END FENTANYL Act

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 206, the END FENTANYL Act. I am a proud sponsor of the House companion bill. I thank my friend, Senator Rick Scott, for leading this bipartisan effort in the United States Senate. I also thank Congressman David Trone for co-leading this legislation in the House.

This bill would require the United States Customs and Border Protection, CBP, to regularly review and update their inspection practices at ports of entry. It would also require them to respond to any new or innovative smuggling methods. This bill would require CBP to brief Congress on new inspection practices. The goal of this bill is to ensure that CBP is employing the most up-to-date methods to interdict and prevent illegal activities, such as the smuggling of deadly narcotics like fentanyl into our country.

As Chairman Green said, this bill was introduced in direct response to a 2019 Government Accountability Office report, which found that CBP's inspection techniques were not uniform across different ports of entry and in some cases found that they were entirely outdated. The GAO report determined: ``Because CBP has not updated many of its policies-- in a few cases for almost 20 years--they do not always reflect changes in technology or processes, such as those for conducting searches and handling fentanyl.''

Mr. Speaker, the END FENTANYL Act will be a valuable tool in our fight against the deadly scourge of fentanyl, which has devastated families and communities across our country. From May of 2022 to May of 2023, the U.S. suffered over 112,000 overdose deaths, with many of those deaths being attributed directly or indirectly to the use of fentanyl. Fentanyl poisoning is now the leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 18 and 45.

As cartels continue to develop new methods to traffic these deadly drugs in the United States, this bill will ensure that CBP responds to any new smuggling techniques in a uniform manner, with the most up-to- date and effective practices.

In closing, this bill will save lives and is a first step to securing our border from those smuggling drugs into our communities. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting S. 206.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 206) 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.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on S. 206.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 206. In 2019, the Government Accountability Office issued a report which determined that U.S. Customs and Border Protection did not regularly update their inspection policies at ports of entry. In some cases, policies had not been updated in 20 years and did not accurately reflect current operating conditions, presently deployed technology, or adequately address how to handle things like fentanyl.

S. 206 would require CBP to review and update policies and manuals at least once every 3 years and also provide reports to Congress on changes made by those updates. This should ensure that CBP is employing the latest and most efficient methods to stop illegal activity at the ports of entry and prevent it from entering the United States.

I thank Senator Scott and Congressman Guest for their important work

on this bill. I urge my colleagues to support S. 206, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Guest), the leader of the House companion bill to S. 206 and the vice chair of the Committee on Homeland Security.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close.

I again urge my colleagues to support S. 206. I thank Mr. Guest for his work in assisting Senator Scott, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

This bill is a commonsense step to address the fentanyl crisis and save American lives. By requiring U.S. Customs and Border Protection to incorporate and continually update uniform policies and standards for their operations at ports of entry, we can be sure our officers continually adapt and implement their inspection practices to the changing dynamics of illicit activities along U.S. borders.

It is important that we continue supporting necessary improvements for our ports of entry, where approximately 90 percent of CBP's fentanyl seizures occur.

This bill complements the unprecedented progress that the Department of Homeland Security has made in recent years to stop fentanyl from entering our communities. DHS has launched new cross-government efforts to target smugglers and put more personnel, technology, infrastructure, and resources at our border. As a result, DHS has seized more fentanyl and arrested more criminals for fentanyl-related crimes in the last 2 years than over the last previous 5 years combined.

DHS has taken serious action to thwart human trafficking and human smuggling through ports of entry. The END FENTANYL Act builds on these efforts, as well.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close.

I thank the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Guest) for introducing the END FENTANYL Act. It is a key step forward to ensure that we are better prepared to stop fentanyl smuggling. By regularly improving our strategies at our ports of entry, we can ensure that the Department of Homeland Security is keeping our communities safe.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to support this incredible measure, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of the following bills en bloc: Calendar No. 36, S. 264; Calendar No. 37, S. 829; Calendar No. 38, S. 349; Calendar No. 44, S. 206; Calendar No. 72, S. 111; and Calendar No. 94, S. 1549.

I ask unanimous consent that the committee-reported amendments, where applicable, be considered and agreed to; that the bills, as amended, if amended, be considered read a third time and passed; and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, all en bloc.