[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2024 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2024
To establish the Joint Task Force to Counter the Illicit Synthetic
Narcotics.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 11, 2025
Mr. Newhouse (for himself, Mr. Moolenaar, Mr. Krishnamoorthi, Mr.
Auchincloss, Mr. Dunn of Florida, Mr. Khanna, Mr. Johnson of South
Dakota, and Mr. Torres of New York) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition
to the Committees on Financial Services, Foreign Affairs, and
Intelligence (Permanent Select), 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 establish the Joint Task Force to Counter the Illicit Synthetic
Narcotics.
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 ``Joint Task Force to Counter Illicit
Synthetic Narcotics Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The United States is experiencing a crisis of substance
abuse and addiction resulting in the deaths of hundreds of
thousands of people of the United States. Most of these deaths
involve some form of opioids.
(2) There are many elements of Federal, State, territorial,
Tribal, and local governments working to combat the opioid
epidemic.
(3) No central entity exists at the appropriate level
whereby different agencies can share information and coordinate
efforts to combat the opioid crisis.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Controlled substance; listed chemical.--The terms
``controlled substance'' and ``listed chemical'' have the
meanings given the terms in section 102 of the Controlled
Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802).
(2) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of
the JTF-ISN.
(3) Illicit synthetic narcotic.--The term ``illicit
synthetic narcotic'' means--
(A) a controlled substance with the exception of--
(i) a substance of natural origin; or
(ii) a medication--
(I) that is lawful under the laws
of the United States; and
(II) for which the Drug Enforcement
Administration has provided an import
permit to the importing organization
for the import of the medication;
(B) a listed chemical; and
(C) an active pharmaceutical ingredient or chemical
that is used in the production of a controlled
substance or listed chemical in subparagraphs (A) and
(B).
(4) JTF-ISN.--The term ``JTF-ISN'' means the Joint Task
Force to Counter Illicit Synthetic Narcotics established under
section 4.
SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF JOINT TASK FORCE TO COUNTER ILLICIT SYNTHETIC
NARCOTICS.
(a) In General.--There is established a Joint Task Force to Counter
Illicit Synthetic Narcotics.
(b) Membership.--The JTF-ISN shall be composed of representatives
of the following entities:
(1) The Department of Justice, including--
(A) the Drug Enforcement Administration;
(B) the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and
(C) assistant United States attorneys and trial
attorneys, as the Director determines are appropriate.
(2) The Department of the Treasury, including--
(A) the Counter-Fentanyl Strike Force;
(B) the Internal Revenue Service Criminal
Investigation;
(C) the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network;
(D) the Office of Foreign Assets Control; and
(E) Office of Intelligence and Analysis.
(3) The Department of Homeland Security, including--
(A) Homeland Security Investigations;
(B) U.S. Customs and Border Protection, including
the National Targeting Center;
(C) Immigration and Customs Enforcement; and
(D) the United States Coast Guard.
(4) The Department of State.
(5) The Department of Commerce.
(6) The Department of Defense.
(7) The Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
(8) Any other agency the Director deems appropriate.
(c) Director.--
(1) In general.--The JTF-ISN shall be led by a Director who
shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and
consent of the Senate.
(2) Compensation.--The Director shall be compensated at the
rate of basic pay prescribed for level II of the Executive
Schedule under section 5313 of title 5, United States Code.
(d) Reporting.--
(1) In general.--The Director shall report to the Attorney
General.
(2) Reports and briefings.--Not later than 180 days after
the date of enactment of this Act, and every 180 days
thereafter, the Director shall submit to the Committee on the
Judiciary and the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on the
Judiciary and the Committee on Homeland Security of the House
of Representatives a report, and upon request of the chairman
or ranking member of any such committee, a briefing that
includes--
(A) a comprehensive plan covering the 2-year period
beginning on the date on which the report is submitted
or the briefing is made, as applicable, that includes--
(i) a description of the goals of the JTF-
ISN;
(ii) description of areas of improvement
with respect to collaboration among the
participating agencies; and
(iii) an estimate of the funding and staff
needed for the continued work of the JTF-ISN;
(B) a statement of the budget priorities of the
JTF-ISN for each year in the 2-year period;
(C) a description of the efforts of the JTF-ISN to
investigate and prosecute illicit synthetic narcotics
trafficking crimes, including raids conducted, assets
seized, assets forfeited and indictments brought and
convictions; and
(D) efforts of the JTF-ISN to address matters
related to the role of the People's Republic of China
in the opioids crisis.
SEC. 5. PRIMARY MISSIONS OF JTF-ISN.
The primary mission of the JTF-ISN shall be to direct counter
opioid and synthetic narcotics activities, including disruption
activities and associated investigations, and provide strategic
coordination on related activities, including sanctions enforcement,
conducting joint operations, raids, and other tactical actions in
coordination with Federal, State, territorial, Tribal, and local law
enforcement agencies through memorandums of understanding such as legal
actions against traffickers and foreign entities, particularly in the
People's Republic of China, complicit in the opioid trade.
SEC. 6. AUTHORITY AND LIMITATIONS.
(a) Authority.--The JTF-ISN shall be vested with power and
authority to--
(1) investigate and prosecute violations of Federal law
relating to--
(A) the trafficking of illicit synthetic narcotics
and related offenses, such as money laundering and
other financial crimes; and
(B) smuggling, false statements, and any matter
that arises or might arises directly from its
investigations;
(2) in the case of a prosecution relating to non-United
States persons outside of the United States, bring a case--
(A) in the district where the crime was committed;
(B) in the district where the Drug Enforcement
Administration is located; or
(C) in a district described in section 3238 of
title 18, United States Code;
(3) facilitate the sharing of information between members
of the JTF-ISN in a timely manner;
(4) establish protocols for interagency referrals and
procedures for referring cases to prosecuting and sanctions
designating authorities as appropriate;
(5) develop strategies to address the role of the People's
Republic of China in the illicit synthetic narcotics crisis;
(6) work cooperatively with State, territorial, Tribal, and
local law enforcement agencies to combat and prosecute
trafficking of illicit synthetic narcotics;
(7) assess and improve existing methods of investigating
and prosecuting illicit synthetic narcotics trafficking crimes;
and
(8) conduct direct operational activities, including joint
operations, raids, and other tactical actions, to disrupt
illicit synthetic narcotics trafficking networks and bring
offenders to justice.
(b) Limitation.--The Director may not direct the execution of
operational activities outside the scope of counter-opioid efforts
related to illicit synthetic narcotics suppliers and their networks
pursuant to the primary missions of the JTF-ISN.
SEC. 7. INTERNAL STRUCTURE OF JTF-ISN.
(a) Intelligence Coordination.--The Director shall establish and
maintain within the JTF-ISN an intelligence coordination element, which
shall have primary responsibility within the United States Government
for analysis of illicit synthetic narcotics and related trafficking
organizations from all sources of intelligence, whether collected
inside or outside the United States.
(b) Strategic Operational Planning.--
(1) In general.--The Director shall establish and maintain
within the JTF-ISN a strategic operational planning element,
which shall provide strategic operational plans for counter-
opioid operations conducted by the United States Government,
and include the mission, objectives to be achieved, tasks to be
performed, interagency coordination of operational activities,
and the assignment of roles and responsibilities.
(2) Monitoring.--The Director shall monitor the
implementation of strategic operational plans and shall obtain
information from each element of the intelligence community,
and from each other department, agency, or element of the
United States Government relevant for monitoring the progress
of such entity in implementing such plans.
(c) Office of General Counsel.--The Director shall establish and
maintain within the JTF-ISN an Office of General Counsel, which shall
provide legal advice in support of the JTF-ISN and its directorates.
(d) Office of Congressional Coordination.--The Director shall
establish and maintain within the JTF-ISN an Office of Congressional
Coordination, which shall coordinate communications of the JFT-ISN with
Congress and ensure compliance with reporting and briefing obligations
under this Act.
SEC. 8. RETENTION OF EXISTING AUTHORITIES.
Each member of the JTF-ISN shall maintain their existing
authorities to investigate and prosecute trafficking crimes relating to
illicit synthetic narcotics.
SEC. 9. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.
Nothing in this Act shall be construed to authorize the JTF-ISN to
investigate, target, or prosecute individuals for personal drug use or
to pursue enforcement actions against low-level drug dealing that does
not involve significant connections to larger trafficking networks.
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