H.R. 1569 · Where this bill is now
Waiting for a House vote
Approved by committee Aug 15, 2025; no House vote yet
What this bill does
In plain words · AI-written from the official summaryTesting new technology to catch fentanyl at borders
This bill creates a pilot program to test advanced technology at U.S. land border checkpoints to help detect contraband, drugs, weapons, and human smuggling. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency will try out artificial intelligence, machine learning, and other emerging tools, along with improvements to X-ray machines and similar inspection equipment.
How it affects you
This mainly affects border security personnel and people crossing at land ports of entry, who may experience improved screening processes. Most everyday Americans won't directly encounter this program, though it's designed to help stop fentanyl and other threats from entering the country.
Read the official summary (Introduced in House, Feb 25, 2025)
Contraband Awareness Technology Catches Harmful Fentanyl Act or the CATCH Fentanyl Act
This bill establishes a pilot program for improving the inspection of conveyances or modes of transportation at land ports of entry along U.S. borders to detect contraband, illegal drugs, illegal weapons, human smuggling, and threats. Specifically, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Innovation Team must test technology in at least one of the categories of artificial intelligence, machine learning, high-performance computing, quantum information sciences, or other emerging technologies. The team must also test and collect data regarding at least five types of enhancements to nonintrusive inspection technology (e.g., X-ray machines) able to be deployed at land ports of entry.
Written by AI (Claude) using only the official summary by the Congressional Research Service, the Library of Congress’s nonpartisan research staff. It can miss nuance, so check the official summary and the bill text for details.
1st SessionH. R. 1569
A BILL
CATCH Fentanyl Act
Sponsor: Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA-3) · Introduced Feb 25, 2025 · Immigration · 2 versions of the text
Sources: Congress.gov actions and votes · bill text from GovInfo · latest official action Aug 15, 2025: “Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 187.”
Sections
The wording of this bill hasn’t changed across its 2 official versions.