Halt All Lethal Trafficking of Fentanyl Act or the HALT Fentanyl Act This bill places fentanyl-related substances as a class into schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. A schedule I controlled substance is a drug, substance, or chemical that has a high potential for abuse; has no currently accepted medical value; and is subject to regulatory controls and administrative, civil, and criminal penalties under the Controlled Substances Act. Additionally, the bill establishes a new, alternative registration process for schedule I research that is funded by the Department of Health and Human Services or the Department of Veterans Affairs or that is conducted under an investigative new drug exemption from the Food and Drug Administration. The bill also makes several other changes to registration requirements for conducting research with controlled substances, including permitting a single registration for related research sites in certain circumstances, waiving the requirement for a new inspection in certain situations, and allowing a registered researcher to perform certain manufacturing activities with small quantities of a substance without obtaining a manufacturing registration.
Witness Security and Protection Grant Program Act of 2023 This bill directs the Department of Justice to award competitive matching grants to state, local, and tribal governments to establish or maintain witness protection programs in cases involving (1) a homicide, serious violent felony, or serious drug offense; or (2) gangs or organized crime.
Sarah's Law This bill requires U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain a non-U.S. national (alien under federal law) who is unlawfully present in the United States and has been charged with a crime that resulted in the death or serious bodily injury of another person. ICE must make reasonable efforts to obtain information about the identity of any victims of the crimes for which the detained individual was charged or convicted. ICE shall provide the victim, or a relative or guardian of a deceased victim, with information about the detained individual, including name, date of birth, nationality, immigration status, criminal history, and a description of any related removal efforts.
Interstate Commerce Simplification Act of 2025This bill expands the definition of solicitation of orders to include business activities that serve an independently valuable business function apart from the solicitation of orders for purposes of the limitation on a state’s authority to impose a net income tax on an out-of-state seller.Under current law, a state is prohibited from imposing a net income tax on income derived from within the state from interstate commerce if the only business activity within the state is the solicitation of orders for the sale of tangible personal property, provided that the orders are approved (or rejected) and filled by shipment or delivery from outside of the state. Further, the Supreme Court has held that the term solicitation of orders includes (1) activities that are strictly essential to making requests for purchases, and (2) ancillary activities that serve no independent business function apart from their connection to requests for purchases.Under the bill, the definition of solicitation of orders is expanded to include business activities that facilitate the solicitation of orders even if such business activities serve an independently valuable business function apart from the solicitation.
Combating Global Corruption Act of 2023 This bill requires the Department of State to address corruption in foreign governments. The State Department must annually publish a ranking of foreign countries based on their government's efforts to eliminate corruption. Corruption, for the purposes of the bill, is the unlawful exercise of entrusted public power for private gain, including by bribery, nepotism, fraud, or embezzlement. The bill outlines the minimum standards that the State Department must consider when creating the ranking. These considerations include, for example, whether a country has criminalized corruption, adopted measures to prevent corruption, and complied with the United Nations Convention against Corruption and other relevant international agreements. Tier one countries meet the standards; tier two countries make some efforts to meet the standards; tier three countries make de minimis or no efforts to meet the standards. If a country is ranked in the second or third tier, the State Department must designate an anti-corruption contact at the U.S. diplomatic post in that country to promote good governance and combat corruption. The State Department must report annually to Congress a list of foreign persons (individuals or entities) (1) who have engaged in significant corruption in a tier three country, and (2) upon whom the President has imposed sanctions pursuant to this bill.
Protecting Families from Fertility Fraud Act of 2023 This bill establishes a new federal criminal offense for knowingly misrepresenting the nature or source of DNA used in assisted reproductive technology or assisted insemination. The term assisted reproductive technology includes any treatment or procedure that involves the handling of human oocytes or embryos, such as in vitro fertilization, gamete intrafallopian transfer, and zygote intrafallopian transfer. The term assisted insemination includes any procedure that involves the handling of sperm including intrauterine insemination. A violation is subject to a fine, a prison term of up to 10 years, or both. Additionally, the bill makes the violation a predicate offense (i.e., an underlying offense) for prosecutions under the federal racketeering statute.
Student Visa Security Improvement ActThis bill establishes new requirements for foreign student visas and participating educational institutions. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) must review the applications of student visa applicants and conduct in-person interviews when appropriate to determine whether they are inadmissible due to terrorist-related activities. DHS must also conduct on-site reviews of applications and supporting documents deemed appropriate prior to final adjudication.Institutions and exchange student visitor programs must ensure that student visa-holders are active participants in the program. Students must be regularly observed and must be reported on if they transfer or change majors. The bill also provides for enhanced access to the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System for institutions and programs that meet staffing and training requirements.The Government Accountability Office must review the fees for the Student and Exchange Visitor program.
Preventing Child Sex Abuse Act of 2023 This bill makes changes to the federal law prohibiting child sexual tourism. First, the bill revises the specific intent required for certain offenses involving interstate or foreign travel to engage in or facilitate illicit sexual conduct. Specifically, this bill requires the government to prove that an individual traveled (or facilitated travel) with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct (currently, with a motivating purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct). Further, it specifies that the term intent is to be construed as any intention to engage in illicit sexual conduct at the time of the travel. Second, the bill establishes new criminal offenses for acts in furtherance of illicit sexual conduct by an officer, director, employee, or agent of an organization through his or her connection to or affiliation with the organization. A violation is subject to a fine, a prison term of up to 30 years, or both. Finally, the bill specifies that the term sexual activity for which any person can be charged with a criminal offense does not require interpersonal physical contact.