# Project Precursor Act: Plain Language Summary

This bill is designed to combat the fentanyl crisis by targeting the drug supply chain, particularly focusing on stopping fentanyl from flowing into the United States through Mexico. The legislation takes a multi-pronged approach that involves strengthening law enforcement cooperation with Mexico, using public messaging to undermine drug cartels, imposing financial sanctions on traffickers, and working with international partners to regulate fentanyl production.

The bill authorizes $64 million to help Mexican law enforcement agencies detect and stop fentanyl trafficking. This includes funding for drug-sniffing dogs, equipment to identify synthetic drugs, training for forensic chemists, and technology to inspect cargo containers and shipping operations. The idea is that by making it harder for cartels to move fentanyl through Mexico, less of the drug reaches American streets. The bill also requires the State Department to create a public relations campaign designed to make cartel membership seem unattractive and to damage the reputation of criminal organizations involved in fentanyl trafficking—essentially using media and entertainment to discourage people from joining these groups.

On the international front, the bill directs the U.S. government to push for changes to the Chemical Weapons Convention (an international treaty) to classify fentanyl and related chemicals as controlled substances, which would make it easier to track and restrict their production globally. The bill also requires intelligence reports on Chinese operations in Mexico related to fentanyl trafficking and expands existing sanctions programs to target foreign banks, companies, and individuals involved in the drug trade. Importantly, the bill measures success primarily by tracking whether U.S. deaths from fentanyl overdoses actually decrease—meaning if people keep dying from fentanyl at the same rates, the programs are considered failures and Congress will know the efforts aren't working.

Project Precursor Act

McCaul, Michael T.

Project Precursor Act This bill requires and authorizes actions to address fentanyl trafficking. The President must impose visa- and property-blocking sanctions on foreign persons (i.e., individuals and entities) knowingly involved in (1) the trafficking of fentanyl, fentanyl precursors, or related opioids by a transnational criminal organization; or (2) the activities of a transnational criminal organization relating to such trafficking. (Transnational criminal organizations are defined to include certain organizations, such as the Sinaloa Cartel.) The bill also <ul> <li>authorizes the Department of State to carry out a program to build the capacity of Mexican law enforcement agencies to prevent the trafficking of fentanyl and its precursor chemicals into the United States; </li> <li>requires the State Department to prioritize Mexico in all efforts to combat the international trafficking of fentanyl and other synthetic drugs by providing technical assistance and equipment and carrying out exchange programs; </li> <li>requires the State Department to conduct a public relations campaign to delegitimize Mexican transnational criminal organizations involved in fentanyl trafficking and disrupt their ability to recruit new members; </li> <li>requires the State Department to use the voice, vote, and influence of the United States to include fentanyl substances on the lists of toxic chemicals identified in the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). (Chemicals on the lists are subject to the CWC's verification processes to ensure that such chemicals are not used for prohibited purposes.) </li></ul> Additionally, this bill extends the Fentanyl Sanctions Act to seven years after the date of enactment of this bill (the act is currently set to terminate on December 20, 2026).