This bill would create a Federal multi-agency task force called the "Task Force" 30 days after the bill becomes law. The Task Force's purpose is to develop and carry out a plan to reduce unauthorized e-cigarettes in the market. It names the Attorney General and the Secretary of Health and Human Services as co-chairs and lists many federal agencies that must be on the Task Force, including the FDA, Customs and Border Protection, the FBI, ATF, the Postal Inspection Service, Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the Federal Trade Commission. The Task Force must meet at least once every 30 days and must send reports to several congressional committees twice a year. Those reports must describe each agency's legal authorities, actions taken in the prior six months (including investigations, prosecutions, seizures, and forfeitures), recommendations for new authorities, and areas to improve interagency cooperation. The Task Force ends 10 years after it is established.
The bill creates a federal coordinating group focused on stopping illegal importation, distribution, and sale of e-cigarettes. The text does not itself change criminal penalties, create new consumer rules, or directly require actions from individual businesses or consumers. It does require federal agencies to meet regularly and report to Congress about their work on unauthorized e-cigarettes.
The bill text does not include a funding or appropriation provision. No publicly available information on costs or new appropriations is included in the bill text provided.
The bill’s stated purpose is to reduce the number of unauthorized e-cigarettes in the market by setting goals, sharing information, and coordinating federal efforts. Supporters (the bill sponsors) introduced it to establish or reestablish a formal, multi-agency Task Force with regular meetings and semiannual reporting to Congress.
No publicly available information on opponents' views is included in the bill text or the provided metadata.