STOP Act of 2017
Latest action. ASSUMING FIRST SPONSORSHIP - Mr. Faso asked unanimous consentDoing business by universal agreement instead of votes. Most Senate floor action happens this way, which is why a single objecting senator has real power.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) that he may hereafter be considered as the first sponsor of H.R. 1057, a bill originally introduced by Representative Tiberi, for the purpose of adding cosponsors and requesting reprintings pursuant to clause 7 of rule XII. Agreed to without objection.
Synthetics Trafficking and Overdose Prevention Act of 2017 or the STOP Act of 2017
This bill amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to make the Postmaster General the consignee (i.e., the entity financially responsible for the receipt of a shipment) for merchandise, excluding documents, imported through the mail into the United States. The Postmaster General must designate licensed customs brokers to file required documents or information for such shipments.
The bill amends the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 to impose a customs user fee on postal shipments or any other item valued at $2,000 or less arriving at an international mail facility.
The bill amends the Trade Act of 2002 to direct the Department of the Treasury to require the Postmaster General to provide for the advanced electronic transmission to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection of certain information for all postal shipments made by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), including postal shipments it receives from foreign postal operators.
The Postmaster General:
shall be liable for civil penalties for postal shipment violations committed by a foreign postal operator or the USPS;
may be directly or indirectly responsible for discrepancies resulting from omissions made or false information provided by a foreign postal operator or the USPS; and
shall ensure that all costs and penalties associated with complying with this bill are recouped from foreign shippers, foreign postal operators, or U.S. ultimate consignees.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on February 14, 2017. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on February 5, 2018: ASSUMING FIRST SPONSORSHIP - Mr. Faso asked unanimous consent that he may hereafter be considered as the first sponsor of H.R. 1057, a bill originally introduced by Representative Tiberi, for the purpose of adding cosponsors and requesting reprintings pursuant to clause 7 of rule XII. Agreed to without objection.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 115th Congress (2017-18), 442 of the 11,421 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
PATRICK TIBERI (R-OH) introduced it on February 14, 2017, and 272 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on February 14, 2017, 3495 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 3139 days ago, on February 5, 2018.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 115th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2019 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIntroduced, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers