WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Representatives Clay Higgins (LA-03) and Seth Magaziner (RI-02), and 17 of their Congressional colleagues today introduced the Contraband Awareness Technology Catches Harmful (CATCH) Fentanyl Act, which would help improve the process for inspecting cars, trucks, and cargo containers for fentanyl and other forms of contraband at the southern border by requiring U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to test new detection pilot projects while considering cost effectiveness, wait times, and existing infrastructure needs at land ports of entry (POEs):  

“The Biden-Harris administration’s porous border created a drug crisis of epic proportions that we are working around the clock to address and mitigate to protect innocent lives,” said Sen. Cornyn. “This legislation would help implement new and updated technology used for scanning cargo and vehicles at our ports of entry to improve fentanyl detection, combat illicit drug smuggling, and better protect Texans from this scourge.”

“We must use every tool at our disposal to detect and seize illegal drugs like fentanyl before they reach our streets,” said Sen. Hassan. “This bipartisan legislation will strengthen our infrastructure at the border and identify the most up-to-date, effective, and efficient technology to help law enforcement catch the fentanyl that is being smuggled over the border and into our communities. I will continue to work with my colleagues across the aisle to get law enforcement agencies the resources that they need to tackle the fentanyl crisis.”

“This common-sense legislation gives CBP expanded use of technology to detect and stop narcotraffickers while streamlining legitimate commercial transit at border ports of entry,” said Rep. Higgins. “We must use our Congressional authority to protect communities across America from this devastating drug. I thank Congressman Magaziner for joining me on this critical legislation, and Senator Cornyn for introducing companion legislation in the Senate.”

“Fentanyl has claimed too many lives, and we need to take stronger action to stop the flow of fentanyl into our country,” said Rep. Magaziner. “This bill will direct the Department of Homeland Security to deploy in cutting-edge technology to detect and stop fentanyl and other dangerous substances at border crossings—while keeping legal trade moving smoothly. This is a smart, necessary, and bipartisan step to save lives.”

This legislation is also cosponsored by Senators James Lankford (R-OK), Jim Justice (R-WV), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Bernie Moreno (R-OH), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Representatives Dan Goldman (NY-10), Carlos Gimenez (FL-28), Mark Green (TN-07), Mike Haridopolos (FL-08), Don Davis (NC-01), Cleo Fields (LA-06), Gabe Evans (CO-08), and Josh Riley (NY-19). 

Background:

The goal of using Non-Intrusive Inspection (NII) technology at POEs is to scan vehicles and cargo for anomalies to find contraband like fentanyl, but CBP has had logistical difficulties implementing the NII Systems Program. Despite ample funding in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s budget, last year, NII only was able to scan 28% of passenger vehicles and less than 20% of cargo vehicles. There are many issues disrupting CBP’s detection efforts, including:

• Certain NII technology can’t physically fit at POEs located on bridges and surrounded by privately-owned land;
• Machines that scan for weapons of mass destruction (WMD) can’t be placed near cargo scanning machines because of the radiation they release, which causes WMD scanning machines to make false detections;
• And lines at POEs continue to be eight to 12 hours long during peak times at busier ports.

The CATCH Fentanyl Act would require CBP to analyze and test at least five new pieces of technology at land POEs to determine what types of technology could better scan for contraband, reduce wait times, and lower costs.

This legislation is endorsed by the American Trucking Association (ATA) and the Association of American Railroads (AAR).