HR7184-119

What This Bill Does

The PRESS Act amends the Controlled Substances Act to target foreign and domestic supply-chain support for drug manufacturing equipment and precursor materials. It makes it unlawful to manufacture or distribute tableting machines, encapsulating machines, press punches, die systems, gelatin capsules, equipment, chemicals, products, or materials while intending or knowing they will be used to manufacture a controlled substance or listed chemical and intending, knowing, or having reasonable cause to believe the resulting controlled substance or listed chemical will be unlawfully imported into the United States. It adds that conduct to the extraterritorial jurisdiction framework and creates penalties under section 1010. Violations involving the new equipment-or-material provision can carry up to eight years, and violations involving more than 1,000 kilograms of a chemical or product or more than 100 tableting or encapsulating machines can carry up to 15 years. The bill also leaves higher penalties for certain list I chemical offenses and directs sentencing guideline attention through the Sentencing Commission authority referenced in the bill.

Who Benefits and How

DEA investigators, federal prosecutors, customs enforcement personnel, communities affected by fentanyl or synthetic-drug imports, and public health officials benefit from a new tool against suppliers of pill presses, encapsulating machines, dies, capsules, chemicals, and equipment used for drug production aimed at the U.S. market. The U.S. Sentencing Commission benefits from statutory direction to account for the new offense structure. Legitimate manufacturers may benefit if enforcement targets competitors knowingly serving illicit drug networks.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Pill press manufacturers, encapsulating machine distributors, chemical suppliers, equipment exporters, capsule sellers, and logistics intermediaries face criminal liability if they know or have reason to believe their products will be used for controlled substances or listed chemicals unlawfully imported into the United States. Drug trafficking networks and illicit manufacturers face greater supply-chain enforcement risk. Federal prosecutors, DEA staff, customs personnel, and sentencing guideline staff must apply the new knowledge standards, extraterritorial provisions, quantity thresholds, and penalty ranges.

Key Provisions

• Makes it unlawful to manufacture or distribute drug-making machines, equipment, chemicals, products, or materials for controlled substances or listed chemicals intended for unlawful U.S. importation.
• Adds tableting machines, encapsulating machines, press punches, die systems, gelatin capsules, equipment, chemicals, products, and materials to the covered conduct.
• Extends Controlled Substances Act extraterritorial jurisdiction to the new conduct.
• Adds penalties of up to eight years for the new equipment-or-material offense.
• Adds penalties of up to 15 years for large cases involving more than 1,000 kilograms of chemicals or products or more than 100 tableting or encapsulating machines.
• Provides sentencing-guideline direction for the new offense structure.