U.S. Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) joined forces with Senator Ashley Moody (R-Florida) on July 16 to introduce legislation that would make it a federal crime to intentionally import the equipment and chemicals used to manufacture counterfeit fentanyl pills on American soil.

The bill, designated S. 4446 and titled the PRESS Act, targets a key link in the fentanyl supply chain: pill press machines and unlisted precursor chemicals smuggled into the United States by foreign cartels and criminal networks.

How the Smuggling Works

According to the senators, drug trafficking organizations — primarily Chinese suppliers and Central American cartels — break pill press equipment into components and ship them through U.S. ports and customs checkpoints mislabeled as furniture parts or machine spare parts. Once inside the country, the components are reassembled into fully operational, unregistered pill presses capable of producing massive quantities of counterfeit pills designed to look like legitimate prescription opioids.

The machines are not minor tools. Tabletop models can produce as many as 5,000 pills per hour, while larger floor-model presses can crank out up to 15,000 pills per hour. The presses use imported tableting machines, punches, and die molds to stamp out pills that closely mimic real pharmaceuticals.

What the PRESS Act Would Do

Under current law, federal prosecutors face limited tools to go after foreign actors who supply the hardware and chemicals behind domestic pill production. The PRESS Act would close that gap by attaching criminal penalties to the unlawful importation of pill presses and the introduction of unlisted precursor chemicals intended for illicit drug manufacturing.

The legislation would give federal law enforcement the statutory authority to charge foreign entities involved in smuggling both the chemical inputs and the physical equipment used to produce counterfeit controlled substances.

Crapo framed the bill as a direct response to tactics cartels have refined to stay ahead of existing law. “Drug trafficking poses a grave threat to our national security and the safety of the American people,” he said. “Our laws must keep pace with the evolving tactics used by criminal organizations to manufacture and distribute illicit synthetic drugs.”

He added that the PRESS Act would strengthen prosecutors’ ability “to hold foreign actors accountable for importing precursor chemicals and pill presses intended for the production and distribution of illegal controlled substances.”

Scale of the Fentanyl Crisis

The legislation arrives against a backdrop of staggering enforcement numbers. In 2025, the Drug Enforcement Administration seized more than 45 million fentanyl pills and more than 9,000 pounds of fentanyl powder — an estimated 347 million potentially deadly doses removed from circulation in a single year.

Despite those seizures, illicit fentanyl remains the leading driver of drug overdose deaths in the United States, a fact that has pushed both parties to pursue legislative and enforcement responses targeting the upstream supply chain rather than only street-level distribution.

Crapo’s Role and What Comes Next

Crapo, who has represented Idaho in the Senate since 1999, has been an active participant in drug enforcement and border security debates throughout his tenure. His partnership with Moody, the former Florida attorney general who joined the Senate in January 2025, pairs two members with records on law enforcement and public safety issues.

The PRESS Act now awaits committee consideration in the Senate. No companion House bill or markup schedule has been announced, though the measure’s focus on border enforcement and fentanyl interdiction aligns with priorities the Republican-led Congress has pushed since the start of the current session.

Idaho’s congressional delegation has been active on a range of federal agency and enforcement matters this year. Crapo’s colleague Senator Jim Risch recently backed an Interior Department proposal to shift grizzly bear management authority to Idaho and other affected states, and Risch separately introduced legislation to mandate annual geothermal lease sales following House passage of a related measure.

The fentanyl bill’s prospects will depend in part on how quickly Senate leadership moves drug enforcement priorities through a calendar already crowded with spending and tax legislation.