Destruction of Hazardous Imports Act

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2715, the Destruction of Hazardous Imports Act, which I introduced with my Louisiana colleague Representative Clay Higgins.

This bill will protect American consumers and create a level playing field for American businesses by authorizing the Food and Drug Administration to order the destruction of imported products found to pose a significant public health concern.

Under current law, foreign exporters can ship contaminated or counterfeit products to the U.S. knowing they can withdraw the shipment if FDA flags it. They can then try to enter through a different port where the shipment may not be caught, a practice known as port shopping. This loophole endangers our health and undermines our food and drug safety systems.

This bill authorizes the Food and Drug Administration to require an importer to destroy an FDA-regulated product that was refused entry into the U.S. because it poses a significant public health concern with the cost of the destruction at the importer's expense. This bill also prohibits the unauthorized movement of any article designated for destruction by the FDA.

Some imported foods, especially seafood, have been found to be contaminated with carcinogenic drugs, pesticides, and other harmful impurities.

Beyond food, there has been a rise in imports of dangerous vape devices and e-liquids containing banned substances and excessive nicotine, as well as counterfeit drugs like GLP-1s.

This threat is real and documented. Exporters, especially Chinese exporters, have been caught resubmitting rejected shipments at different ports. This bill closes that loophole and creates a deterrent for bad actors.

Congressman Higgins and I have worked hand in hand with our domestic fishing industry on this legislation, including the Southern Shrimp Alliance. American fishermen perform backbreaking work and operate under strict U.S. food safety, labor, and environmental rules that raise their costs significantly. Meanwhile, some foreign producers cut corners and still get multiple chances to dump noncompliant and often dangerous products into the American marketplace.

Seafood imports continue to pour into the United States, increasing in

volume each year, undercutting domestic fishermen. Last year, the U.S. imported 6.4 billion pounds of foreign seafood, a 10 percent increase from 2019.

As imports have increased, American commercial seafood landings have declined. In 2024, the U.S. commercial landings totaled 7.7 billion pounds, the first time landings have been below 8 billion pounds since 1988.

Louisiana's commercial fishing industry has particularly been hit hard by this flood of foreign imports. Since 2021, Louisiana shrimpers have seen the value of their catch drop by more than 50 percent, falling from $131 million in 2021 to just $61 million in 2024. As you can see, this is, in fact, a real threat.

Passing this bill will deter bad actors from flooding the market with unsafe products and provide American fishermen with a fair playing field, allowing them to sustainably harvest millions of additional pounds of shrimp and other seafood each year.

This is a real issue, and I am proud to be working in a bipartisan way to address an issue that will impact not just Louisiana but our entire country.

Mr. Speaker, I urge the passage of this critical legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2715, the Destruction of Hazardous Imports Act.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2715 ensures that contaminated imports, ranging from radioactive seafood to illegal Chinese vapes, do not reach American consumers and cause harm.

Initially, this legislation began as an effort to target toxin-laced foreign seafood. However, my colleague, the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Carter), and I quickly learned that the Department of Health and Human Services cannot destroy other articles, including food, devices, and specific drugs, even though they may pose serious health risks.

Without the authority granted within H.R. 2715, dangerous and poisonous imports can find their way to American markets. This legislation grants the Food and Drug Administration additional authority to destroy any articles that fail initial inspection, preventing foreign importers from port-shopping or rebranding their products.

This legislation introduces strict penalties for the reintroduction of destroyed items into interstate commerce, ensuring that harmful imported goods are permanently barred from entering our markets. Bad actors attempting to undermine these enforcement measures will face accountability.

Strengthening this legislative framework will protect public safety and reinforce our commitment to stringent oversight of imported goods to mirror the American safety standards that American producers must live with.

In January, the FDA released its legislative proposals for fiscal year 2026. This included a request for the authority to require importers to destroy any FDA-related product that is refused entry into the United States and that presents a significant public health concern.

H.R. 2715 supports the administration and follows through by adding the FDA's existing authority to destroy imported medical devices and medications with any article that poses a health risk to the public.

As we work to improve our Nation's health and reverse the lingering effects of unfair trade policies, it is essential that the FDA has the authority to eliminate toxic foods and drugs from our country.

The Destruction of Hazardous Imports Act protects Americans' health and prioritizes our domestic industry. I urge full support and swift passage, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2715) to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to extend the destruction authority of the Secretary of Health and Human Services to articles that present a significant public health concern, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on the legislation and include extraneous material on H.R. 2715.

Mr. Speaker, it looks like we have two friends from Louisiana supporting this and who sponsored this bill today, Mr. Higgins and Mr. Carter.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Higgins).

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

Mr. Speaker, I really appreciate my friends from Louisiana, both of them, for bringing this forward. This is important. Think about what we are talking about here. Contaminated seafood, illicit drugs, and all of these other things are getting stopped at a port of entry, but FDA has no authority to destroy them. As my friend from New Jersey said, they get returned and come in through another port.

As good as our people are at our ports of entry, if you keep sending the same thing through over and over, eventually it is going to get through. It makes no sense not to allow the FDA to destroy these products.

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

Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to vote for this bipartisan bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2715, the Destruction of Hazardous Imports Act, led by Representatives Carter and Higgins of Louisiana.

This bill would provide the Food and Drug Administration with the authority to require importers to destroy products that pose a significant public health concern, preventing them from being shipped to another port of entry.

These products have, in fact, included food contaminated with salmonella, listeria, and carcinogenic unapproved animal drugs, as well as misbranded medical devices. It also includes illegal e-cigarette products that are flooding the market from places like China.

These are dangerous products, Mr. Speaker. Providing the FDA with the authority to compel destruction and requiring the importer to pay for such destruction will provide a strong disincentive to those seeking to prioritize profits over product safety. We need to make sure Americans are not unwittingly exposed to harmful products, and this authority is going to prevent that.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage all my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 2715, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Carter), a member of our committee, my colleague, and the Democratic sponsor of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I urge support for this bipartisan bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.