[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5684 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5684
To require the Director for Homeland Security Investigations of U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement to conduct annual assessments on
threats posed to the United States by transnational criminal
organizations, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 22, 2023
Mr. Pfluger (for himself and Ms. Lee of Florida) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Director for Homeland Security Investigations of U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement to conduct annual assessments on
threats posed to the United States by transnational criminal
organizations, and for other purposes.
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 ``Transnational Criminal Organization
Threat Assessment Act''.
SEC. 2. ANNUAL ASSESSMENTS ON THREATS POSED TO THE UNITED STATES BY
TRANSNATIONAL CRIMINAL ORGANIZATIONS.
(a) Requirement.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act and annually thereafter, the Director for
Homeland Security Investigations of U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement of the Department of Homeland Security, in consultation
with the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection of the
Department, the Commandant of the United States Coast Guard, and the
heads of other relevant Federal departments or agencies the Director
determines appropriate, shall submit to the appropriate congressional
committees assessments of threats posed to the United States by
transnational criminal organizations (TCOs).
(b) Contents.--Each assessment under subsection (a) shall address
the following:
(1) The most significant TCOs active in and outside of the
United States, including along the southwest and northern
borders, and including the organizational structure,
characteristics, and areas of influence within the United
States of each such TCO.
(2) The drug smuggling trends used by TCOs to transport
illicit drugs entering the United States, including information
on seizures, investigations, and drug purity and potency
levels.
(3) The role organized violent gangs have working with TCOs
in domestic drug trafficking.
(4) The money laundering activities used by TCOs to
generate proceeds through the sale of illicit drugs in the
United States.
(5) Information about the most widely trafficked drugs in
the United States, including illicit opioids, heroin,
methamphetamine, and new psychoactive substances, including
regarding their availability, consumption, and overdose related
deaths, production and cultivation, transportation, and
distribution.
(6) A predictive outlook regarding drug trafficking and
drug-related trends and activities by TCOs.
(7) Any other matters the Director for Homeland Security
Investigations determines relevant.
(c) Form.--Each assessment under subsection (a) shall be submitted
in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex only for the
protection of intelligence sources and methods relating to the matters
contained in each such assessment. The Director for Homeland Security
Investigations shall post on a publicly available website of Homeland
Security Investigations the unclassified portion of each such
assessment.
(d) Briefing.--
(1) Briefing.--The Director for Homeland Security
Investigations shall annually brief the appropriate
congressional committees regarding each assessment under
subsection (a). The head of any other relevant Federal
department or agency shall accompany the Director for any such
briefing if any such committee, in consultation with the
Director, determines such is appropriate.
(e) Appropriate Congressional Committees.--In this section, the
term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means the Committee on
Homeland Security and the Committee on Judiciary of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs and the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate.
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