Should the Postal Service & Border Protection Screen International Mail for Opioid Shipments? (H.R. 5788)

What is H.R. 5788?

(Updated March 12, 2022)

This bill would require the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to obtain advance electronic data (AED) on international mail shipments to Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which would then target and inspect potential opioid shipments. The screening system would be funded through a fee assessed on express international shipments. Under current law, CBP requires AED to be provided for international shipments by private carriers (including express shipments) so that it can screen high risk shipments, but that requirement doesn’t extend to USPS shipments.

The USPS would be required to transmit AED on at least 70 percent of international packages by the end of 2018, and at least 95 percent of international packages by the end of 2022. If USPS accepts certain international mail shipments without AED after 2020, CBP would be authorized to impose financial penalties on USPS. CBP and USPS would be required to establish a joint strategic plan that details performance measures and benchmarks for meeting the bill’s mandate and report to Congress on its implementation. The agencies would be required to collaborate to identify and develop new technologies that will improve the detection of synthetic opioids and other narcotics or harmful substances.

The bill would also require bilateral diplomatic efforts to ensure foreign postal operators are transmitting AED, and multilateral efforts led by the State Dept. to raise international shipment standards for all countries. USPS would be empowered to take remedial actions against non-compliant foreign postal services to refuse shipment of packages that don’t include AED.

Argument in favor

This bipartisan bill would require the U.S. Postal Service to provide Customs & Border Protection with advance data on international shipments so they can be screened for opioids -- keeping dangerous drugs off the streets & bringing USPS up to par with private carriers.

Argument opposed

It’s going to be too expensive for the U.S. Postal Service, which already has budgetary troubles, to work with Customs & Border Protection to screen international mail shipments for illegal synthetic opioids.

Impact

USPS; CBP; the State Dept.; and Congress.

Cost of H.R. 5788

The CBO estimates that enacting this bill would cost roughly $100 million over the 2019-2021 period to deploy drug detection systems at international mail facilities.

Additional Info

In-Depth: Sponsoring Rep. Mike Bishop (R-MI) introduced this bill to stop the flow of synthetic opioids, like fentanyl, in the international mail system:

“No state has been immune from the effects of the devastating opioid epidemic. Here in Michigan, according the the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, from 1999 to 2016, the rate of opioid-related overdose deaths increased more than 17 times... The bipartisan Securing the International Mail System Against Opioids Act will close loopholes in our mail system currently being exploited by drug traffickers. These synthetic opioids flowing into our country through the mail system are extremely dangerous. As an example, carfentanyl is 5,000 times more potent than heroin and just 2 milligrams can be lethal. While there’s much more we can and should do to turn the tide on the opioid epidemic, working to keep this poison from ever coming into our communities is an important step.”

This legislation passed the House Ways and Means Committee on a voice vote and has the support of three bipartisan cosponsors, including two Republicans and one Democrat.

Media:

• Sponsoring Rep. Mike Bishop (R-MI) Press Release
  
• House Ways and Means Committee Press Release
  
• CBO Cost Estimate