CLEAN Pacific Act of 2025
The CLEAN Pacific Act of 2025 would create the Pacific Counternarcotics Initiative, a U.S. program housed within the State Department (with input from the Defense Department and the Justice Department) to help a defined group of Pacific island nations curb illicit drug manufacture and trafficking. The initiative focuses on chemicals used to produce illegal drugs (listed chemicals), ensuring they are seized, destroyed, and not reintroduced into illicit production, while also addressing hazardous waste and environmental impacts associated with trafficking. Key elements include a funded implementation plan with 5-year country strategies, measurable benchmarks, security and corruption risk planning, and ongoing congressional reporting. Funding for the initiative would come from existing authorities under the Foreign Assistance Act, and the plan requires detailed, multi-year roadmaps for each beneficiary country, including timelines, budgets, roles of agencies, and specific gaps in local law enforcement capabilities that the United States could help fill. The bill also provides for annual progress reports to Congress for five years, covering outcomes, benchmark progress, and quantities of listed chemicals destroyed.
Key Points
- 1Establishment of the Pacific Counternarcotics Initiative to assist beneficiary countries in seizing and destroying listed chemicals, clearing backlogs, preventing reintroduction of chemicals into drug production, and reducing environmental harm.
- 2Comprehensive implementation plan due within 90 days, including:
- 3- Five-year country strategies with timelines, budgets, expected outcomes, and objectives.
- 4- Specific, measurable benchmarks to track progress toward stated outcomes.
- 5- Defined roles for each federal department and agency involved.
- 6- Plans to address security vulnerabilities and corruption that could hinder seizure, storage, or destruction of chemicals.
- 7- An approach to keep Congress informed about results and updates.
- 8- Itemized needs for each country showing required law enforcement capabilities, gaps, and what the U.S. can provide.
- 9- An additional itemized list detailing capabilities that are necessary, lacking in-country capacity, and what the U.S. can offer.
- 10Annual progress reporting to Congress for five years, covering progress toward outcomes, benchmark compliance, and quantities of chemicals destroyed by each beneficiary country.
- 11Funding sourced from existing Foreign Assistance Act authorities (section 481), meaning the program would use already authorized foreign assistance funds rather than creating a new dedicated appropriation.
- 12Definitions and scope including:
- 13- Beneficiary countries: 16 Pacific jurisdictions (Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Nauru, New Caledonia, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu) with the possibility to add or remove countries by notifying Congress in writing.
- 14- Listed chemicals: chemicals defined by the Controlled Substances Act.
- 15- Relevant Secretary: the Secretary of State (in consultation with the Secretary of Defense and the Attorney General).
- 16- Interoperable systems: shared communications, data sharing, and compatible equipment to enable coordination between beneficiary countries and U.S. law enforcement.