Beginning in 2022 and especially in 2023, the United States Congress has introduced and passed numerous pieces of legislation tackling opioids, fentanyl, and the opioid epidemic within America. Many of these bills have been introduced by different members of the Republican Party, and some pieces of legislation have attracted bipartisan support from members of the Democratic Party. Most legislative efforts have arisen during the 117th and 118th Congresses.
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Long title | A bill to amend title 18, United States Code, to punish the distribution of fentanyl resulting in death as felony murder. |
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The Stop Fentanyl Border Crossings Act is pending United States legislation introduced in both the 117th and 118th congresses. If enacted, the legislation would enable the Department of Health and Human Services to use Title 42 expulsion procedures and the Remain in Mexico policy to help combat the smuggling of fentanyl into the United States. This power is allotted specifically to the Secretary of the Department. [1]
The bill is most prominently sponsored by Senators Bill Hagerty of Tennessee and Roger Marshall of Kansas, and originally introduced by both senators as S.3959 with four more Republican cosponsors. In the 118th Congress, the bill was reintroduced by Tennessee Representative Scott DesJarlais and introduced as HR X.
In the 117th Congress, the bill was blocked by president pro tempore Patty Murray, on grounds related to the expiration of Title 42 expulsion procedures. The bill has been reintroduced in the 118th congress, albeit only in the house, by DeJarlais as House Resolution 1210; the legislation has presently been referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
The bill has received support from the Orange County Sheriff's Department in California, which stated through sheriff Don Barnes that the act "is needed legislation that will bolster the needed enforcement component [to prevent fentanyl from arriving in the United States]". Further support from California in favor of the bill was found in the Malibu Times, which ran an op-ed with the tag "From the Right" arguing not only that the bill greatly enhances the ability of law enforcement to block fentanyl from entering the country but also that the source of at least the raw materials for much of the fentanyl trade comes from enterprises based in the People's Republic of China, and that the Chinese government is potentially one of the forces behind the fentanyl influx. [2] [3] [4] [5]
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Long title | A bill to amend title 18, United States Code, to punish the distribution of fentanyl resulting in death as felony murder. |
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Legislative history | |
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The Felony Murder for Deadly Fentanyl Distribution Act is pending United States legislation originally introduced in the 117th Congress which has since been reintroduced in the 118th Congress as S.380. The bill, akin to its name, modifies Title 18 of the United States Code, specifically sections 1111, to give capital punishment or life imprisonment to individuals who knowingly distribute fentanyl that causes a death.
The minimum amount of fentanyl needed to meet the bill's criteria for capital punishment is two grams or half a gram depending on the fentanyl variant, and the individual charged must have the knowledge of intentionally distributing fentanyl. The distribution of fentanyl must also result in the death of the victim. [6] [7]
The bill's leading sponsor is Florida senator Marco Rubio and has attracted sixteen cosponsors, all Republican senators. The bill has also been introduced in the House as H.R. 916 by Texas representative Tony Gonzales.
The bill has received support from Louisiana locals, as WAFB ran stories of people whose family members lost their lives to fentanyl and have expressed a desire to see the bill passed. Rubio and Gonzales further argued that the Biden administration should do more to prevent illegal narcotics from entering the country, especially those which can tie their origins to mainland China. Many other Republicans in Congress issued statements supporting the passage of the legislation, such as Josh Hawley, Ted Budd, Joni Ernst, Tom Cotton, and Ted Cruz. [8] [9] [10] [11]
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Long title | A bill to require the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection to regularly review and update policies and manuals related to inspections at ports of entry. |
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The END FENTANYL Act (Eradicating Narcotic Drugs and Formulating Effective New Tools to Address National Yearly Losses of Life) is pending legislation named for and targeting fentanyl overdoses.
The bill would require U.S. Customs and Border Protection to update its Office of Field Operations' policies and manuals every three years or more frequently on the prevention of drug and human smuggling, and report any and all changes to its manuals to House and Senate committees.
Though titled to end fentanyl specifically, the provisions within section 2 of the bill do not specifically mention fentanyl, and the legislation states it does not only target fentanyl but also other illegal substances, as well as human trafficking. [12] [13] [14]
The bill was introduced by Republican Senator Rick Scott from Florida and Republican representative Michael Guest from Mississippi in both the 117th and 118th congresses; Scott's bill passed the Senate by unanimous consent during the 117th Congress on December 14, 2022, but never reached the House of Representatives. [15]
In the 118th Congress, the bill was reintroduced by Scott and Guest in their respective houses of Congress; three other Republicans and four Democrats cosponsored Guest's bill, and Scott's bill was cosponsored by Republican Mike Braun and Democrats Jacky Rosen, Dianne Feinstein, and Maggie Hassan. [16] [12] [13]
The bill passed the Senate by unanimous consent on June 22, 2023. [17]
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Long title | A bill to deter the trafficking of illicit fentanyl, provide justice for victims, and for other purposes. |
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The Justice Against Sponsors of Illicit Fentanyl Act of 2023 was introduced by Republican Senator John Thune of South Dakota. The bill would enable American fentanyl survivors and civilians whose family members died or otherwise fell victim to illegal fentanyl to bring lawsuits against nations which sponsor the illegal smuggling trafficking.
Introduced as S.380 on February 9, 2023, the legislation highly resembles the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, and to enable such suits, the bill would rollback judicial immunities in the American legal system against nations who engage in or enable the illegal smuggling of fentanyl into US territory. [18]
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Long title | A bill to amend the Controlled Substances Act with respect to the scheduling of fentanyl-related substances, and for other purposes. |
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The HALT Fentanyl Act (Halt All Lethal Trafficking) is pending legislation introduced in the House during the 118th congress by Republican Morgan Griffith from Virginia and originally cosponsored by Ohio Republican Bob Latta. [19]
Initially introduced as H.R. 171, a second version of the bill, H.R. 467 received over 40 cosponsors. The bill, referred to the House committees on the Judiciary as well as on Energy and Commerce, would permanently designate fentanyl as a Schedule 1 narcotic under the Controlled Substances Act. [20]
The bill is entirely cosponsored and generally supported by Republicans, and H.R. 467 of the legislation passed committees; it is due for a full house vote soon.
The bill has received opposition from some organizations for criminalizing chemically similar substances that potentially can be used for legitimate medical purposes or therapies; such backers of this argument include the American Civil Liberties Union and Human Rights Watch.
The latter in particular highlighted that history might repeat itself similar to the crack cocaine epidemic, in how legislation on preventing crack cocaine harmed black populations with more severe penalties compared to white populations, as more severe offenses would be held out to crack, historically affiliated with black populations, than cocaine, conversely affiliated with white populations. [21] [20]
The FEND Off Fentanyl Act (Fentanyl Eradication and Narcotics Deterrence) is signed US legislation which expands sanctions against traffickers and creators of fentanyl. Primarily the brainchild of Democratic senator Sherrod Brown from Ohio and Republican senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, the law passed the Senate though stalled in the House of Representatives. [22] [23] The legislation specifically sanctions, at the direction of the president, key figures in drug cartels and fentanyl trafficking operations, and additionally enables the executive branch to use proceeds from seized fentanyl-trafficking assets for further enforcement of the legislation, and authorizes the Department of the Treasury to utilize special measures to combat money laundering in relation to fentanyl. [24]
The FEND Off Fentanyl Act, though not advancing beyond the Senate as an individual bill, was signed into law as part of Public Law 118-50, a package of emergency spending legislation, which included emergency spending for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, as well as the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act itself colloquially known as the "TikTok ban." [25] [26] The legislation's success was also used by Brown's 2024 reelection campaign against Republican challenger Bernie Moreno, with Ohio Democrats painting the legislation as a bipartisan victory and a vote for Brown as a vote for bipartisanship. [23] The law, though, attracted criticism from the Cato Institute, which predicted that given the target placed on Chinese producers and Mexican traffickers of fentanyl, Chinese fentanyl competitors based in India would increase in business, warning that nitazene production would increase with increased attention towards fentanyl, and criticizing that the increase in fentanyl restrictions is too reckless and akin to the Prohibition Era. [27]
Susan Margaret Collins is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from Maine. A member of the Republican Party, she has held her seat since 1997 and is Maine's longest-serving member of Congress.
Diana Louise DeGette is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Colorado's 1st congressional district since 1997. A member of the Democratic Party, her district is based in Denver. DeGette was a Chief Deputy Whip from 2005 to 2019 and is the dean of Colorado's congressional delegation; she served as the Colorado State Representative for the 6th district from 1993 until her election to the U.S. House.
The Respect for Marriage Act is a landmark United States federal law passed by the 117th United States Congress in 2022 and signed into law by President Joe Biden. It repeals the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), requires the U.S. federal government and all U.S. states and territories to recognize the validity of same-sex and interracial civil marriages in the United States, and protects religious liberty. Its first version in 2009 was supported by former Republican U.S. Representative Bob Barr, the original sponsor of DOMA, and former President Bill Clinton, who signed DOMA in 1996. Iterations of the proposal were put forth in the 111th, 112th, 113th, 114th, and 117th Congresses.
Todd Christopher Young is an American attorney and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Indiana, a seat he has held since 2017. A member of the Republican Party, Young previously served as the U.S. representative for Indiana's 9th congressional district. He was elected to the United States Senate in the November 8, 2016, general election, succeeding retiring Republican Dan Coats. From 2019 to 2021, he served as the chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Young was reelected in 2022.
The No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels Act (NOPEC) was a U.S. Congressional bill, never enacted, known as H.R. 2264 (in 2007) and then as part of H.R. 6074 (in 2008). NOPEC was designed to remove the state immunity shield and to allow the international oil cartel, OPEC, and its national oil companies to be sued under U.S. antitrust law for anti-competitive attempts to limit the world's supply of petroleum and the consequent impact on oil prices. Despite popular sentiment against OPEC, legislative proposals to limit the organization's sovereign immunity have so far been unsuccessful. "Varied forms of a NOPEC bill have been introduced some 16 times since 2000, only to be vehemently resisted by the oil industry and its allied oil interests like the American Petroleum Institute and their legion of 'K' Street Lobbyists."
Brian Kevin Fitzpatrick is an American politician, attorney, and former FBI agent who has served as a U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania since 2017. His district, which was numbered the 8th district during his first term and the 1st district since 2019, includes all of Bucks County, a mostly suburban county north of Philadelphia, as well as a sliver of Montgomery County.
The Strengthening the Tenth Amendment Through Entrusting States (STATES) Act was a bill proposed in the 115th United States Congress that would recognize legalization of cannabis and the U.S. state laws that have legalized it through their legislatures or citizen initiative. It was introduced on June 7, 2018, by Senators Cory Gardner and Elizabeth Warren. A companion bill was introduced the same day in the House of Representatives, sponsored by Earl Blumenauer and David Joyce. The act would amend the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 to exempt from federal enforcement individuals or corporations in states who are in compliance with U.S. state, U.S. territory and the District of Columbia, or tribal law on cannabis, with certain additional provisions such as minimum ages. The banking provisions of the STATES Act have been reintroduced as the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act of 2019 in the 116th U.S. Congress by Ed Perlmutter in the House, and by Jeff Merkley in the Senate. As of September 18, 2019, the House bill had 206 cosponsors, and the Senate bill had 33 cosponsors.
The Venezuela TPS Act of 2019 is a bill in the 116th United States Congress sponsored by Rep. Darren Soto (D-FL) and Mario Díaz-Balart (R-FL). It aims to extend temporary protected status to Venezuelan nationals in light of the 2019 Venezuelan presidential crisis and the crisis in Venezuela in general.
The SAFE Banking Act, officially H.R. 1595, full title Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Act, also referred to as the SAFE Banking Act of 2019, and as of 2023 the Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act, is proposed legislation regarding disposition of funds gained through the cannabis industry in the United States.
The political positions of Susan Collins are reflected by her United States Senate voting record, public speeches, and interviews. Susan Collins is a Republican senator from Maine who has served since 1997. Collins is a self-described "moderate Republican". She has occasionally been referred to as a "liberal Republican" relative to her colleagues. In 2013, the National Journal gave Collins a score of 55% conservative and 45% liberal.
The Emmett Till Antilynching Act is a United States federal law which defines lynching as a federal hate crime, increasing the maximum penalty to 30 years imprisonment for several hate crime offences.
The New Way Forward Act is a proposed legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate and House on December 10, 2019 by Jesús "Chuy" García, which focuses on immigration reform. The bill would repeal sections 1325 and 1326 of the immigration law to decriminalize unauthorized border crossing whilst maintaining civil deportation procedures. The bill intends to give immigration judges discretion when deciding immigration claims for immigrants with criminal records in the United States, changes immigration enforcement by ending mandatory detention in specific cases and intends to remove private detention centers for immigrants.
H.R.932 (118th), also known as To repeal the authorizations for use of military force (AUMF) against Iraq, is a bill in the 118th United States Congress that would have repealed the 2002 AUMF. H.R.932 was sponsored on February 9, 2023 by Barbara Lee, the lone vote against the 2001 AUMF. H.R.932 was co-sponsored by 70 Representatives including 27 Republicans. S.316 (118th), also known as A bill to repeal the authorizations for use of military force against Iraq, is the Senate version of H.R.932 that would have repealed the 2002 AUMF. S.316 was sponsored on February 9, 2023 by Virginia Senator Tim Kaine and Indiana Senator Todd Young. S.316 was co-sponsored by 46 Senators including 12 Republicans. S.316 advanced from the Senate by 66 votes to 30 on March 29, 2023. 18 Republican Senators voted in favor of Kaine's proposal while no Democratic Senators voted against it.
The Augmenting Compatibility and Competition by Enabling Service Switching Act of 2021, or the ACCESS Act of 2021, is a proposed antitrust bill in the United States House of Representatives. The purpose of the legislation is to mandate data portability from Big Tech companies to provide users the ability to switch their data between platforms.
The Recovering America's Wildlife Act(RAWA) is a bill in the United States Congress intended to provide funding for the conservation of wildlife in the United States.
The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act is a United States federal law, passed in 2022. It implemented several changes to the mental health system, school safety programs, and gun control laws. Gun control laws in the bill include extended background checks for firearm purchasers under the age of 21, clarification of federal firearms license (FFL) requirements, funding for state red flag laws and other crisis intervention programs, further criminalization of arms trafficking and straw purchases, and partial closure of the gun show loophole and boyfriend loophole. It was the first federal gun control legislation enacted in 28 years.
Christopher Raphael Deluzio is an American attorney, politician and former U.S. Navy officer serving as the U.S. representative for Pennsylvania's 17th congressional district since 2023. The district includes most of the northwestern suburbs of Pittsburgh. He is a member of the Democratic Party.
The Parental Rights Over the Education and Care of Their Kids Act is pending United States legislation introduced in both the House of Representatives and Senate of the 118th congress. Sponsored by Republican representative Tim Walberg and senators Rick Scott of Florida and Tim Scott of South Carolina and originating in the 117th congress, the bill is similar to and viewed of as a national version of the Florida Parental Rights in Education Act, itself known by its opponents as the Don't Say Gay bill.
The Advertising Middlemen Endangering Rigorous Internet Competition Accountability (AMERICA) Act (S.1073) is a proposed bipartisan antitrust bill in the United States Congress. The legislation was introduced by Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) in the 118th Congress on March 30, 2023.
The Modernizing Opioid Treatment Access Act is a proposed United States congressional bill introduced in the 118th United States Congress. Introduced in response to the national opioid epidemic, the legislation would expand access to methadone, an approved medication for treating opioid use disorder (OUD).
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