Washington, DC – Congresswoman Dina Titus (D-NV), a member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, and a group of her colleagues from both parties reintroduced bipartisan legislation this week to help equip U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to stop drug smuggling.

The Eradicating Narcotic Drugs and Formulating Effective New Tools to Address National Yearly Losses of Life (END FENTANYL) Act would require the Commissioner of CBP to review and update the agency’s drug inspection and interdiction guidance at least once every three years. In 2019, a U.S. Government Accountability Office report found that guidance had not been updated in twenty years.

Its bipartisan cosponsors include Representatives Mike Ezell (R-MS), Angie Craig (D-MN), Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR), Susie Lee (D-NV), and Tony Gonzales (R-TX).

“Too many communities across the country, including in District One, have felt the tragic impacts of the opioid epidemic,” said Rep. Titus. “This legislation will make sure Customs and Border Protection agents have the tools they need to curb the flow of fentanyl into our country and save lives.”

The END FENTANYL Act would:

• Require the Commissioner of CBP to review and update the Office of Field Operations’ policies and handbooks, as necessary and at least once every three years, in order to respond to illegal activity along the border including human and drug trafficking.
• Require the Commissioner of CBP to submit a report to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives that summarizes the policy and manual changes every three years.