President Joe Biden recently signed into law a national defense appropriations bill that includes bipartisan legislation led by U.S. Rep. María Elvira Salazar (R-FL) to help combat the nation’s fentanyl epidemic.
The Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2025, H.R. 5009, became law on Dec. 23, 2024. It includes the Destruction Initiative for Stored Precursors Overseas and Safe Enforcement (DISPOSE) Act, H.R. 9172, which Rep. Salazar and U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX) introduced in July 2024.
H.R. 9172 establishes the Precursor Chemical Destruction Initiative, which will promote bilateral counterdrug interdiction efforts with the governments of specified countries, according to the bill’s text.
“With my DISPOSE Act having been signed into law, our federal authorities will have the tools they need to crush the fentanyl crisis before it reaches Miami and the United States,” Rep. Salazar said on Jan. 2. “The DISPOSE Act will save countless American lives and cut off a major source of income for the cartels trying to destroy our communities. Thank you to all my colleagues for supporting this critical initiative.”
Working directly with partner countries, the Precursor Chemical Destruction Initiative will increase rates of seizure and destruction of listed chemicals in beneficiary countries, alleviate the backlog of seized chemicals, and dispose of them in an environmentally safe and effective manner, according to a bill summary provided by the congresswoman’s staff.
Additionally, the measure will ensure that the seized chemicals are not reintroduced into the illicit drug production network within beneficiary countries; free up storage space for future chemical seizures within beneficiary countries; and reduce the chemicals’ negative environmental impact, the summary says.
The enactment of the DISPOSE Act is Rep. Salazar’s ninth bill to be signed into law.