I 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6554 
To amend the Controlled Substances Act to require a person that possesses 
or intends to possess a tableting machine or encapsulating machine 
to obtain registration from the Attorney General, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 26, 2018 
Mr. KUSTOFF of Tennessee (for himself and Ms. KUSTER of New Hampshire) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on En-
ergy 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 require a person 
that possesses or intends to possess a tableting machine 
or encapsulating machine to obtain registration from the 
Attorney General, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Substance Tableting 
and Encapsulating Enforcement and Registration Act’’ or 
the ‘‘STEER Act’’. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
22:27 Aug 08, 2018
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6554.IH
H6554
daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS
SEC. 2. REGISTRATION FOR TABLETING AND ENCAP-
SULATING MACHINES. 
(a) PERSONS REQUIRED TO REGISTER.—Section 
302 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 822) is 
amended— 
(1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(3)(A) Each person who possesses a tableting ma-
chine or encapsulating machine shall obtain from the At-
torney General a registration for each such machine in ac-
cordance with regulations promulgated by the Attorney 
General. 
‘‘(B) Such person shall update the information sub-
mitted to the Attorney General for such registration as 
necessary to ensure the accuracy of such information.’’; 
and 
(2) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘or list I 
chemical’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘, list 
I chemical, tableting machine, or encapsulating ma-
chine’’. 
(b) REGISTRATION PROCESS.—Section 303 of the 
Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 823) is amended 
by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(l) REGISTRATION
OF TABLETING
AND ENCAP-
SULATING MACHINES.—The Attorney General shall reg-
ister each tableting machine or encapsulating machine for 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
22:27 Aug 08, 2018
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6554.IH
H6554
daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS
which an application is submitted under section 
302(a)(3)(A) unless the Attorney General determines that 
such registration is inconsistent with the public interest.’’. 
(c) DEFINITIONS.—Section 102 of the Controlled 
Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802) is amended by adding at 
the end the following: 
‘‘(57) The term ‘encapsulating machine’ means 
equipment— 
‘‘(A) that is designed to fill with a controlled 
substance, or a controlled substance analogue, a 
shell or capsule for human or animal consumption 
and that— 
‘‘(i) allows the operator of such equipment 
to fill more than one shell or capsule without 
human intervention between the filling of each 
such shell or capsule; or 
‘‘(ii) may be attached to a container that 
modifies such equipment such that the operator 
may fill more than one shell or capsule without 
human intervention between the filling of each 
shell or capsule; or 
‘‘(B) that has been used to fill with a controlled 
substance, or a controlled substance analogue, a 
shell or capsule for human or animal consumption. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
22:27 Aug 08, 2018
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6554.IH
H6554
daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS
‘‘(58) The term ‘tableting machine’ means equip-
ment— 
‘‘(A) that is designed to compact or mold a con-
trolled substance, or a controlled substance ana-
logue, to produce a coherent, solid tablet for human 
or animal consumption and that— 
‘‘(i) allows the operator to produce more 
than one such tablet without human interven-
tion between the production of each such tablet; 
or 
‘‘(ii) may be attached to a container that 
modifies such equipment such that the operator 
may produce more than one such tablet without 
human intervention between the production of 
each such tablet; or 
‘‘(B) that has been used to compact or mold a 
controlled substance, or a controlled substance ana-
logue, to produce a coherent, solid tablet for human 
or animal consumption.’’. 
(d) PENALTY.—Section 402(a) of the Controlled Sub-
stances Act (21 U.S.C. 842(a)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (15), by striking ‘‘or’’ after 
‘‘section 310(e)(1)(B)(v);’’; 
(2) in paragraph (16), by striking the period 
and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
22:27 Aug 08, 2018
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6554.IH
H6554
daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(17) to possess a tableting machine or encap-
sulating machine, in or affecting interstate com-
merce, without the registration required by this 
title.’’. 
(e) APPLICATION.—This section and the amendments 
made by this section shall apply beginning at the end of 
the one-year period following the date of the enactment 
of this Act. 
SEC. 3. INFORMATION CAMPAIGN. 
The Attorney General shall conduct a campaign to 
inform persons required to register under the amendments 
made by section 2 of such requirement. 
SEC. 4. REPORT. 
Not later than 2 years after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Attorney General shall submit to 
the Congress a report containing— 
(1) a description and evaluation of the efforts 
of the Drug Enforcement Administration under the 
amendments made by section 2 to reduce the use of 
unregistered tableting machines and encapsulating 
machines in the illegal manufacture of controlled 
substances; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
22:27 Aug 08, 2018
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6554.IH
H6554
daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS
(2) with respect to tableting machines and en-
capsulating machines, or disassembled parts of such 
machines— 
(A) the number seized by the Drug En-
forcement Administration after the date of the 
enactment of this Act; and 
(B) the number imported and exported 
after the date of the enactment of this Act; and 
(3) recommendations with respect to changes to 
Federal law to support the Drug Enforcement Ad-
ministration in such efforts. 
Æ 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
22:27 Aug 08, 2018
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H6554.IH
H6554
daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS