Newhouse Targets CCP Fentanyl Pipeline in New Bipartisan Legislation

Today, Rep. Dan Newhouse (WA-04), Chairman of The Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) Fentanyl Policy Working Group, along with his colleagues introduced bipartisan legislation to hold the CCP responsible for directly subsidizing the fentanyl crisis currently plaguing the United States.

“For too long, China has profited from the destruction of American lives, and the fentanyl crisis they are manufacturing knows no boundaries. As we continue our work fighting the immediate threat the drug poses, we are also going after the CCP and their central role in subsidizing, producing, and exporting the precursors that fuel this epidemic,” said Rep. Newhouse, Chairman of the Working Group.

The working group spent months building on the Select Committee’s bipartisan investigation which uncovered for the first time how the CCP directly subsidizes fentanyl precursors and analogues. The lawmakers are now introducing three bipartisan bills aimed at supporting law enforcement, strengthening sanctions on CCP-backed entities engaged in drug trafficking, and leveraging fees against entities that fail to implement appropriate transparency and related safeguards that hinder drug trafficking.

"Dismantling the fentanyl supply chain starts at the source. The CCP Fentanyl Sanctions Act sanctions Chinese chemical manufacturers that are profiting by poisoning the American people," said Rep. Auchincloss Ranking Member of the Working Group.

“Earlier this spring, the Select Committee uncovered new evidence showing how the Chinese Communist Party directly fuels America’s fentanyl crisis. China has programs in place to reward companies with subsidies for exporting fentanyl and other drugs illegal under Chinese law to the United States. It is now abundantly clear that the CCP is not just turning a blind eye to the fentanyl crisis, it is causing it,” said Select Committee Chairman John Moolenaar. “Thank you to Rep. Newhouse and Rep. Auchincloss, for their bipartisan leadership and the solutions they have crafted to hold the CCP accountable for the fentanyl crisis.”

“Earlier this year, the Select Committee’s bipartisan investigation proved that the CCP could be doing much more to stop the flow of fentanyl. But if the CCP won’t take action, Congress will,” said Select Committee Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi. “I want to commend Congressmen Auchincloss and Newhouse for their leadership of this working group. Building off the findings of our investigation, the three bills put forth today would help save lives, and help ensure that companies in China that produce and export deadly chemicals are held accountable.”

The bills developed by the working group are the Joint Task Force to Counter Illicit Synthetic Narcotics Act of 2024 sponsored by Rep. Newhouse, The CCP Fentanyl Sanctions Act, and the International Protecting from PRC Fentanyl and Other Synthetic Opioids Act.

The Joint Task Force to Counter Illicit Synthetic Narcotics Act of 2024

• The Joint Task Force to Counter Illicit Synthetic Narcotics Act of 2024 would establish a coordinated task force to combat the trafficking of synthetic narcotics like fentanyl. The task force will bring together representatives from relevant federal agencies to conduct joint operations, disrupt trafficking networks, and enforce sanctions. It will focus on international and domestic coordination, including addressing the role of the People’s Republic of China in the opioid crisis.
• The task force aims to streamline interagency collaboration, enhance legal enforcement, and report regularly to Congress.
• Full bill text can be found here.

The CCP Fentanyl Sanctions Act

• The CCP Fentanyl Sanctions Act targets what the Select Committee’s bipartisan fentanyl report described as the “Achilles’ heel” of fentanyl and related synthetic narcotics producers—their exposure to the U.S. banking system courtesy of their licit activity. This legislation would codify important new authorities to address this threat while working to target those responsible for the epidemic.
• It codifies and builds on Executive Order 14059, which established critical new sanctions authorities against actors involved fentanyl trafficking. It also expands existing sanctions authorities to target PRC vessels or ports that knowingly or recklessly facilitate shipment/transportation of illicit synthetic narcotics, as well as PRC online marketplaces and other entities that knowingly or recklessly facilitate sale of illicit synthetic narcotics.
• The legislation also grants Treasury the authority to restrict foreign financial institution correspondent accounts and payable-through accounts if the President determines the account has knowingly facilitated transactions on behalf of individuals engaging in synthetic narcotics trafficking.
• Full bill text can be found here.

International Protection from PRC Fentanyl and Other Synthetic Opioids Act

• The International Protection from PRC Fentanyl and Other Synthetic Opioids Act aims to combat fentanyl trafficking by imposing civil penalties on PRC entities that fail to implement appropriate transparency and related safeguards that hinder drug trafficking. It introduces compliance requirements for PRC ports, vessels, and exporters, to properly manifest fentanyl precursors and related chemicals, as well as to follow formal entry when shipping to the United States.
• PRC entities that fail to follow these requirements would be subject to escalating civil penalties adjusted to the value of goods present on a given vessel. Any such revenues would go towards funding anti-trafficking efforts.
• Full bill text can be found here.

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