I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2559 

To require the Secretary of Transportation to issue regulations relating to 

the authorization of foreign manufacturers of cylinders, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 15, 2021 

Mr. BALDERSON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of Transportation to issue regulations relating to the authorization of foreign manufacturers of cylinders, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Compressed Gas Cyl5 inder Safety and Oversight Improvements Act of 2021’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act, the following definitions apply: 

8 (1) FOREIGN MANUFACTURER OF CYLINDERS; 

9 FMOC.—The terms ‘‘foreign manufacturer of cylVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:16 Jun 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2559.IH H2559

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1 inders’’ and ‘‘FMOC’’ mean an entity that manufac2 tures cylinders outside of the United States intended 

3 to be represented, marked, certified, or sold as quali4 fied for use in transporting hazardous material in 

5 commerce in the United States. 

6 (2) IN GOOD STANDING.—The term ‘‘in good 

7 standing’’ means an FMOC that— 

8 (A) is has been authorized by the Sec9 retary pursuant to section 107.807 of title 49, 

10 Code of Federal Regulations; and 

11 (B) has demonstrated 3 years of compli12 ance with section 107 of title 49, United States 

13 Code, and chapter 51 of title 49, United States 

14 Code. 

15 (3) CYLINDER.—The term ‘‘cylinder’’ means 

16 any cylinder specified under sections 178.36 through 

17 178.68 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations. 

18 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

19 the Secretary of Transportation. 

20 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF FOREIGN MANUFACTURER OF 

21 CYLINDERS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall issue regula23 tions to provide that an authorization provided to an 

24 FMOC pursuant to section 107.807 of title 49, Code of 

25 Federal Regulations, or any similar successor regulation, 


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1 shall be for a period of not longer than 1 year, except 

2 as provided for in subsection (b). 

3 (b) 5-YEAR AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary may 

4 approve a 5-year authorization of an FMOC pursuant to 

5 such section if the following requirements are met: 

6 (1) The FMOC attests that none of the cyl7 inders made by such manufacturer are prohibited 

8 from entry to the United States under section 307 

9 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1307). 

10 (2) The FMOC certifies that— 

11 (A) the information provided pursuant to 

12 section 7 is accurate; and 

13 (B) the FMOC has a proactive responsi14 bility to inform the Secretary if any such infor15 mation materially changes. 

16 (3) The FMOC provides proof of the minimum 

17 financial responsibility required under section 4. 

18 (4) The Secretary determines the FMOC is in 

19 good standing. 

20 (c) FACILITY INSPECTIONS.— 

21 (1) PENALTIES.—The Secretary may suspend 

22 or terminate an authorization of an FMOC de23 scribed in this Act if such FMOC obstructs or pre24 vents the Secretary from carrying out an inspection 


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1 under section 107.807(c) of title 49, Code of Federal 

2 Regulations. 

3 (2) DEFINITION OF OBSTRUCTS.—For the pur4 poses of this subsection, the term ‘‘obstructs’’ means 

5 taking actions that are known, or reasonably should 

6 be known, to prevent, hinder, or impede an inspec7 tion. 

8 (d) INTERACTION WITH OTHER STATUTES, AGREE9 MENTS, REGULATIONS.—Nothing in this section may be 

10 construed to prevent the harmonization of cylinder stand11 ards otherwise authorized by law or regulation. 

12 (e) OTHER CAUSE FOR SUSPENSION OR TERMI13 NATION.—The Secretary may suspend or terminate an au14 thorization of an FMOC described in this Act upon deter15 mination that the FMOC knowingly or intentionally mis16 represented responses to the Secretary required by law or 

17 regulation or the requirements of sections 4 and 7. 

18 SEC. 4. PROOF OF MINIMUM FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY 

19 REQUIRED AT TIME OF APPLICATION. 

20 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

21 of this Act, the Secretary shall issue such regulations as 

22 are necessary to establish minimum levels of financial re23 sponsibility required for entities to receive approval pursu24 ant to section 107.807 of title 49, Code of Federal Regula25 tions. 


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1 SEC. 5. REEVALUATION BY REQUEST FOR RELATED VIOLA2 TIONS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

4 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall issue 

5 such regulations as necessary to establish a process for 

6 any interested party to request a reevaluation of the au7 thorization of FMOC cylinders under section 107.807 of 

8 title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, to review the accu9 racy and safety of the actions of such manufacturer. 

10 (b) PETITION FOR REEVALUATION.—Such regula11 tions shall allow an interested party to file a petition if 

12 such party has evidence of inaccurate, changed, or fraudu13 lent attestations or responses made by an FMOC to the 

14 Secretary under section 3 or 7. 

15 SEC. 6. NOTICE AND COMMENT FOR APPLICATIONS BY 

16 FOREIGN MANUFACTURERS OF CYLINDERS. 

17 Upon receipt of an application for approval under 

18 section 107.807 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, 

19 or any similar successor regulation, the Secretary shall 

20 timely publish notification of such application in the Fed21 eral Register and provide 30 days for public comment on 

22 such application prior to approval. 

23 SEC. 7. ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS TO ENSURE SAFETY AND 

24 COMPLIANCE WITH DOT PROCESS. 

25 (a) ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS.—The Secretary shall 

26 require as part of an application for approval pursuant 


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1 to section 107.807 of title 49, Code of Federal Regula2 tions, or any similar successor regulation, that the appli3 cant answer the following questions: 

4 (1) Whether the FMOC applying, or any entity 

5 controlling more than 10 percent of such FMOC, 

6 has ever been subject to a civil monetary penalty 

7 under title 49, United States Code, relating to any 

8 actions carried out as an authorized FMOC or dur9 ing the application for authorization under such sec10 tion. 

11 (2) Whether the FMOC applying, or any entity 

12 controlling more than 10 percent of such FMOC, 

13 has been delinquent in the payment of any civil mon14 etary penalties or other fines or fees under title 49, 

15 United States Code. 

16 (3) Whether the FMOC applying, or any entity 

17 controlling more than 10 percent of such FMOC, is 

18 subject to the Do Not Pay Initiative established 

19 under section 3354 of title 31, United States Code, 

20 as of the date of application. 

21 (4) Whether the FMOC applying, or any entity 

22 controlling more than 10 percent of such FMOC, is 

23 listed in the Military End User List of the Depart24 ment of Commerce as of the date of application. 


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1 (5) Whether the FMOC applying, or any entity 

2 controlling more than 10 percent of such FMOC, is 

3 identified by the Department of Defense as an entity 

4 listed under section 1237 of the Strom Thurmond 

5 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 

6 1999 (50 U.S.C. 1701 note) as of the date of appli7 cation. 

8 (6) Does the FMOC applying certify that the 

9 FMOC has the requisite minimum financial respon10 sibility as required in section 4, and that such finan11 cial responsibility will continue throughout entirety 

12 of the requested authorization period. 

13 (7) Whether the FMOC applying, or any entity 

14 controlling more than 10 percent of such FMOC, 

15 has been found guilty of a criminal penalty or as16 sessed a civil penalty under section 1760 John S. 

17 McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fis18 cal Year 2019 section (50 U.S.C. 4819). 

19 (8) Whether the FMOC applying, or any entity 

20 controlling more than 10 percent of such FMOC, is 

21 currently subject to a final antidumping or counter22 vailing duty order from the Department of Com23 merce as of the date of application. 

24 (b) DENIAL OF APPLICATION.—The Secretary may 

25 deny an application for approval under section 107.807 


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1 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, based on the re2 sponses to the questions required under subsection (a). 

3 SEC. 8. FOREIGN MANUFACTURERS LISTING APPROVALS. 

4 Not less than 1 year after the date of enactment of 

5 this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall pub6 lish and maintain on the website of the Department of 

7 Transportation, a list of authorized FMOCs and the dura8 tion of such authorization. 

9 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZING FOREIGN INSPECTIONS. 

10 Not less than 180 days after the date of enactment 

11 of this Act, the Secretary shall update section 107.807(d) 

12 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, to— 

13 (1) require that in any case in which the Asso14 ciate Administrator determines there is good cause, 

15 an inspection under such section shall be carried out 

16 annually for such duration as the Associated Admin17 istrator determines appropriate; 

18 (2) specify that a refusal of inspection under 

19 such section shall result in a loss of a status of in 

20 good standing; 

21 (3) allow the Associate Administrator to request 

22 at the discretion of the Administrator, production of 

23 test and production records and random sample test24 ing; and 


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1 (4) allow for the recovery of all associated costs 

2 of foreign inspections to include travel, time, and 

3 other costs, as determined by the Secretary. 

Æ 


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