HR7184Referred to Committee

PRESS Act

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Introduced
In Committee
3
Passed One Chamber
4
Passed Both
5
Signed into Law
119th
Congress
2026-01-21
Introduced
32
Cosponsors
HR
ⓘ
Type

Sponsor

Addison P. McDowell
Addison P. McDowell
Republican · NC · Representative
Votes with party: 97.4% (605 recorded votes)

Full profile: /officials/M001240

Source: Congress.gov · FEC

Cosponsors (32)

Members who have signed on to support this bill since introduction. Source: Congress.gov.

Latest Action

The most recent step in the bill's legislative path. Committee Activity below shows referrals and reports; the full action-by-action history including floor proceedings lives at Congress.gov →

Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee by Voice Vote.

2026-07-15

Source: Congress.gov

Committee Activity

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Plain-English Summary

The PRESS Act would protect journalists and news organizations from being forced to reveal their sources or hand over unpublished materials during criminal investigations and legal proceedings. The law would establish a federal "shield" that allows reporters to keep confidential sources secret unless the government can prove the information is essential to a case and cannot be obtained any other way. This would affect news organizations, law enforcement agencies, and anyone involved in legal cases where journalists might be subpoenaed for their reporting.

AI-assisted summary generated from the official bill metadata (title, subjects, actions) sourced from Congress.gov. Cached and reviewed. Always verify against the official text linked below.

Subjects

Crime and Law Enforcement

Full Bill Text

Verbatim text published on Congress.gov via GovInfo. Use Cmd+F / Ctrl+F to search within this excerpt.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [H.R. 7184 Introduced in House (IH)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 7184 To amend the Controlled Substances Act to prevent the importation of illicit pill press machines with the intent to counterfeit substances, and for other purposes. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES January 21, 2026 Mr. McDowell (for himself, Mrs. Bice, Mr. Weber of Texas, Mr. Jack, Ms. Tenney, Mr. Yakym, Mr. Goldman of Texas, Mr. Harrigan, Mr. Nehls, Mr. Edwards, Mr. Stutzman, and Mr. Carey) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To amend the Controlled Substances Act to prevent the importation of illicit pill press machines with the intent to counterfeit substances, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Preventing Rogue Equipment for Synthetic Substances Act'' or the ``PRESS Act''. SEC. 2. PROVIDING FOR EXTRATERRITORIAL JURISDICTION. (a) Possession, Manufacture, or Distribution for Purposes of Unlawful Importation.--Section 1009 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 959) is amended-- (1) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as subsections (d) and (e), respectively; (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the following: ``(c) It shall be unlawful for any person to manufacture or distribute a tableting machine, encapsulating machine, press punch, die system, gelatin capsule, or any equipment, chemical, product, or material-- ``(1) intending or knowing that it will be used to manufacture a controlled substance or listed chemical; and ``(2) intending, knowing, or having reasonable cause to believe that the controlled substance or listed chemical will be unlawfully imported into the United States.''; and (3) in subsection (d)-- (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``or'' at the end; (B) in paragraph (2), by striking the period at the end and inserting ``; or''; and (C) by adding at the end the following: ``(3) manufacture or distribute a tableting machine, encapsulating machine, press punch, die system, gelatin capsule, or any equipment, chemical, product, or material-- ``(A) intending or knowing that it will be used to manufacture a controlled substance or listed chemical; and ``(B) intending, knowing, or having reasonable cause to believe that the controlled substance or listed chemical will be unlawfully imported into the United States.''. (b) Prohibited Acts.--Section 1010 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 960) is amended-- (1) in subsection (d)-- (A) in paragraph (6), by striking ``or'' at the end; (B) in paragraph (7)-- (i) by striking ``section 959 of this title'' and inserting ``section 1009''; and (ii) by striking the period at the end and inserting ``; or''; (C) by inserting after paragraph (7) the following: ``(8) manufactures or distributes a tableting machine, encapsulating machine, press punch, die system, gelatin capsule, or any equipment, chemical, product, or material in violation of subsection (c) of section 1009,''; and (D) in the matter following paragraph (8), as so inserted, by striking ``shall be fined'' and all that follows through ``or both'' and inserting the following: ``shall be fined in accordance with title 18, United States Code, imprisoned for the applicable period described in subsection (e), or both''; and (2) by adding at the end the following: ``(e) The applicable period described in this subsection is the following: ``(1) In the case of…
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a violation of paragraph (1) or (3) of subsection (d) involving a list I chemical, not more than 20 years. ``(2) Subject to paragraph (4), in the case of a violation of paragraph (7) of subsection (d), not more than 10 years. ``(3) Subject to paragraph (4), in the case of a violation of paragraph (8) of subsection (d), not more than 8 years. ``(4) In the case of a violation of paragraph (7) or (8) of subsection (d) that involves more than 1,000 kilograms of a chemical or product or more than 100 machines that are tableting machines or encapsulating machines, not more than 15 years. ``(5) In the case of a violation of subsection (d) other than a violation of paragraph (1), (3), (7), or (8) of such subsection, not more than 10 years.''. (c) United States Sentencing Commission.--Pursuant to its authority under section 994(p) of title 28, United States Code, the United States Sentencing Commission shall review and amend the Federal sentencing guidelines and policy statements of the Commission, as appropriate, in accordance with this Act and the amendments made by this Act. <all>
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