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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2725 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2725
To increase the criminal penalty for mail fraud involving
misrepresentation of the country of origin, to terminate the authority
to exclude countries from the requirement to transmit advance
electronic information for 100 percent of mail shipments under the STOP
Act of 2018, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 4, 2025
Ms. Klobuchar (for herself and Mrs. Capito) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To increase the criminal penalty for mail fraud involving
misrepresentation of the country of origin, to terminate the authority
to exclude countries from the requirement to transmit advance
electronic information for 100 percent of mail shipments under the STOP
Act of 2018, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``STOP Act 2.0''.
SEC. 2. CRIMINAL PENALTY FOR MAIL FRAUD INVOLVING MISREPRESENTATION OF
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN.
Section 1341 of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
(1) by striking ``Whoever'' and inserting the following:
``(a) In General.--Whoever''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(b) Misrepresentation of Country of Origin of International Mail
Shipments.--
``(1) In general.--A person that, in violating subsection
(a) or conspiring under section 371 or 1349 to violate
subsection (a), knowingly misrepresents the country of origin
of an international mail shipment in information required to be
submitted under section 343(a) of the Trade Act of 2002 (19
U.S.C. 1415(a)), shall in addition to any other penalty for the
offense, be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 5
years, or both.
``(2) Seizure and forfeiture.--The authority of the
Department of Homeland Security under subsection (c)(14) of
section 592 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1592) with
respect to seizure and forfeiture shall apply with respect to
international mail shipments described in paragraph (1) to the
same extent that such authority applies with respect to
merchandise entered or attempted to be entered in violation of
subsection (a) of such section 592.''.
SEC. 3. TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY TO EXCLUDE COUNTRIES FROM REQUIREMENT
TO TRANSMIT ADVANCE ELECTRONIC INFORMATION FOR 100
PERCENT OF MAIL SHIPMENTS.
Section 343(a)(3)(K)(vi) of the Trade Act of 2002 (19 U.S.C.
1415(a)(3)(K)(vi)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(V) The authority provided by subclause (II) to
exclude a country from the requirement described in
subclause (I) shall terminate on the date that is 5
years after the date of the enactment of the STOP Act
2.0.''.
SEC. 4. ANNUAL REPORT ON COMPLIANCE WITH ADVANCE ELECTRONIC INFORMATION
REQUIREMENTS.
Section 8003 of the STOP Act of 2018 (subtitle A of title VIII of
Public Law 115-271; 132 Stat. 4077) is amended by striking subsections
(c) through (f) and inserting the following:
``(c) Annual Report on Compliance.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than one year after the date
of the enactment of the STOP Act 2.0, and annually thereafter,
the Secretary of Homeland Security shall submit to the
appropriate congressional committees a report on compliance
with the requirements of section 343(a) of the Trade Act of
2002 (19 U.S.C. 1415(a)) that includes the following:
``(A) An update regarding new and existing
agreements reached with foreign postal operators for
the transmission of the information required by
paragraph (3)(K) of that section.
``(B) A summary of deliberations between the United
States Postal Service and foreign postal operators with
respect to issues relating to the transmission of that
information.
``(C) A summary of the progress made in achieving
the transmission of that information for the percentage
of shipments required by that paragraph, including the
results of random checks and information disaggregated
by postal and nonpostal data.
``(D) An assessment of the quality of that
information being received by foreign postal operators,
as determined by the Secretary, and actions taken to
improve the quality of that information, including
estimates of--
``(i) the amount of information required by
section 343(a) of the Trade Act of 2002 that is
missing elements, incomplete, inaccurate, or
apparently false;
``(ii) the number of shipments that U.S.
Customs and Border Protection requested to be
searched as a result of information required by
that section;
``(iii) how many shipments were actually
searched pursuant to such a request; and
``(iv) the results of such searches,
including the number of illicit narcotics and
counterfeit goods identified during such
searches.
``(E) A description of the results of randomized
tests of packages entering the United States to assess
the rate of compliance with the requirements of section
343(a) of the Trade Act of 2002--
``(i) disaggregated by packages transported
by the United States Postal Service and
packages transported by private carriers; and
``(ii) that takes into account, as
relevant, the way that the factors set forth in
paragraph (3) of that section may affect any
differences identified between packages
transported by the United States Postal Service
and packages transported by private carriers.
``(F) For each report submitted during the 5-year
period beginning on the date of the enactment of the
STOP Act 2.0--
``(i) a list of the countries that, during
the year preceding submission of the report,
were excluded from the requirement under
subclause (I) of section 343(a)(3)(K)(vi) of
the Trade Act of 2002 that advance information
be provided for 100 percent of international
mail shipments pursuant to subclause (II) of
that section; and
``(ii) for any country on the list required
by clause (i) that has been excluded from the
requirement described in that clause for each
of the preceding 3 years--
``(I) an identification of the
reasons why the country remains on the
list; and
``(II) a description of steps that
are being taken to ensure that the
country is prepared for the termination
of the authority to exclude countries
from that requirement terminates under
subclause (V) of that section (as added
by section 3 of the STOP Act 2.0).
``(G) A summary of policies established by the
Universal Postal Union that may affect the ability of
the Postmaster General to obtain the transmission of
the information required by section 343(a) of the Trade
Act of 2002.
``(H) A summary of the use of technology to detect
illicit synthetic opioids and other illegal substances
in international mail parcels and planned acquisitions
and advancements in such technology.
``(I) Such other information as the Secretary of
Homeland Security and the Postmaster General consider
appropriate with respect to obtaining the transmission
of information required by section 343(a)(3)(K) of the
Trade Act of 2002.
``(2) Form of report.--
``(A) In general.--Each report required by
paragraph (1) shall be submitted in unclassified form
but may include a classified annex.
``(B) Public availability.--The unclassified
portion of the report required by paragraph (1) may be
made available on a publicly accessible internet
website of the United States Postal Service.
``(3) Appropriate congressional committees defined.--In
this subsection, the term `appropriate congressional
committees' means--
``(A) the Committee on the Judiciary and the
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
of the Senate; and
``(B) the Committee on the Judiciary and the
Committee on Homeland Security of the House of
Representatives.''.
SEC. 5. PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS.
The Secretary of Homeland Security, the Attorney General, and the
Postmaster General may enter into a public-private partnership with
private parcel services or other private information technology
entities to develop technology and processes for identifying
information that could be used to identify the origin of fentanyl,
other synthetic opioids, and other narcotics and psychoactive
substances, and precursors to such substances, including information on
the origin of parcels and shipping information.
SEC. 6. INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION AND INFORMATION SHARING.
The Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with Secretary
of State, may, as appropriate, share with and receive from the
governments of foreign countries that are allies of the United States,
consistent with existing law (including contractual obligations),
information with respect to--
(1) shippers with a history of transporting illicit
fentanyl, other synthetic opioids, and other narcotics and
psychoactive substances, and precursors to such substances; and
(2) best practices regarding the detection of such
substances, including such substances moving through the mail.
SEC. 7. TRAINING OF U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION OFFICERS WITH
RESPECT TO DETECTING SYNTHETIC OPIOIDS.
The Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection shall
provide to officers of U.S. Customs and Border Protection training in
detecting illicit fentanyl, other synthetic opioids, and other
narcotics and psychoactive substances, and precursors to such
substances, entering the United States, including training with respect
to the use of detection equipment and trends in the transportation of
such substances.
SEC. 8. EVALUATION OF IMPLEMENTATION OF STOP ACT OF 2018.
Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this
Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to
Congress a report evaluating the implementation of the provisions of
and amendments made by the STOP Act of 2018 (subtitle A of title VIII
of Public Law 115-271; 132 Stat. 4073) that includes--
(1) identification of potential areas of risk with respect
to the entry of illicit fentanyl, other synthetic opioids, and
other narcotics and psychoactive substances into the United
States by mail, including any gaps that drug traffickers have
found in the system established under the STOP Act of 2018,
that takes into account, as relevant, the factors set forth in
section 343(a)(3) of the Trade Act of 2002 (19 U.S.C.
1415(a)(3));
(2)(A) a description--
(i) of any significant differences in rates of
compliance with that section between packages
transported by the United States Postal Service and
packages transported by private carriers; and
(ii) that takes into account, as relevant, the way
that the factors set forth in paragraph (3) of that
section may affect any such differences; and
(B) an analysis of how, if at all, those differences may
contribute to the risks identified in paragraph (1); and
(3) an assessment of--
(A) the use of the authority provided under
subclause (II) of section 343(a)(3)(K)(vi) of the Trade
Act of 2002 (19 U.S.C. 1415(a)(3)(K)(vi)) to exclude
countries from the requirement under subclause (I) of
that section that advance information be provided for
100 percent of international mail shipments; and
(B) whether the use of that authority should be
decreased during the period before that authority
terminates under subclause (V) of that section (as
added by section 3).
SEC. 9. SEVERABILITY.
If any provision of or amendment made by this Act, or the
application of such provision or amendment to any person or
circumstance, is held to be unconstitutional, the remainder of the
provisions of and amendments made by this Act, and the application of
such provisions and amendments to any person or circumstance, shall not
be affected.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
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