US Code

Public Law 119-73 (01/23/2026)

6 U.S.C. § 458

Office of Counternarcotics Enforcement

(a)

Office

There is established in the Department an Office of Counternarcotics Enforcement, which shall be headed by a Director appointed by the President.

(b)

Assignment of personnel

(1)

In general

The Secretary shall assign permanent staff to the Office, consistent with effective management of Department resources.

(2)

Liaisons

The Secretary shall designate senior employees from each appropriate subdivision of the Department that has significant counternarcotics responsibilities to act as a liaison between that subdivision and the Office of Counternarcotics Enforcement.

(c)

Limitation on concurrent employment

The Director of the Office of Counternarcotics Enforcement shall not be employed by, assigned to, or serve as the head of, any other branch of the Federal Government, any State or local government, or any subdivision of the Department other than the Office of Counternarcotics Enforcement.

(d)

Responsibilities

The Secretary shall direct the Director of the Office of Counternarcotics Enforcement—
(1)
to coordinate policy and operations within the Department, between the Department and other Federal departments and agencies, and between the Department and State and local agencies with respect to stopping the entry of illegal drugs into the United States;
(2)
to ensure the adequacy of resources within the Department for stopping the entry of illegal drugs into the United States;
(3)
to recommend the appropriate financial and personnel resources necessary to help the Department better fulfill its responsibility to stop the entry of illegal drugs into the United States;
(4)
within the Joint Terrorism Task Force construct to track and sever connections between illegal drug trafficking and terrorism; and
(5)
to be a representative of the Department on all task forces, committees, or other entities whose purpose is to coordinate the counternarcotics enforcement activities of the Department and other Federal, State or local agencies.
(e)

Savings clause

1

1 See References in Text note below.
Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize direct control of the operations conducted by the Directorate of Border and Transportation Security, the Coast Guard, or joint terrorism task forces.

(f)

Reports to Congress

(1)

Annual budget review

The Director of the Office of Counternarcotics Enforcement shall, not later than 30 days after the submission by the President to Congress of any request for expenditures for the Department, submit to the Committees on Appropriations and the authorizing committees of jurisdiction of the House of Representatives and the Senate a review and evaluation of such request. The review and evaluation shall—
(A)
identify any request or subpart of any request that affects or may affect the counternarcotics activities of the Department or any of its subdivisions, or that affects the ability of the Department or any subdivision of the Department to meet its responsibility to stop the entry of illegal drugs into the United States;
(B)
describe with particularity how such requested funds would be or could be expended in furtherance of counternarcotics activities; and
(C)
compare such requests with requests for expenditures and amounts appropriated by Congress in the previous fiscal year.
(2)

Evaluation of counternarcotics activities

The Director of the Office of Counternarcotics Enforcement shall, not later than February 1 of each year, submit to the Committees on Appropriations and the authorizing committees of jurisdiction of the House of Representatives and the Senate a review and evaluation of the counternarcotics activities of the Department for the previous fiscal year. The review and evaluation shall—
(A)
describe the counternarcotics activities of the Department and each subdivision of the Department (whether individually or in cooperation with other subdivisions of the Department, or in cooperation with other branches of the Federal Government or with State or local agencies), including the methods, procedures, and systems (including computer systems) for collecting, analyzing, sharing, and disseminating information concerning narcotics activity within the Department and between the Department and other Federal, State, and local agencies;
(B)
describe the results of those activities, using quantifiable data whenever possible;
(C)
state whether those activities were sufficient to meet the responsibility of the Department to stop the entry of illegal drugs into the United States, including a description of the performance measures of effectiveness that were used in making that determination; and
(D)
recommend, where appropriate, changes to those activities to improve the performance of the Department in meeting its responsibility to stop the entry of illegal drugs into the United States.
(3)

Classified or law enforcement sensitive information

Any content of a review and evaluation described in the reports required in this subsection that involves information classified under criteria established by an Executive order, or whose public disclosure, as determined by the Secretary, would be detrimental to the law enforcement or national security activities of the Department or any other Federal, State, or local agency, shall be presented to Congress separately from the rest of the review and evaluation.

Pub. L. 107–296, title VIII, § 878116 Stat. 2245Pub. L. 108–458, title VII, § 7407(a)118 Stat. 3851Pub. L. 109–469, title I, § 103(f)(2)120 Stat. 3510Pub. L. 112–166, § 2(f)(3)126 Stat. 1284(, , ; , , ; , , ; , , .)

Editorial Notes

References in Text

section 802(g)(2) of Pub. L. 114–125section 201 of this titleSection 211(a) of this titleThe Directorate of Border and Transportation Security, referred to in subsection (e), was abolished by , which repealed . established U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Amendments

Pub. L. 112–1662012—Subsec. (a). struck out “, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate” before period at end.

Pub. L. 109–469, § 103(f)(2)(A)2006—Subsec. (c). , substituted “The” for “Except as provided in subsection (d) of this section, the”.

Pub. L. 109–469, § 103(f)(2)(B)Subsecs. (d) to (g). , redesignated subsecs. (e) to (g) as (d) to (f), respectively, and struck out heading and text of former subsec. (d). Text read as follows: “The Director of the Office of Counternarcotics Enforcement may be appointed as the United States Interdiction Coordinator by the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, and shall be the only person at the Department eligible to be so appointed.”

Pub. L. 108–4582004— amended section catchline and text generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “The Secretary shall appoint a senior official in the Department to assume primary responsibility for coordinating policy and operations within the Department and between the Department and other Federal departments and agencies with respect to interdicting the entry of illegal drugs into the United States, and tracking and severing connections between illegal drug trafficking and terrorism. Such official shall—

“(1) ensure the adequacy of resources within the Department for illicit drug interdiction; and

“(2) serve as the United States Interdiction Coordinator for the Director of National Drug Control Policy.”

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date of 2012 Amendment

Pub. L. 112–166section 6(a) of Pub. L. 112–166section 113 of this titleAmendment by effective 60 days after , and applicable to appointments made on and after that effective date, including any nomination pending in the Senate on that date, see , set out as a note under .