Comer & Raskin Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Reauthorize the Office of National Drug Control Policy

WASHINGTON—House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) and Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) today introduced the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) Reauthorization Act of 2024 (H.R. 9598) to reauthorize the ONDCP and related programs and ensure federal agencies are properly resourced to hold accountable those who are trafficking drugs into the United States at the southwest border.

“The Office of National Drug Control Policy is a key player in the fight against the fentanyl and drug crisis ravaging communities across the United States. This bipartisan bill will hand the ONDCP the necessary tools to combat the drug epidemic and help ensure federal agencies tasked with securing the border and prosecuting drug trafficking are using their resources effectively to prevent illicit drugs from pouring across the southwest border. I thank Representatives Duarte and González-Colón for their contributions to this bill and we look forward to taking up this much needed legislation this week at the Oversight Committee to advance solutions to the drug crisis claiming to many lives in the United States,” said Chairman Comer.

“This bipartisan bill authorizes critical funding to the federal agencies that are working to end the opioid epidemic. From providing assistance to federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies to improving the tools available to opioid treatment and recovery, Congress is stepping up in our efforts to get federal dollars to the American people,” said Ranking Member Raskin.

Key Provisions of H.R. 9598:

• Reauthorizes the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program and the Drug-Free Communities (DFC) program at FY 2024 enacted funding levels through FY 2031.

• Similarly reauthorizes related ONDCP programs including the Drug Court Training and Technical Assistance program, the Model Acts Program, the Community-Based Coalition Enhancement Grants program, and the National Community Anti-Drug Coalition Institute.

• Incorporates key aspects of the HIDTA Reauthorization Act (H.R. 7185), led by Rep. John Duarte (R-Calif.) and Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), to bolster local law enforcement resources to combat fentanyl and temporarily reassign prosecutorial resources.

• Codifies the Caribbean Counter Narcotics Strategy (H.R. 920), as sponsored by Rep. Jennifer González-Colón’s (R-Puerto Rico) and Stacy Plaskett (D-Virgin Islands), to ensure ONDCP continues to deliver strategies to address drug trafficking in the Caribbean.

• Requires the ONDCP Director to conduct a study on life saving opioid overdose reversals.

• Directs the ONDCP Director to coordinate with the Departments of Homeland Security, Justice, and State to ensure appropriate agencies are properly resourced to ensure that traffickers of illicit drugs are held accountable under Title 8 immigration authorities.

• Requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to include in a report to the ONDCP Director the effects of current trends of encounters at the southwest border on CBP’s ability to interdict deadly, illicit drugs.

Original cosponsors are Representatives John Duarte (R-Calif.), Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), Jennifer González-Colón (R-Puerto Rico), and Stacey Plaskett (D-U.S. Virgin Islands).

Bill text can be found here.