Union Calendar No. 357

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3342

[Report No. 103–660]

A BILL

To establish a toll free number in the Department

if products are American-made.of Commerce to assist consumers in determining

AUGUST 3, 1994

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Commitordered to be printed tee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and
IB

Union Calendar No. 357

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3342

[Report No. 103–660]

To establish a toll free number in the Department of Commerce to assist

consumers in determining if products are American-made.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

OCTOBER 21, 1993

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

Committee on Energy and Commerce

AUGUST 3, 1994

Additional sponsors: Mr. QUINN, Mr. LIGHTFOOT, Mr. BARCA of Wisconsin,

Mr. CONYERS, Mr. CRAMER, Mr. GLICKMAN, Mr. APPLEGATE, Mr. MURTHA, Mr. TORRES, Mr. ORTIZ, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. WASHINGTON, Mr.

GORDON, Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey, Mr. BECERRA, Mr. BROWN of Ohio,

Ms. BROWN of Florida, Mr. COPPERSMITH, Mr. PENNY, Mrs. BYRNE,

Mr. COSTELLO, Mr. DE LUGO, Mr. COYNE, Mr. SABO, Mr. PARKER, Mr.

SYNAR, Mr. COLEMAN, Mrs. MORELLA, Mr. GOSS, Mr. HEFLEY, Mr. RAHALL, Mr. PACKARD, Mr. PICKLE, Mrs. SCHROEDER, Mr. LAZIO, Mr.

TORRICELLI, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. LAUGHLIN, Mr. MYERS of Indiana, Mr.

HUNTER, Mr. DINGELL, Mrs. MEEK, Mr. SKELTON, Mr. WELDON, Mrs.

BENTLEY, Mr. PORTMAN, Mr. HORN, Mr. BARTLETT of Maryland, Mr.

RAVENEL, Ms. SNOWE, Mr. DORNAN, Mr. WHITTEN, Mr. HUTTO, Mr.

RICHARDSON, Mr. HANSEN, Mrs. LLOYD, Mr. BALLENGER, Mr. COBLE,

Mr. SKEEN, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. KOPETSKI, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mr.

FLAKE, Mr. CARR of Michigan, Mr. HEFNER, Mr. LEHMAN, Mr. NEAL

of Massachusetts, Mr. MEEHAN, Mr. TAYLOR of Mississippi, Mrs.

UNSOELD, Ms. MOLINARI, Mr. PAXON, Mr. MINETA, Mr. FROST, Mr.

BOEHLERT, Mr. QUILLEN, Mr. DUNCAN, Ms. NORTON, Mr. OBERSTAR,

Mr. MAZZOLI, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. GUNDERSON, Mr. FINGERHUT, Mr.

NUSSLE, Mr. VISCLOSKY, Mr. CLYBURN, Mr. MARTINEZ, Mr. SANDERS,

Mr. CLAY, Mr. WISE, Mr. HAMBURG, Mr. MCCLOSKEY, Mr. MANTON,

Mr. SUNDQUIST, Mrs. MINK, Mr. BEILENSON, Ms. PELOSI, Mr. VOLKMER, Mr. BISHOP, Mr. MOAKLEY, Mr. SMITH of Michigan, Mr. MFUME,

Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, Mr. VENTO, Mr. MANN, Mrs. COLLINS of
2

•HR 3342 RH

Illinois, Mr. BROWN of California, Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA, Mr. STUPAK, Mr.

MORAN, Mr. JACOBS, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. CLEMENT, Mr. DEUTSCH, Miss

COLLINS of Michigan, Mr. WILLIAMS, Mr. DERRICK, Mr. OXLEY, Mr.

LEWIS of California, Mr. HOBSON, Mr. GILMAN, Mr. COLLINS of Georgia, Mr. WILSON, Mr. KLINK, Mr. LIVINGSTON, Mr. YATES, Mr. EVANS,

Mr. BORSKI, Mr. INHOFE, Mr. THORNTON, Ms. MCKINNEY, Ms. WATERS, Ms. HARMAN, Ms. WOOLSEY, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of

Texas, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. MURPHY, Mr. HYDE, Mr. REGULA, Mrs. JOHNSON of Connecticut, Mr. BLUTE, Mr. MCCURDY, Mr.

HAYES, Mr. ROHRABACHER, Mr. KIM, Mr. KANJORSKI, Mr. BARTON of

Texas, Mr. HUGHES, Mr. EDWARDS of California, Ms. DELAURO, Ms.

SLAUGHTER, Mrs. CLAYTON, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. MILLER of California, Mr. STOKES, Mr. HOLDEN, Ms. SHEPHERD, Mr. SCOTT, Mr. VALENTINE, Mr. BARCIA of Michigan, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. MOLLOHAN, Ms.

DUNN, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. BILBRAY, Mr. FRANKS of Connecticut, Mr.

TUCKER, Mr. FOGLIETTA, Mr. STUMP, Mr. BLACKWELL, Mr. JEFFERSON, Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. UPTON, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr. GEPHARDT, Mr. BREWSTER, Mr. FAZIO, Mr.

GINGRICH, Mr. DOOLITTLE, Mr. KINGSTON, Mr. SENSENBRENNER, Mr.

PETRI, Mr. BACHUS of Alabama, Mr. GILLMOR, Ms. LONG, Mr. PETE

GEREN of Texas, Mr. RANGEL, Ms. SCHENK, Mr. ANDREWS of Maine,

Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. INSLEE, Mr. EDWARDS of Texas, Mr. SMITH of

Texas, Mr. CRANE, Mr. EMERSON, Mr. DIAZ-BALART, Mr. BILIRAKIS,

Mrs. ROUKEMA, Mr. SPRATT, Mr. THOMAS of California, Mr. POSHARD,

Mr. WYNN, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. CHAPMAN, Mr. JOHNSON of South

Dakota, Mr. STUDDS, Mr. DELLUMS, Mr. SWETT, Mr. WHEAT, Ms.

PRYCE of Ohio, Mr. FARR of California, Mr. TAUZIN, Mr. REYNOLDS,

Mrs. KENNELLY, Mr. ROSE, Mr. HOKE, Mr. LINDER, Mr. WATT, Mr.

ZIMMER, Mr. BRYANT, Mr. BONIOR, Mr. RUSH, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. WAXMAN, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. KING, Mr. REED, Mr. KILDEE, Ms. FURSE, Mr.

SLATTERY, and Mr. STEARNS

AUGUST 3, 1994

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

A BILL

To establish a toll free number in the Department of Commerce to assist consumers in determining if products

are American-made.
3

•HR 3342 RH

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

3 SECTION 1. ESTABLISHMENT OF TOLL FREE NUMBER.

4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Within 180 days of the date

5 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce

6 shall establish a toll free number which may be used by

7 consumers—

8 (1) to determine if a product is made in Amer9 ica, and

10 (2) learn where products may be purchased or

11 learn a telephone number which will provide infor12 mation on the purchase of products.

13 The Secretary shall publish the number in the Federal

14 Register and undertake such outreach activities as may

15 be appropriate to publicize the number.

16 (b) USE.—Consumers who use the toll free number

17 shall be informed that the product list is not complete but

18 is derived from registrations under section 2.

19 SEC. 2. REGISTRATION.

20 The Secretary of Commerce shall establish a proce21 dure under which the manufacturer of a product which

22 is made in America may register with the Secretary and

23 have such product included in the information available

24 through the toll free number established under section 1.
4

•HR 3342 RH

1 SEC. 3. PENALTY.

2 Any manufacturer of a product who registers a prod3 uct with the Secretary of Commerce under section 2 which

4 is not made in America may not offer such product for

5 purchase by the Federal Government and shall be subject

6 to prosecution under section 5 of the Federal Trade Com7 mission Act for making a deceptive claim.

8 SEC. 4. DEFINITION.

9 For purposes of this Act, the term ‘‘made in Amer10 ica’’ means—

11 (1) an unmanufactured end product mined or

12 produced in the United States, or

13 (2) an end product manufactured in the United

14 States if the cost of its components mined, pro15 duced, or manufactured in the United States exceeds

16 50 percent of the cost of all of its components.

17 SECTION 1. ESTABLISHMENT OF TOLL FREE NUMBER

18 PILOT PROGRAM.

19 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—If the Secretary of Commerce

20 determines, on the basis of comments submitted in rule21 making under section 2, that—

22 (1) interest among manufacturers is sufficient to

23 warrant the establishment of a 3-year toll free number

24 pilot program, and
5

•HR 3342 RH

1 (2) manufacturers will provide fees under section

2 2(c) so that the program will operate without cost to

3 the Federal Government,

4 the Secretary shall establish such program solely to help in5 form consumers whether a product is made in America or

6 the equivalent thereof. The Secretary shall publish the toll7 free number by notice in the Federal Register.

8 (b) CONTRACT.—The Secretary of Commerce shall

9 enter into a contract for—

10 (1) the establishment and operation of the toll

11 free number pilot program provided for in subsection

12 (a), and

13 (2) the registration of products pursuant to regu14 lations issued under section 2,

15 which shall be funded entirely from fees collected under sec16 tion 2(c).

17 (c) USE.—The toll free number shall be used solely to

18 inform consumers as to whether products are registered

19 under section 2 as made in America or the equivalent there20 of. Consumers shall also be informed that registration of

21 a product does not mean—

22 (1) that the product is endorsed or approved by

23 the Government,

24 (2) that the Secretary has conducted any inves25 tigation to confirm that the product is a product
6

•HR 3342 RH

1 which meets the definition of made in America or the

2 equivalent thereof, or

3 (3) that the product contains 100 percent United

4 States content.

5 SEC. 2. REGISTRATION.

6 (a) PROPOSED REGULATION.—The Secretary of Com7 merce shall propose a regulation—

8 (1) to establish a procedure under which the

9 manufacturer of a product may voluntarily register

10 such product as complying with the definition of a

11 product made in America or the equivalent thereof

12 and have such product included in the information

13 available through the toll free number established

14 under section 1(a);

15 (2) to establish, assess, and collect a fee to cover

16 all the costs (including start-up costs) of registering

17 products and including registered products in infor18 mation provided under the toll-free number;

19 (3) for the establishment under section 1(a) of

20 the toll-free number pilot program; and

21 (4) to solicit views from the private sector con22 cerning the level of interest of manufacturers in reg23 istering products under the terms and conditions of

24 paragraph (1).
7

•HR 3342 RH

1 (b) PROMULGATION.—If the Secretary determines

2 based on the comments on the regulation proposed under

3 subsection (a) that the toll-free number pilot program and

4 the registration of products is warranted, the Secretary

5 shall promulgate such regulations

6 (c) REGISTRATION FEE.—

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Manufacturers of products in8 cluded in information provided under section 1 shall

9 be subject to a fee imposed by the Secretary of Com10 merce to pay the cost of registering products and in11 cluding them in information provided under sub12 section (a).

13 (2) AMOUNT.—The amount of fees imposed under

14 paragraph (1) shall—

15 (A) in the case of a manufacturer, not be

16 greater than the cost of registering the manufac17 turer’s product and providing product informa18 tion directly attributable to such manufacturer,

19 and

20 (B) in the case of the total amount of fees,

21 not be greater than the total amount appro22 priated to the Secretary of Commerce for salaries

23 and expenses directly attributable to registration

24 of manufacturers and having products included

25 in the information provided under section 1(a).
8

•HR 3342 RH

1 (3) CREDITING AND AVAILABILITY OF FEES.—

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—Fees collected for a fiscal

3 year pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be credited

4 to the appropriation account for salaries and ex5 penses of the Secretary of Commerce and shall be

6 available in accordance with appropriation Acts

7 until expended without fiscal year limitation.

8 (B) COLLECTIONS AND APPROPRIATION

9 ACTS.—The fees imposed under paragraph (1)—

10 (i) shall be collected in each fiscal year

11 in an amount equal to the amount specified

12 in appropriation Acts for such fiscal year,

13 and

14 (ii) shall only be collected and avail15 able for the costs described in paragraph

16 (2).

17 SEC. 3. PENALTY.

18 Any manufacturer of a product who knowingly reg19 isters a product under section 2 which is not made in Amer20 ica or the equivalent thereof—

21 (1) shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more

22 than $7500 which the Secretary of Commerce may as23 sess and collect, and

24 (2) shall not offer such product for purchase by

25 the Federal Government.
9

•HR 3342 RH

1 SEC. 4. DEFINITION.

2 For purposes of this Act:

3 (1) The term ‘‘made in America or the equiva4 lent thereof’’ means—

5 (A) an unmanufactured end product mined

6 or produced in the United States; or

7 (B) an end product manufactured in the

8 United States if the value of its components

9 mined, produced, or manufactured in the United

10 States equals 90 percent or more of the total

11 value of all of its components.

12 (2) The term ‘‘product’’ means a product with a

13 retail value of at least $250.

14 SEC. 5. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.

15 Nothing in this Act or in any regulation promulgated

16 under section 2 shall be construed to alter, amend, modify,

17 or otherwise affect in any way, the Federal Trade Commis18 sion Act or the opinions, decisions, and rules of the Federal

19 Trade Commission under such Act regarding the use of the

20 term ‘‘made in America or the equivalent thereof’’ in labels

21 on products introduced, delivered for introduction, sold, ad22 vertised, or offered for sale in commerce.