Committee advances package of homeland-security bills on fentanyl, cyber, transnational repression and other topics
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Summary
The House Committee on Homeland Security reported a package of bipartisan bills addressing fentanyl detection, special-events security, transnational repression, cyber resilience, restrictions related to Confucius Institutes, vehicular-terrorism reporting, training accreditation, and TSA screening guidance for breast milk and related items.
The House Committee on Homeland Security reported a package of bills to the House with favorable recommendations during its markup. Most measures passed by voice vote or unanimous consent; several were discussed briefly on the floor and will proceed to the House calendar for further consideration.
Votes at a glance
- H.R.1569, the CATCH Fentanyl Act: Reported favorably (voice vote). The bill would establish pilot programs to test technologies to improve cargo inspection and detection of illicit drugs and smuggled individuals at land ports of entry.
- H.R.1508, DHS Special Events Program and Support Act: Reported favorably (voice vote). The bill would codify and authorize the Special Event Assessment Rating (SEAR) program (sometimes referenced as SEER in committee) to assess risks at major events and provide federal coordination for high-rated events.
- H.R.2158, Countering Transnational Repression Act; H.R.2116, Law Enforcement Support and Counter-Transnational Repression Act; and H.R.2139, Strengthening State and Local Efforts to Counter Transnational Repression: Reported favorably (voice votes). The three related bills together would establish a transnational repression working group at DHS, create public-awareness and victim-support measures, and fund training for state and local law enforcement to identify and investigate transnational repression.
- H.R.881, DHS Restrictions on Confucius Institutes and Chinese Entities of Concern Act: Reported favorably (voice vote). An amendment in the nature of a substitute that includes a DHS waiver procedure was adopted; the committee chair and ranking member described the language as the result of bipartisan negotiation and oversight consultation.
- H.R.2659, Strengthening Cyber Resilience Against State-Sponsored Threats Act: Reported favorably (voice vote). The bill would establish an interagency task force to coordinate assessments and responses to state-sponsored cyber threats, led by CISA with co-chairing by the FBI, and require classified and public reporting timelines.
- H.R.2285, DHS Basic Training Accreditation Improvement Act: Reported favorably (voice vote). The bill would direct DHS to report annually on accreditation status of DHS basic training programs and a plan to achieve accreditation where missing.
- H.R.1327, Syria Terrorism Threat Assessment Act: Reported favorably (voice vote). The bill directs DHS to assess threats posed by individuals in Syria associated with foreign terrorist organizations and deliver a report to Congress.
- H.R.1608, Department of Homeland Security Vehicular Terrorism Prevention and Mitigation Act of 2025: Reported favorably as amended (voice vote). The bill directs DHS to report on emerging vehicle-based threats and countermeasures and to coordinate with state and local partners; the committee adopted an amendment that corrected the reported casualty number and changed wording to ‘‘public demonstrations’’ and a one-time briefing technical correction.
- H.R.820, Bottles and Breastfeeding Equipment Screening Enhancement (BABES) Act: Reported favorably (voice vote). The bill would require TSA to update guidance and procedures to reduce contamination risk and inconsistent treatment of breast milk, baby formula and pumping equipment during security screening.
Committee members framed the package as largely bipartisan. Several speakers emphasized the national importance of tackling fentanyl trafficking, strengthening cyber defenses against state-sponsored actors, and countering transnational repression that targets diaspora communities on U.S. soil. Members also stressed the need to preserve operational security where release of information could impede law enforcement and intelligence operations.
Several sponsors and committee leads thanked colleagues for cross-party cooperation. Where members voiced reservations (most notably on public reporting that could reveal operational practices), the committee recorded those concerns in the hearing transcript and encouraged further staff-level coordination with DHS and relevant federal partners before or during House floor consideration.
Next steps
Each bill will be placed on the House calendar and may be scheduled for floor consideration or included in further legislative vehicles. Committee staff were authorized to make technical and conforming edits to reported texts before transmittal to the House clerk.
