HR 9598 United States House · 118th Congress

Office of National Drug Control Policy Reauthorization Act of 2024

This bill reauthorizes the Office of National Drug Control Policy through 2031 with updated definitions and expanded focus on harm reduction. Key provisions include requiring the Director to submit a report on opioid overdose reversal medications like naloxone, increasing funding for fentanyl interdiction activities ($5 million minimum annually), and expanding data collection requirements on drug use patterns and treatment effectiveness. The bill updates definitions to better address emerging drug threats and precursor chemicals, and mandates a Caribbean Border Counternarcotics Strategy to address drug trafficking through the Caribbean region. It affects federal agencies involved in drug control, law enforcement, and public health, requiring coordinated efforts to reduce drug use and improve access to life-saving treatments.
Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Sep 2024
Committee Review
Dec 2024
House Passage
Dec 2024
Senate Passage
President
Introduced Sep 16, 2024 Last action Dec 9, 2024
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced in House Engrossed in House · 20 edits · Dec 5, 2024
MAJOR
The engrossed version of HR 9598 makes substantial policy additions compared to the introduced version, including a new supplemental fentanyl interdiction grant program with a $5 million minimum allocation, a mandatory Caribbean Border Counternarcotics Strategy, a Fourth Amendment compliance requirement for funded programs, and a report on pill press machine regulation. The bill also extends authorization periods from 2023 to 2031, increases funding across multiple programs, and weaves naloxone/overdose reversal agent accessibility throughout the legislation.
FISCAL

New supplemental grant program for fentanyl interdiction activities (subsection t) requiring a minimum of $5,000,000 in allocations from HIDTA funds, with authority to use additional appropriated amounts.

New funding levels added: $298,579,000 per year for HIDTA (section 707(p)(7)), $3,000,000 per year (section 705(e)(2)), $20,000,000 per year (section 714), and $109,000,000 per year for the National Community Anti-Drug Coalition Institute (section 1024(a)).

The National Community Anti-Drug Coalition Institute grant amount is increased from $2,000,000 to $2,500,000 per year for fiscal years 2025 through 2031. The community-based coalition enhancement grant cap is raised from $125,000 to $150,000.

REQUIREMENT

New mandatory Caribbean Border Counternarcotics Strategy requiring the Director to set out a federal strategy for preventing drug trafficking through the Caribbean region, with specific content requirements for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands including measures to reduce drug-related violent crime on those islands.

New requirement for the Director to publish a report within 120 days of enactment analyzing strategic ways to regulate shipment of pill press machines and their critical parts.

New requirement for the Director to coordinate with DHS, the Attorney General, and the Secretary of State regarding enforcement of immigration inadmissibility provisions related to drug control, to ensure such activities are adequately resourced.

New data reporting requirements including historical comparisons over the prior 20 years for drug seizures, inclusion of precursor chemicals in seizure data, and analysis of how trends in encounters of inadmissible aliens at and between ports of entry affect DHS interdiction capacity.

New requirement for temporary reassignment of assistant U.S. attorneys to prioritize investigation and prosecution of fentanyl trafficking organizations, with a process for the Director to request such reassignments in coordination with HIDTA Executive Boards.

New carve-out in section 704(c)(3)(C) stating that requests for funding activities that facilitate illicit drug use do not include overdose reversal medications, drug checking, or testing technology - protecting these from being classified as facilitating illicit drug use.

New data sharing entities added: the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs and the Chief Data Officers Council are added to the list of entities that must share drug control data. The Drug Control Data Dashboard is required to be available as an open government data asset and for bulk download.

ENFORCEMENT

New Fourth Amendment compliance provision (subsection w) requiring that any program or activity receiving funds under section 707 be conducted in a manner consistent with protection from unreasonable search and seizure.

TIMELINE

Multiple authorization periods extended from 2023 to 2031, including the National Drug Control Strategy (section 704(i)(2)) and the community-based coalition enhancement grants (section 709(g)).

SCOPE

The term 'Harm Reduction Programs' is replaced with 'Substance use prevention, harm reduction, and life-saving treatment programs,' and a new primary goal is added: prevention of initial or continued use and fostering of life-saving opioid antagonists such as naloxone.

Naloxone and overdose reversal agent accessibility is added throughout the bill as a recognized activity, including in the National Drug Control Strategy goals, grant purposes, and data reporting requirements.

Port of entry language is expanded from 'at United States ports of entry' to 'at and between United States ports of entry' in multiple locations, broadening the geographic scope of drug interdiction activities.

Property reporting under section 705(a)(3) is expanded to include lands owned by a foreign principal as defined in the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, broadening the scope of reportable property interests.

ELIGIBILITY

The conflict of interest registry (section 703(d)) is expanded to cover subcontractors at any tier and grant recipients/subgrantees at any tier, not just direct contractors. The registry must also be sent to appropriate Congressional committees.

Coalition grants under section 1032(b)(3) are expanded from allowing 1 additional grant to up to 2 additional grants and up to 2 renewal grants, with the non-federal matching requirement clarified.

DEFINITION

The definition of 'drug laws' is expanded to 'drug, trade, and illicit drug trafficking laws,' and 'demand reduction' is supplemented with 'illicit drug trafficking' as a recognized activity area.

TECHNICAL

Several instances of 'shall' are changed to 'may' (sections 704(a)(1)(C) and 709(f)(1)), converting mandatory requirements into discretionary ones. The term 'Command and Control Plan' is renamed to 'Strategic Plan' throughout section 711.

Floor votes · House Dec 5, 2024

How they voted

3991
Passed · 32 other
Total votes 432
Dec 5, 2024
D Democratic213
196 Yea 17
92% Yea
I Independent1
1 Yea
100% Yea
R Republican218
202 Yea 1 Nay 15
92% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
13
Key actions
2
Committee
3
Amendments
2
Dec 9, 2024
Committee
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
upper
Dec 5, 2024
Introduced
On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 399 - 1 (Roll no. 485). (text: 12/4/2024 CR H6319-6322)
lower
Dec 5, 2024
Lower · Passed
Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 399 - 1 (Roll no. 485). (text: 12/4/2024 CR H6319-6322)
lower
Dec 4, 2024
Introduced
Mr. Comer moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
lower
Sep 18, 2024
Lower · Passed
Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
lower
Sep 16, 2024
Committee
Referred to the Committee on Oversight and Accountability, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
lower
Sep 16, 2024
Introduced
Introduced in House
lower
1 primary · 5 co-sponsors

Sponsors