Homeland Security Republicans Cheer on Bills Addressing National Security, Fentanyl Activities

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On Monday, Republicans on the House Committee on Homeland Security cheered the passage of three bills aimed at countering Chinese influence on homeland security and the fentanyl crisis.

U.S. Rep. Mark Green, M.D. (R-TN), said the committee had passed three bills out of committee that would counter the Chinese Communist Party’s influence on domestic security and the destructive activities of drug cartels. The legislation, H.R. 8631, the “Decoupling from Foreign Adversarial Battery Dependence Act;” H.R. 8663, the “DETECT Fentanyl and Xylazine Act of 2024;” and H.R. 7404, the “Subterranean Border Defense Act,” will now be considered by the Senate.

“The House took decisive steps today to combat the Chinese Communist Party’s ever-expanding malign influence in our homeland, and I am proud of our committee’s leadership in pushing these bills across the finish line,” Green said. “The House of Representatives also passed two more committee bills to combat Communist China’s deadly fentanyl supply chain across our southwest border, which Beijing is doing with the help of criminal cartels. I am proud of the leadership of Congressmen LaLota and Crane who introduced bills to improve fentanyl interdiction and DHS’s mission to disrupt the devious tunnels cartels often use to smuggle this toxic drug — both sound legislation to close DHS’s capacity gap and save lives amid this historic border crisis.”

The Decoupling from Foreign Adversarial Battery Dependence Act was introduced by Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-FL) and would prohibit the Department of Homeland Security from purchasing batteries from six major companies owned and operated in China: Contemporary Amperex Technology Company, Ltd. (CATL) and Gotion High Tech.

“The United States must decouple from Communist China in every facet of our lives,” Gimenez said. “With this bill, we reaffirm our commitment to decouple from Communist China by calling on our own domestic industries to produce critical materials. We were late to recognize the PRC’s battery threat, and we cannot afford to be late to do so again. We must proactively stay ahead of the curve and address these threats that undermine the U.S. supply chain and endanger our national security.”

The DETECT Fentanyl and Xylazine Act of 2024 was introduced by U.S. Rep. Nick LaLota (R-NY) and gives DHS’s Science and Technology Directorate the authority to conduct research, testing, evaluation, and analysis on how to improve the safety, effectiveness, and efficiency of drug detection devices and reference libraries used by federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement agencies.

“The House just passed the DETECT Fentanyl and Xylazine Act, a critical step toward addressing the deadly opioid crisis plaguing our country. This bipartisan legislation will equip law enforcement with advanced technology to detect and stop the flow of deadly substances like fentanyl and xylazine before they reach our streets,” LaLota said. “With more than 107,000 overdose deaths last year alone, this bill is a critical measure to save lives and protect communities across America. I am deeply grateful to my colleagues in the House for recognizing the urgency of this crisis and quickly passing this crucial legislation, and I urge the Senate to do the same.”

Finally, the Subterranean Border Defense Act was introduced by U.S. Congressman Eli Crane (R-AZ), which would require U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to report annually to Congress on its strategic plan to identify and remediate illegal cross-border tunnels into the United States.

“The passage of this bill is a huge victory for our security,” Crane said. “This legislation would help create a much-needed layer of defense by ensuring that Congress has the data it needs to address the deadly threat of cross-border tunnels. I am grateful to Chairman Green for his support of my bill and for his distinguished leadership of the Homeland Security Committee.”