S. 2725 — STOP Act 2.0

This section amends the mail fraud statute to establish an additional criminal penalty for any person who, while violating or conspiring to violate mail fraud provisions, knowingly misrepresents the country of origin of an international mail shipment in information required under section 343(a) of the Trade Act of 2002 (19 U.S.C. 1415(a)). The additional penalty is a fine under this title, imprisonment for not more than five years, or both. It further applies Department of Homeland Security seizure and forfeiture authority under section 592(c)(14) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1592) to such shipments.

This section terminates the Secretary of Homeland Security's authority to exclude countries from the requirement to transmit advance electronic information for 100 percent of international mail shipments entering the United States, effective five years after enactment of the STOP Act 2.0. (Thus, after that date, the 100 percent advance data requirement—intended to enhance screening of mail shipments for safety and security threats, including narcotics—applies without country exclusions.)

This section amends sec. 8003 of the Synthetics Trafficking and Overdose Prevention (STOP) Act of 2018 (P.L. 115-271) by striking subsections (c) through (f) and inserting a new subsection (c) requiring the Secretary of Homeland Security, not later than one year after enactment of the STOP Act 2.0 and annually thereafter, to submit to the Senate and House Judiciary and Homeland Security committees (and Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs in the Senate) a report on compliance with international mail advance electronic information requirements under sec. 343(a)(3)(K) of the Trade Act of 2002 (19 U.S.C. 1415(a)(3)(K)). (As background, those requirements—added by the STOP Act of 2018—mandate that foreign postal operators transmit to U.S. Customs and Border Protection specified cargo data, such as contents and sender details, for inbound non-express international mail shipments, phased in to 100% with temporary country exclusions.) The report must include (1) updates on new and existing agreements with foreign postal operators and summaries of U.S. Postal Service deliberations with them; (2) progress on transmitting data for required shipment percentages, including random check results disaggregated by postal and nonpostal data; (3) data quality assessments, including estimates of missing, incomplete, inaccurate, or false elements; numbers of search requests, actual searches, and results identifying illicit narcotics or counterfeit goods; (4) results of randomized package compliance tests disaggregated by U.S. Postal Service and private carrier shipments and accounting for statutory parameters such as commercial practices; (5) for reports in the first five years after enactment, lists of countries excluded from the 100% requirement, with reasons for any three-year exclusions and steps toward full compliance; (6) Universal Postal Union policies affecting data transmission; (7) use of and planned advancements in technology to detect illicit synthetic opioids and other substances; and (8) other relevant information. Reports must be unclassified (with possible classified annex), and the unclassified portion may be posted on the U.S. Postal Service public website.

This section authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Attorney General, and the Postmaster General to enter into public-private partnerships with private parcel services or other private information technology entities to develop technology and processes for identifying the origin of fentanyl, other synthetic opioids, other narcotics and psychoactive substances, and precursors to such substances—including parcel origin and shipping information.

This section authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of State, to share with and receive from governments of U.S. allies—consistent with existing law (including contractual obligations)—information on (1) shippers with a history of transporting illicit fentanyl, other synthetic opioids, narcotics, psychoactive substances, and precursors; and (2) best practices for detecting such substances, including those moving through the mail.

This section directs the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to provide CBP officers with training on detecting illicit fentanyl, other synthetic opioids, narcotics, psychoactive substances, and precursors entering the United States, including training on the use of detection equipment and trends in the transportation of such substances.

This section directs the Comptroller General of the United States to submit to Congress, not later than one year after enactment, a report evaluating implementation of the STOP Act of 2018 (i.e., provisions requiring advance electronic cargo information for 100% of international mail shipments, as amended in 19 U.S.C. 1415, to facilitate screening for illicit drugs). The report must include (1) identification of risks and gaps in preventing entry of illicit fentanyl, other synthetic opioids, narcotics, and psychoactive substances via mail—taking into account relevant factors under 19 U.S.C. 1415(a)(3), such as commercial practices and verification challenges; (2) a description of compliance rate differences between U.S. Postal Service and private carrier packages under that section (considering relevant factors under 19 U.S.C. 1415(a)(3)) and an analysis of how such differences contribute to identified risks; and (3) an assessment of use of the authority to exclude countries from the 100% advance information requirement under 19 U.S.C. 1415(a)(3)(K)(vi)(II) and whether such exclusions should decrease before the authority terminates (as provided elsewhere in the bill).

This section includes a severability clause stating that if any provision of the Act, or its application to any person or circumstance, is held unconstitutional, the remainder of the Act and its applications to other persons or circumstances remain unaffected.