99–006 

111TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session 111–672 

BEREAVED CONSUMER’S BILL OF RIGHTS ACT OF 2010 

DECEMBER 7, 2010.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State 

of the Union and ordered to be printed 

Mr. WAXMAN, from the Committee on Energy and Commerce, 

submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

together with 

DISSENTING VIEWS 

[To accompany H.R. 3655] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office} 

The Committee on Energy and Commerce, to whom was referred 

the bill (H.R. 3655) to direct the Federal Trade Commission to establish rules to prohibit unfair or deceptive acts or practices related 

to the provision of funeral services, having considered the same, report favorably thereon with an amendment and recommend that 

the bill as amended do pass. 

CONTENTS 

Page 

Amendment .............................................................................................................. 2 

Purpose and Summary ............................................................................................ 4 

Background and Need for Legislation .................................................................... 4 

Legislative History .................................................................................................. 5 

Committee Consideration ........................................................................................ 5 

Committee Votes ...................................................................................................... 5 

Statement of Committee Oversight Findings and Recommendations ................. 5 

Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives .................................... 6 

Constitutional Authority Statement ...................................................................... 6 

Earmarks and Tax and Tariff Benefits .................................................................. 6 

Federal Advisory Committee Statement ................................................................ 6 

Applicability of Law to Legislative Branch ........................................................... 6 

Federal Mandates Statement ................................................................................. 6 

Committee Cost Estimate ....................................................................................... 6 

Budget Authority and Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate .................... 7 

Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation ...................................................... 8 

Explanation of Amendment .................................................................................... 10 


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Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported ..................................... 10 

Dissenting Views ..................................................................................................... 11 

AMENDMENT

The amendment is as follows: 

Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the following: 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Bereaved Consumer’s Bill of Rights Act of 2010’’. 

SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

Congress finds that— 

(1) there have been shocking consumer abuses in the funeral industry, including scandals at Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois, Menorah Gardens Cemetery in Palm Beach, Florida, and the Tri State Crematory in Noble, Georgia; 

(2) funeral arrangements are a major expense for most American households 

and families; 

(3) some consumers seek to ease the burdens on their families by arranging 

and paying for pre-need funeral and cemetery arrangements; 

(4) most funerals are planned by grieving family members at a time when 

they are especially vulnerable and unlikely to focus on cost comparison; 

(5) the Federal Trade Commission’s Funeral Industry Practices Trade Regulation Rule (known as the Funeral Rule) dictates consumer protections in the funeral home, but does not cover the practices of cemeteries, crematoria, or sellers 

of monuments, urns, or caskets; 

(6) State laws are inconsistent and frequently too weak to provide adequate 

consumer protections, creating a need for minimum federal standards in this 

area; 

(7) consumers have the right to receive clear and accurate information about 

all funeral goods and services offered for sale; 

(8) consumers need effective protection from fraud and abusive practices by 

all providers of funeral goods and services and at all stages of the funeral planning process; and 

(9) a new Federal law that provides adequate protections to grieving families 

is warranted. 

SEC. 3. FTC RULEMAKING RELATING TO UNFAIR OR DECEPTIVE ACTS OR PRACTICES IN THE 

PROVISION OF FUNERAL GOODS OR SERVICES. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Trade Commission shall prescribe rules prohibiting 

unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the provision of funeral goods or services. 

Such rules shall include the following: 

(1) A requirement that providers of funeral goods or funeral services furnish 

accurate price information disclosing clearly and conspicuously the cost to the 

purchaser for each of the specific funeral goods or funeral services provided or 

offered for sale. 

(2) A prohibition on misrepresentations by such providers, including misrepresentations of the requirements of Federal, State, or local law. 

(3) A prohibition on conditioning the provision of any funeral good or funeral 

service upon the purchase of any other funeral good or funeral service from that 

provider, except as required by law. 

(4) A requirement that any presale disclosures and contracts for funeral services or funeral goods be written clearly, stating the merchandise and services 

that purchasers are buying and their prices. 

(5) In the case of contracts for funeral services or funeral goods that are prepaid in whole or in part, a requirement for clear and conspicuous presale and 

contractual disclosure regarding any penalties incurred if the consumer decides 

to cancel or transfer the contract to another provider of funeral services or funeral goods. 

(6) A requirement that contracts for funeral services or funeral goods disclose 

clearly and conspicuously all fees and costs to be incurred in the future or at 

the time that the funeral services or funeral goods are provided. 

(7) A requirement that cemeteries provide to consumers, in a timely manner, 

all written rules and regulations of the cemetery, and a clear explanation in 

writing of the interment, inurnment, or entombment right that has been purchased, and any material terms and conditions of that purchase, including any 

repurchase option by the cemetery or resale rights available to the consumer. 

(8) A requirement that cemeteries— 


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(A) retain all records in existence on the date of enactment of this Act, 

including maps or other systems indicating the location and date of each 

interment, inurnment, or entombment; 

(B) accurately record and retain records of all interments, inurnments, or 

entombments occurring, as well as any internment, inurnment, or entombment rights sold, after the effective date of the regulations issued under 

this subsection, in such manner and form as the Commission may prescribe 

in such regulations; and 

(C) make such records available to Federal, State, and local governments, 

as appropriate. 

(b) RULEMAKING.—The Commission shall prescribe the rules under subsection (a) 

within 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act. Such rules, and any future 

rules or revision of rules prescribed by the Commission prohibiting unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the provision of funeral goods or services, shall be prescribed 

in accordance with section 553 of title 5, United States Code. 

(c) APPLICATION OF RULES TO TAX EXEMPT ORGANIZATIONS AND STATES.—Notwithstanding the definition of corporation in section 4 of the Federal Trade Commission 

Act (15 U.S.C. 44), the rules prescribed under subsection (a), and any future rules 

or revision of rules prescribed by the Commission prohibiting unfair or deceptive 

acts or practices in the provision of funeral goods or funeral services, shall also 

apply to cemeteries organized or operated by— 

(1) organizations described in section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

1986 that are exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of such Code, except 

for cemeteries organized, operated, managed, and owned by a religious denomination, middle judicatory, house of worship, or similar religious organization, 

and that are not organized, operated, managed, or owned by contract or affiliation with a for-profit provider of funeral goods or services that offers those 

goods and services for sale to the public; and 

(2) States or any political subdivision of a State. 

(d) ENFORCEMENT.—Any violation of any rule prescribed under this section shall 

be treated as a violation of a regulation prescribed under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the 

Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)) regarding unfair or deceptive acts or practices. The Federal Trade Commission shall enforce this Act in the 

same manner, by the same means, and with the same jurisdiction as though all applicable terms and provisions of the Federal Trade Commission Act were incorporated into and made a part of this Act. Any person who violates the regulations 

prescribed under this Act shall be subject to the penalties and entitled to the privileges and immunities provided in that Act. 

SEC. 4. ENFORCEMENT BY STATES. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—Whenever an attorney general of any State has reason to believe that the interests of the residents of that State have been or are being threatened or adversely affected because any person has engaged or is engaging in an act 

or practice which violates any rule of the Commission issued under section 3 of this 

Act or the Trade Regulation Rule on Funeral Industry Practices (16 C.F.R. 453.1 

et seq.), the State, as parens patriae, may bring a civil action on behalf of its residents in an appropriate district court of the United States to enjoin such violative 

act or practice, to enforce compliance with such rule of the Commission, to obtain 

damages, restitution, or other compensation on behalf of residents of such State, or 

to obtain such further and other relief as the court may determine appropriate. 

(b) NOTICE.—The State shall provide prior written notice of any civil action under 

subsection (a) or (f)(2) to the Commission and provide the Commission with a copy 

of its complaint, except that if it is not feasible for the State to provide such prior 

notice, the State shall provide such notice immediately upon instituting such action. 

Upon receiving a notice respecting a civil action, the Commission shall have the 

right— 

(1) to intervene in such action; 

(2) upon so intervening, to be heard on all matters arising therein; 

(3) to remove the action to the appropriate United States district court; and 

(4) to file petitions for appeal. 

(c) CONSTRUCTION.—For purposes of bringing any civil action under subsection (a), 

nothing in this Act shall prevent an attorney general from exercising the powers 

conferred on the attorney general by the laws of such State to conduct investigations 

or to administer oaths or affirmations or to compel the attendance of witnesses or 

the production of documentary and other evidence. 

(d) ACTIONS BY COMMISSION.—Whenever a civil action has been instituted by or 

on behalf of the Commission for violation of any rule prescribed under section 3 of 

this Act, no State may, during the pendency of such action instituted by or on behalf 

of the Commission, institute a civil action under subsection (a) or (f)(2) of this secVerDate Mar 15 2010 06:29 Dec 08, 2010 Jkt 099006 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6621 E:\HR\OC\HR672.XXX HR672

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1 Bodies Unearthed at Alsip Cemetery, Chicago Tribune (July 9, 2009). 

tion against any defendant named in the complaint in such action for violation of 

any rule as alleged in such complaint. 

(e) VENUE; SERVICE OF PROCESS.—Any civil action brought under subsection (a) 

of this section in a district court of the United States may be brought in the district 

in which the defendant is found, is an inhabitant, or transacts business or wherever 

venue is proper under section 1391 of title 28, United States Code. Process in such 

an action may be served in any district in which the defendant is an inhabitant or 

in which the defendant may be found. 

(f) ACTIONS BY OTHER STATE OFFICIALS.— 

(1) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing contained in this section shall prohibit an authorized State official from proceeding in State court on the basis of an alleged 

violation of any civil or criminal statute of such State. 

(2) OTHER STATE ACTIONS.—In addition to actions brought by an attorney general of a State under subsection (a) of this section, such an action may be 

brought by officers of such State who are authorized by the State to bring actions in such State on behalf of its residents. 

SEC. 5. EFFECT ON OTHER LAW. 

Nothing in this Act or the rules prescribed under this Act shall be construed to 

preempt any provision of any law of a State or political subdivision of that State 

that provides protections to consumers of funeral services or funeral goods, except 

to the extent that the provision of law is inconsistent with any provision of this Act 

or a rule prescribed under this Act, and then only to the extent of the inconsistency. 

SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 

In this Act— 

(1) the term ‘‘cemetery’’ means any organization, association or other business 

that offers for sale the interment, inurnment, or entombment of human remains, but does not include any cemetery that— 

(A) performs fewer than 25 interments, inurnments, and entombments 

during any calendar year; or 

(B) sells fewer than 25 interment, inurnment, or entombment rights during any calendar year; 

(2) the term ‘‘funeral goods’’ are the goods which are sold or offered for sale 

directly to the public for use in connection with funeral services; and 

(3) the term ‘‘funeral services’’ means— 

(A) any services which are sold or offered for sale to the public in order 

to— 

(i) care for and prepare deceased human bodies for burial, cremation, 

or other final disposition; or 

(ii) arrange, supervise, or conduct the funeral ceremony or the final 

disposition of deceased human bodies; or 

(B) services provided by funeral directors, morticians, cemeterians, 

cremationists, and retailers of caskets, urns, monuments, and markers. 

PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

H.R. 3655, the ‘‘Bereaved Consumer’s Bill of Rights Act of 2009’’, 

was introduced by Rep. Bobby L. Rush (D–IL) on September 25, 

2009. H.R. 3655 would require the Federal Trade Commission 

(FTC) to prescribe rules prohibiting unfair or deceptive acts and 

practices in the provision of funeral goods and services. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois, made national news in July 

2009 when stories surfaced that cemetery employees had removed 

human remains from graves and resold some of the graves to 

unsuspecting consumers.1 H.R. 3655 was introduced by Rep. Rush 

to address some of the deplorable conditions discovered at Burr 

Oak. The legislation would require, among other things, that all 

cemeteries record and retain records of burial, inurnment, and entombment locations; explain to consumers the nature of the burial, 


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2Federal Trade Commission, Facts for Consumers: Funerals: A Consumer’s Guide (online at 

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/products/pro19.shtm). 3 16 C.F.R. part 453 (1982). 

4 Id. 

inurnment, or entombment rights they are purchasing; and provide 

consumers with all the cemetery’s written rules and regulations. 

Funeral arrangements are a major expense for most families and 

households. Each year consumers spend billions of dollars arranging more than two million funerals for families and friends.2 Consumers are currently protected under the FTC’s Funeral Rule 

against unfair and deceptive acts and practices committed by funeral homes.3 The FTC’s Funeral Rule further requires funeral 

homes to provide pricing disclosures for goods and services that 

they sell. Also, funeral homes may not force consumers to buy 

package deals but instead must allow consumers to pick and choose 

the goods and services they want.4 Similar protections, however, 

are not afforded to consumers of funeral, burial, and cremation 

goods and services, when those goods and services are sold by 

cemeteries, crematoria, or third-party sellers. Because consumers of 

funeral goods and services are grieving, they can be easily exploited and financially harmed by deceitful salesmen. H.R. 3655 

seeks to reconcile the differences in consumer protections that the 

same consumer would receive when shopping for funeral-related 

goods and services as compared to burial and cremation goods and 

services. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

H.R. 3655 was introduced on September 25, 2009, by Rep. Rush 

of Illinois. The bill was referred to the Subcommittee on Commerce, 

Trade, and Consumer Protection, and the Subcommittee held a legislative hearing on H.R. 3655 on January 25, 2010. 

COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION

On March 24, 2010, the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and 

Consumer Protection met in open markup session and forwarded 

H.R. 3655, amended, favorably to the full Committee by a voice 

vote. 

On July 21, 2010, the Committee on Energy and Commerce met 

in open markup session and considered H.R. 3655 as approved by 

the Subcommittee. The Committee adopted an amendment to the 

bill by Rep. Rush, as amended by an amendment offered by Mr. 

Gingrey of Georgia. The full Committee subsequently ordered H.R. 

3655 favorably reported to the House, amended, by a voice vote. 

COMMITTEE VOTES

Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives requires the Committee to list the record votes on the motion 

to report legislation and amendments thereto. There were no recorded votes during consideration of H.R. 3655. 

STATEMENT OF COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND

RECOMMENDATIONS

In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII and clause (2)(b)(1) 

of rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the overVerDate Mar 15 2010 06:29 Dec 08, 2010 Jkt 099006 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR672.XXX HR672

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sight findings and recommendations of the Committee are reflected 

in the descriptive portions of this report, including the finding that 

consumers have a different level of protection regarding funeral-related goods and services as compared to burial and cremation goods 

and services. 

STATEMENT OF GENERAL PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

In accordance with clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, the performance goals and objectives of 

the Committee are reflected in the descriptive portions of this report, including the goal that equivalent consumer protections 

should apply to funeral-related goods and services and burial and 

cremation goods and services. 

CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT

Under clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 

Representatives, the Committee must include a statement citing 

the specific powers granted to Congress to enact the law proposed 

by H.R. 3655. Article I, section 8, clauses 3 and 18 of the Constitution of the United States grant the Congress the power to enact 

this law. 

EARMARKS AND TAX AND TARIFF BENEFITS

H.R. 3655 does not contain any congressional earmarks, limited 

tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in clause 9(d), 9(e), 

or 9(f) of rule XXI of the Rules of the House of Representatives. 

FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE STATEMENT

The Committee finds that the legislation does not establish or 

authorize the establishment of an advisory committee within the 

definition of 5 U.S.C. App., section 5(b). 

APPLICABILITY OF LAW TO THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

Section 102(b)(3) of Public Law 104–1 requires a description of 

the application of this bill to the legislative branch where the bill 

relates to terms and conditions of employment or access to public 

services and accommodations. This bill does not relate to employment or access to public services and accommodations. 

FEDERAL MANDATES STATEMENT

Section 423 of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act (as amended by Section 101(a)(2) of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act, P.L. 104–4) requires a statement whether the 

provisions of the reported bill include unfunded mandates. In compliance with this requirement the Committee has received a letter 

from the Congressional Budget Office included herein. 

COMMITTEE COST ESTIMATE

Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and a comparison by the Committee of the costs that would be incurred in carrying out H.R. 

3655. The Committee adopts as its own the cost estimate on H.R. 

3655 prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office 

included herein. 


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BUDGET AUTHORITY AND CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST

ESTIMATE

With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of 

the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 308(a) of the 

Congressional Budget Act of 1974 and with respect to requirements 

of clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the 

Committee has received the following cost estimate for H.R. 3655 

from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office: 

SEPTEMBER 8, 2010. 

Hon. HENRY A. WAXMAN, 

Chairman, Committee on Energy and Commerce, 

House of Representatives, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 3655, the Bereaved Consumer’s Bill of Rights Act of 2009. 

If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased 

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Susan Willie. 

Sincerely, 

DOUGLAS W. ELMENDORF. 

Enclosure. 

H.R. 3655—Bereaved Consumer’s Bill of Rights Act of 2009 

H.R. 3655 would broaden rules prohibiting unfair or deceptive 

acts or practices in the provision of funeral goods or services. 

Among other things, the bill would require cemeteries to disclose 

all fees and costs to be incurred in the future or at the time such 

goods or services are provided and to keep accurate burial records. 

The bill would require the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to develop rules to enforce the new requirements within one year of enactment. 

Based on information from the FTC, CBO assumes that the 

agency would require five additional staff positions at a cost of 

about $1 million per year to develop and enforce the new requirements, train staff, and develop educational materials. CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 3655 would cost about $5 million 

over the 2011–2015 period, assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts. Enacting H.R. 3655 could affect revenues from collections of civil penalties; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures 

apply. However, CBO estimates that revenue collections from those 

penalties would not be significant in any year. 

H.R. 3655 would impose intergovernmental and private-sector 

mandates, as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

(UMRA), because it would require public and private cemeteries to 

maintain records and respond to requests for information as well 

as issue disclosures to consumers. The bill also would impose mandates on providers of funeral goods or services. Based on information from the FTC and industry sources, CBO estimates that the 

aggregate cost of complying with the mandates would fall below the 

annual thresholds established in UMRA for intergovernmental and 

private-sector mandates ($70 million and $141 million, respectively, 

in 2010, adjusted annually for inflation). 


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The bill would require public and private cemeteries and other 

funeral service providers to document and retain records on the location and date of each internment, inurnment, or entombment. 

The bill also would require those entities to make records available 

to federal, state, and local governments upon request. In most 

cases, state laws and industry standards already require recordkeeping of that kind; therefore, CBO estimates that the incremental cost of recording and reporting such information would be 

small. 

The bill would require public and private cemeteries to provide 

consumers with written explanations of cemetery rules and the 

specific rights, terms, conditions, prices, fees, and penalties associated with the goods or services purchased. Industry experts indicate that those practices are already the standard among cemeteries and most other funeral service providers; therefore, CBO estimates that the additional cost of complying with this requirement 

would be small. 

The bill also would require providers and retailers of funeral 

goods or services to provide clear and accurate pricing and fee information to purchasers. Current federal regulations for this industry extend only to entities that provide both funeral goods and 

services, not to those that provide one or the other. The bill also 

would prohibit conditioning the provision of any good or service on 

the purchase of any other. That requirement would prohibit the 

practice of bundling or packaging of certain funeral goods and services by providers and retailers previously not regulated by the FTC 

funeral rule. 

Most providers and retailers of funeral goods or services are already in compliance with many of the mandates contained in the 

legislation through compliance with state law or current industry 

standards. Based on information from industry professionals and 

on data on the cost of compliance from the FTC, CBO estimates 

that the additional compliance costs of those mandates would be 

small relative to the annual threshold for private-sector mandates. 

The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Susan Willie (for 

federal costs), Elizabeth Cove Delisle (for the intergovernmental 

impact), and Marin Randall (for the private-sector impact). The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant Director 

for Budget Analysis. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE LEGISLATION

Section 1. Short title 

This Act is entitled the ‘‘Bereaved Consumer’s Bill of Rights Act 

of 2010.’’ 

Section 2. Findings 

Section 2 contains findings about abuses in the funeral industry 

and the need for additional regulation. 

Section 3. FTC rulemaking relating to unfair or deceptive acts or 

practices in the provision of funeral goods or services 

Section 3(a) calls on the Federal Trade Commission to prescribe 

rules prohibiting unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the provision of funeral goods and services. The subsection lists eight reVerDate Mar 15 2010 06:29 Dec 08, 2010 Jkt 099006 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR672.XXX HR672

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quirements that must be included in the rules. The rules must require that providers of funeral goods or services: (1) provide consumers with accurate, itemized price information for each specific 

funeral good or service offered for sale; (2) not misrepresent what 

federal, state, and local laws require in protecting consumers or 

permit, in the way of competition between providers; (3) prohibit 

conditioning the provision of any one funeral good or service on the 

purchase of another funeral good and service; (4) write contracts 

for funeral goods and services using clear language that consumers 

are likely to comprehend; (5) include disclosures in pre-paid contracts regarding fees or penalties to be assessed for cancellation or 

transfer, by the purchaser, of burial, cremation, or entombment 

rights to different facilities; (6) disclose in contracts all fees and 

costs to be incurred in the future or at the time those funeral goods 

or services are provided; (7) in the case of cemeteries, provide all 

written rules and regulations of the cemetery, as well as an explanation in writing of the interment, inurnment, or entombment 

right that has been purchased; and (8) in the case of cemeteries, 

retain records of the date and location of each internment, 

inurnment, and entombment as well as the corresponding rights of 

disposition (i.e., perpetual or term), and make those records available to federal, state, and local governments. 

The Committee expects the FTC to encourage cemeteries and funeral homes to digitize their records and ensure backup copies are 

stored off site. It is the cemeteries’ responsibility to ensure that 

each burial record can be tied to a grave space on a map, which 

in turn can be tied to a grave space on the ground, and digitizing 

these records is one of the best options to ensure that occurs. 

Section 3(b) establishes a one year deadline for promulgating 

these rules and provides the FTC with authority to promulgate the 

rules using the procedures of the Administrative Procedure Act. 

Section 3(c) applies the rules, with one exception, to nonprofit organizations and states. If a cemetery is nonprofit, but is organized, 

operated, managed, and owned by a religious organization and has 

no contract for the organization, operation, or management with a 

for-profit company, it would be exempt from the rules. Section 3(d) 

provides the FTC with the authority to enforce the rules established under this Act. 

Section 4. Enforcement by States 

Section 4 provides states with the ability to enforce the Act, the 

rules issued under the Act, or other provisions of the Trade Regulation Rule on Funeral Industry Practices. 

Section 5. Effect on other law 

Section 5 provides that this Act should not be construed to preempt any state law except to the extent that there is inconsistency, 

and then only to the extent of the inconsistency. 

Section 6. Definitions 

Section 6 establishes definitions for the Act. The section defines 

‘‘cemetery’’ to include any organization, association, or other business that offers for sale the interment, inurnment, or entombment 

of human remains except if that cemetery performs fewer than 25 

interments, inurnments, or entombments per year or sells fewer 


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than 25 such rights during any calendar year. The term ‘‘funeral 

goods’’ is defined as it is by the FTC in the Trade Regulation Rule 

on Funeral Industry Practices. The term ‘‘funeral services’’ is defined to encompass those funeral services covered by the existing 

FTC rule as well as the services provided by funeral directors, morticians, cemeterians, cremationists, and retailers of caskets, urns, 

monuments, and markers. 

EXPLANATION OF AMENDMENT

Rep. Rush of Illinois offered an amendment during full Committee markup to provide an exemption to the requirements of 

H.R. 3655 for cemeteries run by religious organizations with no 

contract for ownership, operation, or management of the cemeteries. Rep. Gingrey of Georgia offered an amendment to the Rush 

amendment that clarified and slightly expanded the exemption to 

exclude those cemeteries run by religious organizations with no 

contract for ownership, operation, or management with a for-profit 

company, thus allowing such contracts with nonprofit entities. The 

Rush amendment, as amended by the Gingrey amendment, was 

agreed to by a voice vote. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

H.R. 3655, as reported, does not make any change in existing 

law. 


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DISSENTING VIEWS 

We sympathize with the intent of H.R. 3655 to provide a federal 

response to the tragic events discovered at the Chicago Burr Oaks 

Cemetery (Burr Oaks) in Alsip, Illinois. We support meaningful 

and effective federal consumer protection when the evidence shows 

that States cannot effectively regulate. However, we believe the isolated events at Burr Oaks do not show any need for federal regulation. The record indicates that Illinois addressed these events aggressively and adequately, and that this type of misconduct does 

not occur frequently. Indeed, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) 

reports only a fraction of one percent of the more than 1.3 million 

consumer complaints it received in 2009 related to funeral services. 

Additionally, we do not believe this legislation is good policy nor 

do we believe it will effectively deter the types of actions that occurred at Burr Oaks. We see no evidence that requiring additional 

disclosures to consumers and recordkeeping would deter actions 

such as occurred in 2009. Criminal prosecution of these and similar 

acts provide a far more effective deterrent to illegal disinterment. 

Extending the current disclosure regulations under the FTC’s ‘‘Funeral Rule’’ to cemeteries and requiring new disclosures by those 

currently subject to the Funeral Rule would increase regulatory 

and compliance costs with little or no associated consumer benefit. 

During Committee consideration of H.R. 3655, an exemption for 

religious non-profit organizations was passed. The majority of 

cemeteries in the United States are run by municipalities and religious organizations. Republicans offered separate amendments to 

exempt the religious and municipally operated cemeteries and funeral homes and restore their statutory exemption from regulation 

by the FTC. Unfortunately, the Majority only accepted the amendment exempting religious organizations from H.R. 3655. This 

leaves all the municipalities that own or operate cemeteries subject 

to federal law and FTC enforcement for the first time, even though 

the record does not include any persuasive evidence that this would 

prevent the types of actions that occurred at Burr Oaks or otherwise benefit consumers. 

There is also the issue of federalism to address. We find evidence 

demonstrating that the States can effectively regulate their cemeteries and funeral providers. When incidents suggesting the need 

for additional regulations do occur—as with Burr Oaks and a few 

others with similar but rare problems—States have responded 

quickly with investigations, prosecutions, and additional regulations as they felt appropriate to address their respective situations. 

We believe Congress should only consider the larger question of 

whether the FTC should have jurisdiction over any non-profit when 

it reauthorizes the FTC rather than on a piecemeal, ad hoc basis. 

Finally, we note that the bill would impose an extremely broad 

obligation on cemeteries to keep all their records indefinitely. This 


smartinez on DSKB9S0YB1PROD with REPORTS
12 

draconian recordkeeping provision would likely impose extensive 

costs with little or no benefit for consumers or law enforcement. 

For these reasons, we, the undersigned, cannot support H.R. 

3655. 

JOE BARTON. MARSHA BLACKBURN. TIM MURPHY. PHIL GINGREY. JOSEPH R. PITTS. ROBERT E. LATTA. JOHN SHIMKUS. CLIFF STEARNS. LEE TERRY. 

Æ 


smartinez on DSKB9S0YB1PROD with REPORTS