Review - HR 7190 Introduced – Fentanyl as WMD

Earlier this month, Rep Boebert (R,CO) introduced HR 7190, the Fentanyl is a WMD Act. The very short (two sentences) bill would require the DHS Assistant Secretary for the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction (CWMD) Office to “treat illicit fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction for purposes of title XIX of the Homeland Security Act of 2002” (6 USC 590 et seq). No spending is authorized by this legislation.

Moving Forward

Boebert is not a member of the House Homeland Security Committee to which this bill was assigned for consideration, nor are any of her eleven cosponsors. This means that there is likely insufficient influence to see the bill considered in Committee. I would expect there to be significant bipartisan opposition to the bill were it to be considered.

Commentary

While fentanyl may broadly fall within the scope of the definition of the term ‘weapon of mass destruction’, there is nothing within the current scope or mission of the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office that would help the federal government reduce the flow of that drug into this country. Either the sponsors of this bill are unaware of the mission of the CWMD Office, or this legislation is just another bit of political grandstanding. In my opinion, while I would not be surprised at these particular congresscritters being uniformed, I suspect the latter.

 

For more details about the CWMD Office and its mission with respect to the provisions of this bill, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/hr-7190-introduced - subscription required.