H5826 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE September 11, 2012 

Today marks 11 years since we experienced a devastating loss of life. 

9/11 marked all of our lives by surfacing 

doubts of our resiliency as a Country. 

There is no doubt, today, that we are resilient and that we are survivors. Let’s not forget 

the progress we have made in transportation 

security policies and we must continue to support measures that take us forward and provide a more safe and secure transportation for 

all Americans. 

That is why I support H.R. 6028 and ask 

that my colleagues do the same. 

b 1700 

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. 

Speaker, I have no more speakers. If 

the gentleman from Illinois has no 

more speakers, then I am prepared to 

close. 

Mr. WALSH of Illinois. I have no 

more speakers. 

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. I 

yield myself such time as I may consume. 

Mr. Speaker, on this day above all 

others, we turn our thoughts to those 

who were lost in the tragic events of 9/ 

11. It is unfortunate that the House has 

missed the opportunity today to consider noncontroversial Homeland Security legislation introduced by both 

Democrats and Republicans, thus 

showing that on 9/11 we put partisan 

politics aside and focused on doing the 

right thing. 

Before closing, I would like to extend 

my congratulations to the gentleman 

from Illinois, Representative WALSH, 

for having bills on the floor for consideration for the first time today. I suspect that he is as surprised as I am 

that one of his first bills to reach the 

floor was proposed to Congress by the 

Obama administration. 

With that, Mr. Speaker, I urge the 

passage of this proposal from the 

Obama administration, and I yield 

back the balance of my time. 

Mr. WALSH of Illinois. I thank the 

ranking member. 

I urge all Members, Mr. Speaker, to 

join me in support of this bipartisan 

bill, and I yield back the balance of my 

time. 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The 

question is on the motion offered by 

the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. 

WALSH) that the House suspend the 

rules and pass the bill, H.R. 6028, as 

amended. 

The question was taken; and (twothirds being in the affirmative) the 

rules were suspended and the bill, as 

amended, was passed. 

A motion to reconsider was laid on 

the table. 

f 

HAZARDOUS WASTE ELECTRONIC 

MANIFEST ESTABLISHMENT ACT 

Mr. MURPHY of Pennsylvania. Mr. 

Speaker, I move to suspend the rules 

and pass the bill (S. 710) to amend the 

Solid Waste Disposal Act to direct the 

Administrator of the Environmental 

Protection Agency to establish a hazardous waste electronic manifest system, as amended. 

The Clerk read the title of the bill. 

The text of the amendment is as follows: 

Strike out all after the enacting clause and 

insert: 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Hazardous 

Waste Electronic Manifest Establishment Act’’. 

SEC. 2. HAZARDOUS WASTE ELECTRONIC MANIFEST SYSTEM. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle C of the Solid Waste 

Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6921 et seq.) is amended 

by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘SEC. 3024. HAZARDOUS WASTE ELECTRONIC 

MANIFEST SYSTEM. 

‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

‘‘(1) BOARD.—The term ‘Board’ means the 

Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest System 

Advisory Board established under subsection (f). 

‘‘(2) FUND.—The term ‘Fund’ means the Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest System Fund 

established by subsection (d). 

‘‘(3) PERSON.—The term ‘person’ includes an 

individual, corporation (including a Government corporation), company, association, firm, 

partnership, society, joint stock company, trust, 

municipality, commission, Federal agency, 

State, political subdivision of a State, or interstate body. 

‘‘(4) SYSTEM.—The term ‘system’ means the 

hazardous waste electronic manifest system established under subsection (b). 

‘‘(5) USER.—The term ‘user’ means a hazardous waste generator, a hazardous waste 

transporter, an owner or operator of a hazardous waste treatment, storage, recycling, or 

disposal facility, or any other person that— 

‘‘(A) is required to use a manifest to comply 

with any Federal or State requirement to track 

the shipment, transportation, and receipt of 

hazardous waste or other material that is 

shipped from the site of generation to an off-site 

facility for treatment, storage, disposal, or recycling; and 

‘‘(B)(i) elects to use the system to complete 

and transmit an electronic manifest format; or 

‘‘(ii) submits to the system for data processing 

purposes a paper copy of the manifest (or data 

from such a paper copy), in accordance with 

such regulations as the Administrator may promulgate to require such a submission. 

‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 3 years 

after the date of enactment of this section, the 

Administrator shall establish a hazardous waste 

electronic manifest system that may be used by 

any user. 

‘‘(c) USER FEES.— 

‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In accordance with paragraph (4), the Administrator may impose on 

users such reasonable service fees as the Administrator determines to be necessary to pay costs 

incurred in developing, operating, maintaining, 

and upgrading the system, including any costs 

incurred in collecting and processing data from 

any paper manifest submitted to the system 

after the date on which the system enters operation. 

‘‘(2) COLLECTION OF FEES.—The Administrator 

shall— 

‘‘(A) collect the fees described in paragraph 

(1) from the users in advance of, or as reimbursement for, the provision by the Administrator of system-related services; and 

‘‘(B) deposit the fees in the Fund. 

‘‘(3) FEE STRUCTURE.— 

‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, in consultation with information technology vendors, 

shall determine through the contract award 

process described in subsection (e) the fee structure that is necessary to recover the full cost to 

the Administrator of providing system-related 

services, including— 

‘‘(i) contractor costs relating to— 

‘‘(I) materials and supplies; 

‘‘(II) contracting and consulting; 

‘‘(III) overhead; 

‘‘(IV) information technology (including costs 

of hardware, software, and related services); 

‘‘(V) information management; 

‘‘(VI) collection of service fees; 

‘‘(VII) reporting and accounting; and 

‘‘(VIII) project management; and 

‘‘(ii) costs of employment of direct and indirect Government personnel dedicated to establishing, managing, and maintaining the system. 

‘‘(B) ADJUSTMENTS IN FEE AMOUNT.— 

‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, in consultation with the Board, shall increase or decrease the amount of a service fee determined 

under the fee structure described in subparagraph (A) to a level that will— 

‘‘(I) result in the collection of an aggregate 

amount for deposit in the Fund that is sufficient 

and not more than reasonably necessary to 

cover current and projected system-related costs 

(including any necessary system upgrades); and 

‘‘(II) minimize, to the maximum extent practicable, the accumulation of unused amounts in 

the Fund. 

‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION FOR INITIAL PERIOD OF OPERATION.—The requirement described in clause 

(i)(II) shall not apply to any additional fees 

that accumulate in the Fund, in an amount that 

does not exceed $2,000,000, during the 3-year period beginning on the date on which the system 

enters operation. 

‘‘(iii) TIMING OF ADJUSTMENTS.—Adjustments 

to service fees described in clause (i) shall be 

made— 

‘‘(I) initially, at the time at which initial development costs of the system have been recovered by the Administrator such that the service 

fee may be reduced to reflect the elimination of 

the system development component of the fee; 

and 

‘‘(II) periodically thereafter, upon receipt and 

acceptance of the findings of any annual accounting or auditing report under subsection 

(d)(3), if the report discloses a significant disparity for a fiscal year between the funds collected from service fees under this subsection for 

the fiscal year and expenditures made for the 

fiscal year to provide system-related services. 

‘‘(4) CREDITING AND AVAILABILITY OF FEES.— 

Fees authorized under this section shall be collected and available for obligation only to the 

extent and in the amount provided in advance 

in appropriations Acts. 

‘‘(d) HAZARDOUS WASTE ELECTRONIC MANIFEST SYSTEM FUND.— 

‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in 

the Treasury of the United States a revolving 

fund, to be known as the ‘Hazardous Waste 

Electronic Manifest System Fund’, consisting of 

such amounts as are deposited in the Fund 

under subsection (c)(2)(B). 

‘‘(2) EXPENDITURES FROM FUND.— 

‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Only to the extent provided in advance in appropriations Acts, on request by the Administrator, the Secretary of the 

Treasury shall transfer from the Fund to the 

Administrator amounts appropriated to pay 

costs incurred in developing, operating, maintaining, and upgrading the system under subsection (c). 

‘‘(B) USE OF FUNDS BY ADMINISTRATOR.—Fees 

collected by the Administrator and deposited in 

the Fund under this section shall be available to 

the Administrator subject to appropriations Acts 

for use in accordance with this section without 

fiscal year limitation. 

‘‘(C) OVERSIGHT OF FUNDS.—The Administrator shall carry out all necessary measures to 

ensure that amounts in the Fund are used only 

to carry out the goals of establishing, operating, 

maintaining, upgrading, managing, supporting, 

and overseeing the system. 

‘‘(3) ACCOUNTING AND AUDITING.— 

‘‘(A) ACCOUNTING.—For each 2-fiscal-year period, the Administrator shall prepare and submit 

to the Committee on Environment and Public 

Works and the Committee on Appropriations of 

the Senate and the Committee on Energy and 

Commerce and the Committee on Appropriations 


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September 11, 2012 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE H5827 

of the House of Representatives a report that includes— 

‘‘(i) an accounting of the fees paid to the Administrator under subsection (c) and disbursed 

from the Fund for the period covered by the report, as reflected by financial statements provided in accordance with— 

‘‘(I) the Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990 

(Public Law 101–576; 104 Stat. 2838) and amendments made by that Act; and 

‘‘(II) the Government Management Reform 

Act of 1994 (Public Law 103–356; 108 Stat. 3410) 

and amendments made by that Act; and 

‘‘(ii) an accounting describing actual expenditures from the Fund for the period covered by 

the report for costs described in subsection 

(c)(1). 

‘‘(B) AUDITING.— 

‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—For the purpose of section 

3515(c) of title 31, United States Code, the Fund 

shall be considered a component of an Executive 

agency. 

‘‘(ii) COMPONENTS OF AUDIT.—The annual 

audit required in accordance with sections 

3515(b) and 3521 of title 31, United States Code, 

of the financial statements of activities carried 

out using amounts from the Fund shall include 

an analysis of— 

‘‘(I) the fees collected and disbursed under 

this section; 

‘‘(II) the reasonableness of the fee structure in 

place as of the date of the audit to meet current 

and projected costs of the system; 

‘‘(III) the level of use of the system by users; 

and 

‘‘(IV) the success to date of the system in operating on a self-sustaining basis and improving 

the efficiency of tracking waste shipments and 

transmitting waste shipment data. 

‘‘(iii) FEDERAL RESPONSIBILITY.—The Inspector General of the Environmental Protection 

Agency shall— 

‘‘(I) conduct the annual audit described in 

clause (ii); and 

‘‘(II) submit to the Administrator a report that 

describes the findings and recommendations of 

the Inspector General resulting from the audit. 

‘‘(e) CONTRACTS.— 

‘‘(1) AUTHORITY TO ENTER INTO CONTRACTS

FUNDED BY SERVICE FEES.—After consultation 

with the Secretary of Transportation, the Administrator may enter into 1 or more information 

technology contracts with entities determined to 

be appropriate by the Administrator (referred to 

in this subsection as ‘contractors’) for the provision of system-related services. 

‘‘(2) TERM OF CONTRACT.—A contract awarded 

under this subsection shall have a term of not 

more than 10 years. 

‘‘(3) ACHIEVEMENT OF GOALS.—The Administrator shall ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, that a contract awarded under this subsection— 

‘‘(A) is performance-based; 

‘‘(B) identifies objective outcomes; and 

‘‘(C) contains performance standards that 

may be used to measure achievement and goals 

to evaluate the success of a contractor in performing under the contract and the right of the 

contractor to payment for services under the 

contract, taking into consideration that a primary measure of successful performance shall be 

the development of a hazardous waste electronic 

manifest system that— 

‘‘(i) meets the needs of the user community 

(including States that rely on data contained in 

manifests); 

‘‘(ii) attracts sufficient user participation and 

service fee revenues to ensure the viability of the 

system; 

‘‘(iii) decreases the administrative burden on 

the user community; and 

‘‘(iv) provides the waste receipt data applicable to the biennial reports required by section 

3002(a)(6). 

‘‘(4) PAYMENT STRUCTURE.—Each contract 

awarded under this subsection shall include a 

provision that specifies— 

‘‘(A) the service fee structure of the contractor 

that will form the basis for payments to the contractor; and 

‘‘(B) the fixed-share ratio of monthly service 

fee revenues from which the Administrator shall 

reimburse the contractor for system-related development, operation, and maintenance costs. 

‘‘(5) CANCELLATION AND TERMINATION.— 

‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If the Administrator determines that sufficient funds are not made available for the continuation in a subsequent fiscal 

year of a contract entered into under this subsection, the Administrator may cancel or terminate the contract. 

‘‘(B) NEGOTIATION OF AMOUNTS.—The amount 

payable in the event of cancellation or termination of a contract entered into under this subsection shall be negotiated with the contractor 

at the time at which the contract is awarded. 

‘‘(6) NO EFFECT ON OWNERSHIP.—Regardless of 

whether the Administrator enters into a contract under this subsection, the system shall be 

owned by the Federal Government. 

‘‘(f) HAZARDOUS WASTE ELECTRONIC MANIFEST SYSTEM ADVISORY BOARD.— 

‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 3 years 

after the date of enactment of this section, the 

Administrator shall establish a board to be 

known as the ‘Hazardous Waste Electronic 

Manifest System Advisory Board’. 

‘‘(2) COMPOSITION.—The Board shall be composed of 9 members, of which— 

‘‘(A) 1 member shall be the Administrator (or 

a designee), who shall serve as Chairperson of 

the Board; and 

‘‘(B) 8 members shall be individuals appointed 

by the Administrator— 

‘‘(i) at least 2 of whom shall have expertise in 

information technology; 

‘‘(ii) at least 3 of whom shall have experience 

in using or represent users of the manifest system to track the transportation of hazardous 

waste under this subtitle (or an equivalent State 

program); and 

‘‘(iii) at least 3 of whom shall be a State representative responsible for processing those 

manifests. 

‘‘(3) DUTIES.—The Board shall meet annually 

to discuss, evaluate the effectiveness of, and 

provide recommendations to the Administrator 

relating to, the system. 

‘‘(g) REGULATIONS.— 

‘‘(1) PROMULGATION.— 

‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

the date of enactment of this section, after consultation with the Secretary of Transportation, 

the Administrator shall promulgate regulations 

to carry out this section. 

‘‘(B) INCLUSIONS.—The regulations promulgated pursuant to subparagraph (A) may include such requirements as the Administrator 

determines to be necessary to facilitate the transition from the use of paper manifests to the use 

of electronic manifests, or to accommodate the 

processing of data from paper manifests in the 

electronic manifest system, including a requirement that users of paper manifests submit to the 

system copies of the paper manifests for data 

processing purposes. 

‘‘(C) REQUIREMENTS.—The regulations promulgated pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall 

ensure that each electronic manifest provides, to 

the same extent as paper manifests under applicable Federal and State law, for— 

‘‘(i) the ability to track and maintain legal accountability of— 

‘‘(I) the person that certifies that the information provided in the manifest is accurately described; and 

‘‘(II) the person that acknowledges receipt of 

the manifest; 

‘‘(ii) if the manifest is electronically submitted, State authority to access paper printout 

copies of the manifest from the system; and 

‘‘(iii) access to all publicly available information contained in the manifest. 

‘‘(2) EFFECTIVE DATE OF REGULATIONS.—Any 

regulation promulgated by the Administrator 

under paragraph (1) and in accordance with 

section 3003 relating to electronic manifesting of 

hazardous waste shall take effect in each State 

as of the effective date specified in the regulation. 

‘‘(3) ADMINISTRATION.—The Administrator 

shall carry out regulations promulgated under 

this subsection in each State unless the State 

program is fully authorized to carry out such 

regulations in lieu of the Administrator. 

‘‘(h) REQUIREMENT OF COMPLIANCE WITH RESPECT TO CERTAIN STATES.—In any case in 

which the State in which waste is generated, or 

the State in which waste will be transported to 

a designated facility, requires that the waste be 

tracked through a hazardous waste manifest, 

the designated facility that receives the waste 

shall, regardless of the State in which the facility is located— 

‘‘(1) complete the facility portion of the applicable manifest; 

‘‘(2) sign and date the facility certification; 

and 

‘‘(3) submit to the system a final copy of the 

manifest for data processing purposes. 

‘‘(i) AUTHORIZATION FOR START-UP ACTIVITIES.—There are authorized to be appropriated 

$2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2013 through 

2015 for start-up activities to carry out this section, to be offset by collection of user fees under 

subsection (c) such that all such appropriated 

funds are offset by fees as provided in subsection (c).’’. 

(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of 

contents of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 

U.S.C. 6901) is amended by inserting at the end 

of the items relating to subtitle C the following: 

‘‘Sec. 3024. Hazardous waste electronic manifest 

system.’’. 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 

Pennsylvania (Mr. MURPHY) and the 

gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. 

BUTTERFIELD) each will control 20 minutes. 

The recognizes the gentleman from 

Pennsylvania. 

GENERAL LEAVE

Mr. MURPHY of Pennsylvania. Mr. 

Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that 

all Members have 5 legislative days in 

which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous materials 

in the RECORD on S. 710. 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there 

objection to the request of the gentleman from Pennsylvania? 

There was no objection. 

Mr. MURPHY of Pennsylvania. Mr. 

Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 

may consume. 

The enactment of S. 710 will enable 

the EPA to employ current technology 

to sharply reduce paperwork regulatory requirements at the same time 

it makes crucial information more accessible for States, first responders, 

and the public. 

When people create hazardous waste, 

we require them to carefully track the 

movement and disposition. That way 

we know that, when a drum full of 

some hazardous waste is removed from 

a factory, the same amount winds up 

where it belongs—in a proper disposal 

facility—and that none of it is tossed 

into a sewer or a vacant lot. But for 

years, guaranteeing this actually happened meant keeping up with the reporting requirement—filling out multiple copies of paper forms and mailing 

them to the EPA and State officials, as 


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H5828 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE September 11, 2012 

well as keeping paper copies at each 

place of business. 

The inefficiency of this system in today’s electronic business-to-business 

world certainly stands out to anyone. 

In fact, we learned of a case when first 

responders arrived at the scene of a 

chemical plant fire and they needed to 

know what substances were inside the 

plant before they started fighting the 

fire. In the whole city, the only copies 

of the forms identifying the hazardous 

waste were inside the building and 

were consumed in the fire. Now, there 

has got to be a better way. 

With an electronic system, instead of 

filling out long forms and mailing 

them, the critically needed data, with 

a few computer key strokes, can be 

sent wherever it is needed. State regulators, first responders, and others will 

be able to pull it up on their computers 

and track the materials in real time. 

The changeover will not only save millions of dollars for regulated businesses, but quite frankly, it will save 

lives. So, even though the e-manifest 

system in S. 710 is funded by user fees, 

I want to note it will not be a burden 

on small businesses. Users pay only 

when and to the extent they file manifests. Otherwise, the new system will 

work like the old paper system, where 

the process to identify discrepancies in 

shipments is preserved. 

Mr. Speaker, S. 710 was a good bill 

when it arrived here from the other 

body, but we made it better. First, we 

converted it from so-called ‘‘mandatory’’ spending to ‘‘discretionary.’’ 

That will allow our colleagues on the 

Appropriations Committees an annual 

chance to review the program and 

make sure that money collected from 

users and money spent on the system is 

only enough to get the job done. Next, 

in working with our friends from the 

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, we added language to help 

the EPA harmonize its changeover to 

electronic filing with the Department 

of Transportation. The DOT also has 

its own requirements for handling and 

reporting hazardous materials, and we 

want the agencies to talk to each other 

and their computers to speak the same 

language. 

So, Mr. Speaker, I urge the House to 

send S. 710, as amended, back to the 

other body, where we expect it to be 

approved without further amendment 

so that the President can sign it into 

law. 

I reserve the balance of my time. 

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I 

yield myself such time as I may consume. 

I rise in strong support of the Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest Establishment Act, as amended by the 

Energy and Commerce Committee. 

This legislation will establish a centralized, Federal electronic manifest 

system for tracking hazardous waste 

for both the Federal Government and 

the States, and will pay for it through 

the collection of user fees. 

Protecting the public from hazardous 

waste is certainly a critical mission of 

the Department of Transportation and 

the EPA. Both departments, in coordination with industry and State agencies, have been vigilant in the treatment and transport of hazardous waste 

because of the safeguards established 

by the hazardous waste manifest system. Paper manifests provide shipping 

information to help with the tracking 

of potentially dangerous materials and 

information about the contents of each 

shipment for emergency responders. 

The requirements of the current system were established over 30 years ago. 

Since 2001, the EPA has proposed a 

nearly paperless manifest system, 

which would reduce the financial burden of paperwork on States and the industry. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson described the adoption of an electronic system for manifests as ‘‘an investment in modernizing the system 

that will pay off in efficiency later.’’ 

That is why this legislation has wide 

support from hazardous waste generators, shippers, and processors, in that 

it reduces administrative and paperwork burdens. 

The Congressional Budget Office estimates that this program will yield net 

annual savings for industry and the 

States of over $100 million per year. 

The CBO also estimates that about 

114,000 shippers would use this new system in the year 2016, with shipping 

users almost doubling in later years to 

227,000. 

Environmental groups also support 

this legislation because it will lead to 

‘‘reductions in regulatory burden while 

simultaneously increasing the timeliness and availability of hazardous 

waste data’’ and ‘‘better protecting our 

environment.’’ Those are their quotes. 

I think the gentleman from Pennsylvania made reference to this a moment 

ago. In 2006, a fire erupted at a hazardous waste disposal facility in my 

home State of North Carolina. When 

first responders arrived on the scene, 

they could not access information 

about the hazardous chemicals inside 

of the facility because the paper manifests were inside the building that was 

burning. 

We should bring this system, Mr. 

Speaker, into the 21st century. Technology has advanced. We all know that. 

There has been such advancement in 

technology over the last 32 years, and 

we should no longer be relying on carbon copies to track potentially dangerous shipments. Today’s proposed 

legislation also maintains flexibility 

for small businesses by making participation in the electronic reporting program voluntary. It’s not compulsory. It 

is a voluntary proposal. So, if any firm 

chooses, it can still use paper-based reporting methods. 

As it passed the Senate, S. 710 embodied concepts that are widely supported, but it carried significant costs 

and direct spending, and deviated from 

the common practice of making the 

collection and utilization of user fees 

subject to appropriation. 

b 1710 

But Chairman SHIMKUS worked closely with the Democratic members of the 

Environment and Economy Subcommittee to craft a substitute bill 

that addresses concerns while preserving the benefits of the legislation. 

The bill passed out of our subcommittee and the full Energy and 

Commerce Committee on voice votes 

with strong bipartisan support. I believe, Mr. Speaker, it has a high likelihood of being accepted by the Senate 

and the President. We will certainly 

give them that opportunity. I urge my 

colleagues to support this bill so we 

can finally see this significant improvement signed into law. 

I want to thank Mr. MURPHY and all 

of the other Members who worked to 

expedite this legislation and get it to 

the floor today. I’m going to ask my 

colleagues to join with us in passing 

this bill. 

With that said, Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. 

Mr. MURPHY of Pennsylvania. Mr. 

Speaker, I have no more speakers on 

this bill, and I’m prepared to close if 

the gentleman from North Carolina is 

prepared to close, as well. 

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. I don’t have any 

more speakers, and I too am prepared 

to close. 

Mr. Speaker, as the final speaker, I 

yield myself such time as I may consume. 

Mr. Speaker, let me again thank Mr. 

MURPHY, the gentleman from Pennsylvania, and Mr. SHIMKUS, and the chair 

and the ranking member of all the 

committees of jurisdiction for their extraordinary work on this bill. 

This is a critical piece of legislation. 

All of the stakeholders who are involved in disposing of chemicals and 

shipping chemicals are all in agreement that this is necessary. In fact, 

the time has passed that we pass this 

type of legislation. We live in a new 

age of technology now, so there’s no 

excuse for us not automating these 

procedures. This bill today enables 

that to happen. 

I want to thank all of my colleagues 

on both sides of the aisle for their spirit of bipartisanship in getting this to 

the floor. I ask my colleagues to please 

vote ‘‘yes’’ on this important legislation. 

With that, I yield back the balance of 

my time. 

Mr. MURPHY of Pennsylvania. Mr. 

Speaker, I ask that all Members support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time. 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The 

question is on the motion offered by 

the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. 

MURPHY) that the House suspend the 

rules and pass the bill, S. 710, as 

amended. 

The question was taken; and (twothirds being in the affirmative) the 

rules were suspended and the bill, as 

amended, was passed. 

A motion to reconsider was laid on 

the table. 


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September 11, 2012 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE H5829 

U.S. SAFE WEB ACT OF 2006 

EXTENSION ACT 

Mrs. BONO MACK. Mr. Speaker, I 

move to suspend the rules and pass the 

bill (H.R. 6131) to extend the Undertaking Spam, Spyware, And Fraud Enforcement With Enforcers beyond Borders Act of 2006, and for other purposes. 

The Clerk read the title of the bill. 

The text of the bill is as follows: 

H.R. 6131 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of 

Representatives of the United States of America 

in Congress assembled, 

SECTION 1. EXTENSION OF THE U.S. SAFE WEB 

ACT OF 2006. 

Section 13 of the U.S. SAFE WEB Act of 

2006 (Public Law 109–455; 15 U.S.C. 44 note) is 

amended to read as follows: 

‘‘SEC. 13. SUNSET. 

‘‘Effective September 30, 2020, this Act, and 

the amendments made by this Act, are repealed, and any provision of law amended by 

this Act shall be amended to read as if this 

Act had not been enacted into law.’’. 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 

California (Mrs. BONO MACK) and the 

gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. 

BUTTERFIELD) each will control 20 minutes. 

The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from California. 

GENERAL LEAVE

Mrs. BONO MACK. Mr. Speaker, I 

ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in 

which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous materials 

in the RECORD on H.R. 6131. 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there 

objection to the request of the gentlewoman from California? 

There was no objection. 

Mrs. BONO MACK. Mr. Speaker, I 

yield myself such time as I may consume. 

Mr. Speaker, as chairman of the 

House Subcommittee on Commerce, 

Manufacturing and Trade, I rise today 

in strong support of H.R. 6131, a bill to 

reauthorize the U.S. SAFE Web Act of 

2006. 

I would like to thank Energy and 

Commerce Committee Chairman UPTON

for his leadership on this important 

issue, as well as Ranking Member WAXMAN. But a special thank you also goes 

out to my good friend and lead coauthor of H.R. 6131, our subcommittee’s 

ranking member, Mr. BUTTERFIELD of 

North Carolina, for his strong bipartisan support. 

When it comes to the future of electronic commerce, consumer trust and 

online privacy are trending topics that 

Americans care very deeply about. 

Today, the Internet serves billions of 

users worldwide with e-commerce in 

the U.S. topping $200 billion last year 

for the first time and up a remarkable 

15 percent so far this year. But lurking 

online are hackers, cyberthieves, and 

even organized crime rings. 

As someone who is deeply involved in 

online privacy issues, as well as consumer protection, I’m very concerned 

that e-commerce will cease to grow and 

flourish if Americans lose faith in their 

ability to be protected from online 

predators, jeopardizing future innovation, as well as our Nation’s fragile 

economic recovery. 

One important tool in combating 

crossborder fraud, spam, and spyware 

is this act, which is set to expire next 

year. H.R. 6131 reauthorizes important 

crime-fighting and consumer protection law for another 7 years. 

By any measure, the U.S. SAFE Web 

Act has been extremely effective, allowing the Federal Trade Commission 

to better protect U.S. consumers from 

fraud, deception, spam and spyware, 

and crossborder cases involving threats 

originating both domestically and 

abroad. And to give you an idea of just 

how well it’s working, no opposition to 

reauthorizing the law has been expressed from either the business community or by advocacy groups. 

Most importantly, the U.S. SAFE 

Web Act enhances the FTC’s investigative and enforcement functions by authorizing information sharing with foreign enforcement agencies, something 

the commission may not do without 

express authorization. The act only allows information sharing with countries whose law on data sharing is substantially similar to that governing 

the FTC, and the FTC may share data 

only under conditions where the information will be treated confidentially 

and a country will reciprocate information sharing with the FTC. Clearly, we 

would be fighting an uphill battle if 

these critically important consumer 

protections were not in place. 

About a decade ago, the Federal 

Trade Commission began to highlight 

the growing problems that it encountered in effectively combating Internet 

scams and fraud directed at American 

citizens by foreign operators, oftentimes involving organized crime rings. 

By 2005, an estimated 20 percent of consumer complaints the FTC received involved fraud originating outside of the 

U.S., costing American consumers hundreds of millions of dollars each year. 

In order to expand its ability to effectively fight online fraud, the FTC sent 

Congress legislative recommendations 

in 2005 seeking additional authorities. 

Without objection, Congress passed the 

U.S. SAFE Web Act on December 6, 

2006, and it was signed into law 2 weeks 

later by President Bush. For American 

consumers, the U.S. SAFE Web Act has 

been a clear success to date, and it 

should be reauthorized before its expiration next year. 

Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge the passage of H.R. 6131, and I reserve the balance of my time. 

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I 

yield myself such time as I may consume. 

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong 

support of H.R. 6131, a bill that will reauthorize certain powers granted to 

the Federal Trade Commission under 

the U.S. SAFE Web Act that are set to 

expire very soon. 

Congresswoman BONO MACK, the 

chair of the Commerce, Manufacturing 

and Trade Subcommittee of Energy 

and Commerce and I and our staffs 

worked together in a bipartisan manner to quickly get this very important 

reauthorization language out of the 

committee and onto the House floor. 

When the bill was first authored in 

the 109th Congress, it was overwhelmingly supported by both Republicans 

and Democrats and passed the House 

under suspension of the rules. So I am 

happy to see that this reauthorization 

is proceeding in much the same way. 

This law provides the Federal Trade 

Commission with expanded and enhanced authorities with the aim of 

combating crossborder spyware and 

spam attacks against the U.S., as well 

as helping protect consumers from 

phony Internet rip-offs and telemarketing scams. The enhanced authority has empowered the FTC to better protect American consumers 

through robust crossborder information sharing, investigative assistance, 

and coalition building with foreign 

consumer protection agencies. 

In a 2009 report to Congress, the FTC 

noted the significant role the act has 

played in facilitating crossborder cooperation in investigations and enforcement proceedings, along with the 

growing need for continued cooperation 

to combat new and existing global 

fraud. Simply put, Mr. Speaker, the expanded authorities are working to protect the American people, and Congress 

needs to make sure they remain in 

place so the Federal Trade Commission 

can effectively combat crossborder 

scams. 

The original SAFE Web Act passed in 

the 109th Congress included a sunset 

provision that will cause these enhanced authorities to expire in December of next year. H.R. 6131 will extend 

these authorities to September of the 

year 2020. 

Mr. Speaker, I am a strong supporter 

of granting the FTC the powers it 

needs to effectively protect consumers 

against fraud, whether originating here 

or abroad. 

b 1720 

So I joined my good friend, Congresswoman BONO MACK, in pushing the 7- 

year extension in this bill. It is important to highlight that each and every 

FTC Commissioner, all of them, of both 

political parties, have called for a permanent reauthorization. 

I joined with the FTC in calling for 

the sunset clause in the U.S. SAFE 

WEB Act to be completely repealed, 

and it is still, it is still my opinion and 

the opinion of several in our committee that this is a better approach. 

Nonetheless, Mr. Speaker, both parties can agree, and the FTC’s enforcement record shows, that this has been 

a successful law, so we should not 

delay. We should not delay or disrupt 

the FTC’s ability to protect the American people from those who want to 

take advantage of them. I hope my colleagues will agree with us and will join 

with us in supporting this measure. 


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