the culpability of the Chinese Communist Party in this epidemic in our country, does not end when the precursor products land in Mexico or illegally cross our southern border. We must look at every step of fentanyl's deadly supply chain.

This bipartisan legislation passed the House Foreign Affairs Committee by voice vote earlier this year and is a needed step to control this deadly drug.

Mr. Speaker, I urge support for this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time. House of Representatives, Committee on Foreign Affairs, Washington, DC, February 9, 2023. Hon. Patrick McHenry, Chairman, Committee on Financial Services Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman McHenry: Thank you for consulting with the Foreign Affairs Committee and agreeing to be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 3203, the Stop Chinese Fentanyl Act of 2023, so that the measure may proceed expeditiously to the House floor.

I agree that your forgoing further action on this measure does not in any way diminish or alter the jurisdiction of your committee, or prejudice its jurisdictional prerogatives on this measure or similar legislation in the future. I would support your effort to seek appointment of an appropriate number of conferees from your committee to any House-Senate conference on this legislation.

I will seek to place our letters on H.R. 3203 into the Congressional Record during floor consideration. I appreciate your cooperation regarding this legislation and look forward to continuing to work together as this measure moves through the legislative process. Sincerely, Michael T. McCaul, Chairman. ____ House of Representatives, Committee on Financial Services, Washington, DC, May 18, 2023. Hon. Michael McCaul, Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman McCaul: Thank you for consulting with the Committee on Financial Services regarding H.R. 3203, the Stop Chinese Fentanyl Act of 2023. I agree that the Committee shall be discharged from further consideration of the bill so that it may proceed expeditiously to the House Floor. The Committee takes this action with the mutual understanding that, by foregoing consideration of H.R. 3203 at this time, we do not waive any jurisdiction over the subject matter contained in this or similar legislation, and that the Committee will be appropriately consulted and involved on this or similar legislation as it moves forward. The Committee also reserves the right to see appointment of an appropriate number of conferees to any conference with the Senate involving this or similar legislation, and we request your support for any such request.

Finally, as you mentioned in your letter, I ask that a copy of our exchange of letters on this bill be included in your Committee's report to accompany the legislation, as well as in the Congressional Record during floor consideration thereof. Sincerely, Patrick McHenry, Chairman, Committee on Financial Services. ____ House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary, Washington, DC, June 23, 2023. Hon. Michael McCaul, Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman McCaul: I write regarding H.R. 3203, the Stop Chinese Fentanyl Act of 2023. Provisions of this bill fall within the Judiciary Committee's Rule X jurisdiction, and I appreciate that you consulted with us on those provisions. The Judiciary Committee agrees that it shall be discharged from further consideration of the bill so that it may proceed expeditiously to the House floor.

The Committee takes this action with the understanding that forgoing further consideration of this measure does not in any way alter the Committee's jurisdiction or waive any future jurisdictional claim over these provisions or their subject matter. We also reserve the right to seek appointment of an appropriate number of conferees in the event of a conference with the Senate involving this measure or similar legislation.

I ask that you please include this letter in your committee's report to accompany this legislation or insert this letter in the Congressional Record during consideration of H.R. 3203 on the House floor. I appreciate the cooperative manner in which our committees have worked on this matter, and I look forward to working collaboratively in the future on matters of shared jurisdiction. Thank you for your attention to this matter. Sincerely, Jim Jordan, Chairman. ____ House of Representatives, Committee on Foreign Affairs, Washington, DC, July 24, 2023. Hon. Jim Jordan, Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary, Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman Jordan: Thank you for consulting with the Foreign Affairs Committee and agreeing to be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 3203, the Stop Chinese Fentanyl Act, so that the measure may proceed expeditiously to the House floor.

I agree that your forgoing further action on this measure does not in any way diminish or alter the jurisdiction of your committee, or prejudice its jurisdictional prerogatives on this measure or similar legislation in the future. I would support your effort to seek appointment of an appropriate number of conferees from your committee to any House-Senate conference on this legislation.

I will seek to place our letters on this bill into the Congressional Record during floor consideration. I appreciate your cooperation regarding this legislation and look forward to continuing to work together as this measure moves through the legislative process. Sincerely, Michael T. McCaul, Chairman.

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Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

I thank the gentleman from Virginia for his bipartisan support of this important legislation. This is a bipartisan bill for good reason, Mr. Speaker: Because China has blamed the rise in overdose deaths in the United States and illicit fentanyl in the United States on the United States.

The Chinese Communist Party has refused to address its role in this crisis. While Mexico is now the principal source of illicit fentanyl and its analogues, cartels manufacture these drugs in covert laboratories with ingredients, precursor chemicals sourced largely from Communist China.

China is the primary source of chemical precursors used to synthesize fentanyl and other novel synthetic opioids, and this illicit fentanyl made in Mexican labs is then smuggled into the United States across our open and unenforced southern border, making its way into communities and killing Americans, killing many Americans in my home State of Kentucky.

No, Kentucky is not a border State, but Kentucky is impacted by the fact that these Chinese precursors are making their way into China and then smuggled across our southern border.

This is a huge problem, and we need to hold those individuals, those Chinese Communist Party officials, accountable for this scourge, for poisoning the American people.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to defend the American people, to stop this scourge, and to hold the Chinese Communist Party accountable for their role in this poison that is pouring across our borders.

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