H.R. 2715 · 119th Congress

Destruction of Hazardous Imports Act

Introduced on Apr 8, 2025 by Clay Higgins (R-LA-3). 18 cosponsors, 4 of them from another party. Latest action (Jul 21, 2026): Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

Stage
Passed one chamber
Introduced
Apr 8, 2025
Cosponsors
18
4 from the other party
Policy area
Health
Open in the Congress explorerCongress.govAlert me

Progress

The furthest stage the measure reached. Simple and concurrent resolutions do not go to the President.

  1. Introduced
  2. Reported by committee
  3. Passed one chamber
  4. 4Passed both chambers
  5. 5Sent to the President
  6. 6Became law

Official title

To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to extend the destruction authority of the Secretary of Health and Human Services to articles that present a significant public health concern, and for other purposes.

Subjects

  • Administrative law and regulatory procedures
  • Consumer affairs
  • Customs enforcement
  • Department of Health and Human Services
  • Health promotion and preventive care
  • Product safety and quality
  • State and local government operations

Summary

By the Congressional Research Service (Reported to House, Jun 18, 2026). Public domain.

Destruction of Hazardous Imports Act

This bill expands the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) authority to require the destruction of certain items that are refused import into the United States and pose a risk to public health.

Under current law, imported food, drugs, medical devices, tobacco products, and cosmetics are subject to FDA review. If an imported item is deficient in a specified manner (e.g., counterfeit, misbranded, or manufactured under insanitary conditions), the item is generally refused admission to the United States. An item refused admission may generally be exported, except that the FDA may destroy a drug, medical device, or tobacco product that is valued under $2,500 without the opportunity for export.

Under the bill, the FDA may order the destruction, without the opportunity for export, of any food, drug, medical device, tobacco product, or cosmetic that is refused admission if the item presents a significant public health concern. If such an order is issued, the item’s owner or consignee must destroy it within 90 days at their own cost.

The bill also prohibits the unauthorized movement (e.g., export) of an item subject to a destruction order. A violator is subject to a fine, a prison term of up to one year, or both.

The FDA must promulgate regulations to carry out these provisions. These regulations must provide for due process for the owner or consignee of an item subject to a destruction order, including notice and an opportunity to appear before the item is destroyed.

Sponsor and cosponsors

Cosponsors by party as of the day they signed on. Original cosponsors signed on the day of introduction.

Clay HigginsR-LA-3Sponsor

Democrats · 4

Republicans · 14

Roll calls

Recorded votes on the measure. Most measures move by voice vote or unanimous consent, which record no individual positions.

No recorded roll call on this measure: it moved by voice vote or unanimous consent, or has not reached the floor.

History

Every action as published, oldest first. Roll calls link to how each member voted.

  1. Apr 8, 2025Introduced in House
  2. Apr 8, 2025Introduced in House
  3. Apr 8, 2025 · HouseReferred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
  4. Apr 8, 2026 · HouseReferred to the Subcommittee on Health.
  5. May 13, 2026 · HouseSubcommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
  6. May 13, 2026 · HouseForwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee (Amended) by Voice Vote.
  7. May 21, 2026 · HouseCommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
  8. May 21, 2026 · HouseOrdered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 43 - 0.
  9. Jun 18, 2026Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Energy and Commerce. H. Rept. 119-705.
  10. Jun 18, 2026 · HouseReported (Amended) by the Committee on Energy and Commerce. H. Rept. 119-705.
  11. Jun 18, 2026 · HousePlaced on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 613.
  12. Jul 20, 2026 · HouseMr. Guthrie moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
  13. Jul 20, 2026 · HouseConsidered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H4637-4639)
  14. Jul 20, 2026 · HouseDEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 2715.
  15. Jul 20, 2026Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H4637-4638)
  16. Jul 20, 2026 · HouseOn motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H4637-4638)
  17. Jul 20, 2026 · HouseMotion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
  18. Jul 21, 2026 · SenateReceived in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

Committees

Committees and subcommittees the measure was referred to.

Agencies in its committees' jurisdiction

Analisa's mapping of committee jurisdiction to federal agencies; the bill may touch others, or none of these.

Who lobbied on it

Organizations whose lobbying reports (LD-2) name this measure. Spending is what they reported for those quarters on all issues, not on this measure alone.

  1. Southern Shrimp Alliance3 reports
    $135K reported (all issues)
  2. NATIONAL CONFECTIONERS ASSOCIATION1 report
  3. NOVO NORDISK INC.1 report
  4. PHARMACEUTICAL RESEARCH & MANUFACTURERS OF AMERICA1 report

Reports filed in 2026.

Sources and method

Every figure on this page traces to these records.

  • Bill status: bills and resolutions, sponsors, actions, subjects and CRS summaries (U.S. Government Publishing Office (GovInfo), from Congress.gov (Library of Congress))GovInfo Bill Status bulk data (Congress.gov; summaries by the Congressional Research Service) · data current to Oct 7, 2026 · loaded Oct 7, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Members of Congress, their terms, committees and identifiers (The @unitedstates project (from the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress, the House and the Senate))unitedstates/congress-legislators: legislators, committees and current committee membership · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication)
  • House roll-call votes (Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives)Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, roll-call vote records · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Senate roll-call votes and DW-NOMINATE scores (Voteview (UCLA Department of Political Science))Lewis, Jeffrey B., Keith Poole, Howard Rosenthal, Adam Boche, Aaron Rudkin, and Luke Sonnet (2026). Voteview: Congressional Roll-Call Votes Database. https://voteview.com/ · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Free to use with the required citation
  • Lobbying disclosures (LD-1 registrations, LD-2 quarterly reports, LD-203 contribution reports) (Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives)Clerk of the House, Lobbying Disclosure Act filings (organizations only; lobbyists' names are not loaded) · data current to Oct 7, 2026 · loaded Oct 7, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Positions are shown only where a roll call recorded them; voice votes and unanimous consent record none.
  • Money and votes are shown side by side; neither explains the other.