H.R. 568 118th Congress House

SAFE Act

Official title: To amend the Controlled Substances Act with respect to fentanyl-related substances, and for other purposes.

Introduced: May 24, 2023 Introduced by: Chris Pappas Democratic · New Hampshire See on congress.gov

Crime and Law Enforcement Administrative law and regulatory proceduresCongressional oversightCriminal procedure and sentencingDepartment of Justice

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Drug trafficking and controlled substancesGovernment studies and investigationsInternational law and treatiesLicensing and registrationsManufacturingResearch administration and funding

Everywhere this bill has been 4 steps

Introduced

In committee

Reported out

Passed House

Passed Senate

To President

Became law

Feb 3, 2023

Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.

Feb 1, 2023

Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR H588)

Jan 26, 2023

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.

Jan 26, 2023

Introduced in House

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Latest action February 3, 2023

Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.

Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Save Americans from the Fentanyl Emergency Act or the SAFE Act

This bill permanently places fentanyl-related substances as a class into schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. A schedule I controlled substance is a drug, substance, or chemical that has a high potential for abuse; has no currently accepted medical value; and is subject to regulatory controls and administrative, civil, and criminal penalties under the Controlled Substances Act. The temporary scheduling order issued by the Drug Enforcement Administration to place fentanyl-related substances into schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act expires on December 31, 2024.

It limits the application of mandatory minimum penalties for certain offenses involving fentanyl-related substances, establishes a process to deschedule or remove certain fentanyl-related substances that have a low potential for abuse, and allows a federal court to vacate or reduce the sentence for convictions of offenses involving a fentanyl-related substance that is descheduled or moved to a schedule other than schedule I or II.

The bill establishes a new, alternative registration process for schedule I research. It also makes other changes to registration requirements for conducting research with controlled substances, including

permitting a single registration for related research sites in certain circumstances,
waiving the requirement for a new inspection in certain situations, and
allowing a registered researcher to perform certain manufacturing activities with small quantities of a substance without obtaining a manufacturing registration.

Finally, the bill requires the Government Accountability Office to analyze the implementation and impact of permanently placing fentanyl-related substances into schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act.

Related & companion bills 6

Bill text 1 version

Introduced in House Formatted Text PDF Formatted XML

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

Committees of jurisdiction 3

Energy and Commerce Committee
House of Representatives
Health Subcommittee
House of Representatives · subcommittee of Energy and Commerce Committee
Judiciary Committee
House of Representatives

Lobbying activity 1

Registered lobbyists who named this bill in their disclosure filings. Source: federal Lobbying Disclosure Act filings.

EARTHJUSTICE ACTION
for EARTHJUSTICE ACTION · District of Columbia · 4th Quarter 2025 (Oct 1 - Dec 31)

Bodies those filers lobbied

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1 filing
SENATE
1 filing

A filing lists the bills it worked on and the parts of government it contacted in separate sections, so these are the bodies those filers named anywhere in the filing, not a per-bill breakdown.

Cosponsors 19