Sens. Peters, Hawley introduce legislation to seek illicit drug plan from DHS

The newly introduced Enhancing DHS Drug Seizures Act seeks to bolster efforts by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to detect and seize illicit drugs, including through the development of a plan for stronger public-private partnerships.

Introduced by U.S. Sens. Gary Peters (D-MI) and Josh Hawley (R-MO), the bill responds to the ongoing opioid crisis fueled by the spread of illicit fentanyl and other synthetic opioids. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), overdose deaths climbed to more than 100,000 between April 2020 and April 2021. Accordingly, one of the big items on the docket for the new bill would be to strengthen public-private partnerships overseeing the shipping, chemical, and pharmaceutical industries to get this under control.

“The opioid crisis continues to devastate communities in Michigan and across our country. That is why we must use every tool at our disposal to fight back against trafficking and seize these drugs before they can harm Americans,” Peters said. “By bolstering the Department of Homeland Security’s ability to reduce the supply of dangerous drugs like fentanyl in the United States, this bipartisan bill will help reduce overdoses and save lives.”

Among its requirements, the bill’s new requirements for DHS would include greater oversight and studies of how it could improve efforts at data collection and analysis related to illegal drug seizures and guarantee it’s using available resources to develop new ways to test for fentanyl and other illicit drugs. With better data, DHS would be expected to step up its targeting and intelligence activities and roll out greater penalties for drug traffickers drawing on similar data about the location and movement of federal, state, or Tribal law enforcement officers.