{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://salazar.house.gov/media/press-releases/salazars-anti-fentanyl-legislation-passes-house", "Salazar\u2019s Anti-Fentanyl Legislation Passes House", "2024-12-13", "2024", "2024-12", "Republican", "House", "FL", "Maria Elvira Salazar", "S000168", "salazar.house.gov", "salazar", "https://salazar.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 This week, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 9172, the Destruction Initiative for Stored Precursors Overseas and Safe Enforcement (DISPOSE) Act, as part of the Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2025.\n\nThe bill was introduced by House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere Chairwoman Mar\u00eda Elvira Salazar (R-FL) and Ranking Member Joaquin Castro (D-TX). Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), and Jim Risch (R-ID) introduced companion legislation in the Senate.\n\nThe DISPOSE Act creates fentanyl and precursor chemical destruction facilities in three critical drug trafficking choke points: Mexico, Colombia, and Peru. The bill keeps Americans safe by fighting illicit drugs where they are sourced, cutting off the supply of chemicals and drugs before they reach American shores.\n\n\u201cThe fentanyl crisis is destroying American communities, and Miami is no stranger to the dangers these drugs pose,\u201d said Chairwoman Salazar. \u201cThank you to House Republican Leadership for prioritizing my DISPOSE Act in the National Defense Authorization Act. This bill will save American lives and rob cartels and criminals of a major source of income.\n\n\u201cThe deadly fentanyl trade is an international crisis that demands full attention from Congress,\u201d said Congressman Joaquin Castro, Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere. \u201cLast year, more than 500 people in the San Antonio area died from fentanyl that should never have reached Texas. The DISPOSE Act takes common-sense steps to help America\u2019s partners seize and destroy fentanyl precursors and save lives. I\u2019m proud to partner with Chairwoman Salazar, Senator Grassley, and Senator Shaheen on this important step forward and I look forward to seeing President Biden sign the DISPOSE Act into law.\"\n\n\u201cWe must DISPOSE of fentanyl and the devastation it is unleashing all across our country,\u201d said Congressman Lawler. \u201cThe DISPOSE Act is an important step toward accomplishing that goal and saving lives from this deadly poison. I was proud to be an original co-sponsor on this measure, was pleased to see it pass the House as part of the NDAA, and I look forward to seeing this crucial legislation become law. I commend Congresswoman Salazar for her leadership on this and look forward to continue working with her and all of my colleagues in both parties to end the fentanyl crisis once and for all.\u201d\n\n\u201cStrengthening our collaboration with partners in Latin America on drug interdiction efforts will help stop fentanyl and other deadly substances from flowing into our communities,\u201d said Congressman Chris Pappas. \u201cThe DISPOSE Act will establish centers in Mexico, Colombia, and Peru that identify and destroy fentanyl and precursor drugs, stopping these drugs before they reach American soil. I\u2019ll continue to support efforts that hold drug traffickers accountable, keep our communities safe, and save lives.\u201d\n\n\u201cFentanyl has devastated so many Arizona families, and we need every tool available to us to stop its flow into the United States,\u201d said Rep. Stanton. \u201cThe DISPOSE Act deepens our cooperation with Latin American partners to destroy precursor chemicals before they reach our borders. I\u2019m glad to see this important legislation pass as part of the bipartisan NDAA and look forward to it being signed into law.\u201d\n\nBACKGROUND:\n\nThe DISPOSE Act establishes the Precursor Chemical Destruction Initiative to fight drug trafficking with our partners in the Western Hemisphere. Working directly with partner countries, the initiative will:\n\n\u00b7 Increase rates of seizure and destruction of listed chemicals in beneficiary countries;\n\n\u00b7 Alleviate the backlog of seized chemicals and dispose them in an environmentally safe and effective manner;\n\n\u00b7 Ensure that the seized chemicals are not reintroduced into the illicit drug production network within beneficiary countries;\n\n\u00b7 Free up storage space for future chemical seizures within beneficiary countries; and\n\n\u00b7 Reduce the chemicals\u2019 negative environmental impact.\n\nThis bill passed the House Foreign Affairs Committee in September with unanimous support.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T22:13:55Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://salazar.house.gov/media/press-releases/salazars-anti-fentanyl-legislation-passes-house"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.7685629427433014, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}