# Plain Language Summary: The Disrupt Fentanyl Trafficking Act of 2023

This bill asks the Department of Defense to create a comprehensive plan for fighting fentanyl trafficking into the United States. Essentially, it's saying that fentanyl smuggling is now considered a national security threat serious enough that the military should get involved in combating it, not just law enforcement agencies. The bill gives the Pentagon 120 days to develop this strategy and then another 45 days to brief Congress on how they plan to carry it out.

The strategy needs to cover several specific areas. The Defense Department should use its existing surveillance capabilities—like radar, satellites, and monitoring systems—to detect fentanyl shipments coming by air, sea, or land. The military can also provide training to local police, state law enforcement, and federal agents on how to counter fentanyl trafficking. Additionally, the Pentagon should work with Mexico and Canada through existing military partnerships to help those countries build their own capacity to stop fentanyl production and trafficking before it reaches the U.S. border. The bill also requires the Defense Department to report on what military support and equipment it has already provided to civilian law enforcement agencies working on the southern border since 2010.

For most Americans, this bill won't directly change daily life, but it reflects growing concern about the fentanyl crisis. By involving the military's surveillance and coordination capabilities, the government is signaling that it views drug trafficking as a serious security issue requiring a coordinated national response. The practical effect could mean better intelligence sharing between military and police agencies, more training for law enforcement, and increased cooperation with Mexico to stop drugs at the source rather than just at the border.

To require the Secretary of Defense to develop a strategy to counter fentanyl trafficking in the United States, and for other purposes.

Bice, Stephanie I.

Disrupt Fentanyl Trafficking Act of 2023 This bill requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to develop and submit a strategy to use existing authorities to target, disrupt, or degrade threats to national security that are caused or exacerbated by fentanyl trafficking. The strategy must be submitted in an unclassified form, but it may include a classified index. Additionally, DOD must seek to enhance cooperation with defense officials of Mexico to target, disrupt, and degrade transnational criminal organizations within Mexico that traffic fentanyl.