I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3470 
To require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to study State 
efforts to regulate certain uses of nitrous oxide, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 25, 2021 
Mrs. TORRES of California (for herself, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, and Mr. AGUILAR) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on En-
ergy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To require the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
to study State efforts to regulate certain uses of nitrous 
oxide, 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 ‘‘Myles Edward Scott 
Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas, 
is regulated at the Federal level by the Food and 
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Drug Administration as a food-grade propellant and 
designated medical gas. 
(2) The racing car industry also uses nitrous 
oxide to increase an engine’s power output by inject-
ing it into an internal combustion engine. 
(3) Over 1 million adolescents and young adults 
in the United States have used nitrous oxide illicitly 
for recreational purposes. 
(4) Use of nitrous oxide can cause headaches, 
drowsiness, breathing difficulty, or asphyxia, which 
can lead to a lapse into unconsciousness or death. 
(5) Myles Edward ‘‘Eddie’’ Scott was killed in 
a single car accident on Interstate 10 in San 
Bernardino County, California, on June 5, 2014, 
one week after he earned his high school diploma, 
after the driver of the vehicle in which he was a pas-
senger passed out after inhaling nitrous oxide. 
(6) The Food and Drug Administration’s Office 
of Criminal Investigations has investigated busi-
nesses that purport to sell nitrous oxide for car rac-
ing applications but knowingly sell nitrous oxide to 
customers solely for recreational drug use. 
(7) It is a violation of the law in many States 
to sell nitrous oxide for recreational purposes. 
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(8) Studying the effectiveness of State laws 
prohibiting the recreational use of nitrous oxide is a 
necessary first step in examining what role the Fed-
eral Government should play to protect the health of 
the public in regards to recreational use of nitrous 
oxide. 
SEC. 3. REPORT. 
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, 
in consultation with the Director of the Centers for Dis-
ease Control and Prevention, the Commissioner of Food 
and Drugs, the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and 
Substance Use, the Administrator of the Environmental 
Protection Agency, the Chairman of the Consumer Prod-
uct Safety Commission, and other relevant Federal agen-
cies, shall— 
(1) conduct a study on State regulatory require-
ments with respect to nitrous oxide that is manufac-
tured and sold for use in consumer applications; and 
(2) submit a report to Congress on the results 
of the study and containing recommendations for 
Federal requirements with respect to such manufac-
ture and sale that are needed to protect human 
health and safety. 
Æ 
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