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[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1183 Introduced in House (IH)]

106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1183

To amend the Fastener Quality Act to strengthen the protection against 
 the sale of mismarked, misrepresented, and counterfeit fasteners and 
      eliminate unnecessary requirements, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 18, 1999

Mr. Sensenbrenner (for himself, Mr. Brown of California, Mrs. Morella, 
  Mr. Green of Wisconsin, Mr. Cook, Mrs. Biggert, and Mr. Kuykendall) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
Science, and in addition to the Committee on Commerce, for a period to 
      be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
                          committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
To amend the Fastener Quality Act to strengthen the protection against 
 the sale of mismarked, misrepresented, and counterfeit fasteners and 
      eliminate unnecessary requirements, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Fastener Quality Act Amendments Act 
of 1999''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    Section 2 of the Fastener Quality Act (15 U.S.C. 5401) is amended 
to read as follows:

``SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    ``The Congress finds that--
            ``(1) the United States fastener industry is a significant 
        contributor to the global economy, employing thousands of 
        workers in hundreds of communities;
            ``(2) the American economy uses billions of fasteners each 
        year;
            ``(3) state-of-the-art manufacturing and improved quality 
        assurance systems have dramatically improved fastener quality, 
        so virtually all fasteners sold in commerce meet or exceed the 
        consensus standards for the uses to which they are applied;
            ``(4) a small number of mismarked, misrepresented, and 
        counterfeit fasteners do enter commerce in the United States; 
        and
            ``(5) multiple criteria for the identification of fasteners 
        exist, including grade identification markings and 
        manufacturer's insignia, to enable purchasers and users of 
        fasteners to accurately evaluate the characteristics of 
        individual fasteners.''.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    Section 3 of the Fastener Quality Act (15 U.S.C. 5402) is amended 
to read as follows:

``SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    ``As used in this Act, the term--
            ``(1) `consensus standard' means the provisions of a 
        document that describes fastener characteristics published by a 
        consensus standards organization or a Federal agency, and does 
        not include a proprietary standard;
            ``(2) `consensus standards organization' means the American 
        Society for Testing and Materials, the American National 
        Standards Institute, the American Society of Mechanical 
        Engineers, the Society of Automotive Engineers, the 
        International Organization for Standardization, any other 
        organization identified as a United States consensus standards 
        organization or a foreign and international consensus standards 
        organization in the Federal Register at 61 Fed. Reg. 50582-83 
        (September 26, 1996), and any successor organizations thereto;
            ``(3) `Director' means the Director of the National 
        Institute of Standards and Technology;
            ``(4) `distributor' means a person who purchases fasteners 
        for the purpose of reselling them at wholesale to unaffiliated 
        entities or individuals (an original equipment manufacturer and 
        its dealers shall be considered affiliated entities for 
        purposes of this Act);
            ``(5) `fastener' means a metallic screw, nut, bolt, or stud 
        having internal or external threads, with a nominal diameter of 
        6 millimeters or greater, in the case of such items described 
        in metric terms, or \1/4\ inch or greater, in the case of such 
        items described in terms of the English system of measurement, 
        or a load-indicating washer, that is through-hardened or 
        represented as meeting a consensus standard that calls for 
        through-hardening, and that is grade identification marked or 
        represented as meeting a consensus standard that requires grade 
        identification marking, except that such term does not include 
        any screw, nut, bolt, stud, or load-indicating washer that is--
                    ``(A) part of an assembly;
                    ``(B) in a package containing no more than 100 of 
                any one screw, nut, bolt, stud, or load-indicating 
                washer at the time of sale;
                    ``(C) produced and marked as ASTM A 307 Grade A, or 
                a successor standard thereto;
                    ``(D) produced in accordance with ASTM F 432, or a 
                successor standard thereto;
                    ``(E) specifically manufactured for use on an 
                aircraft if the quality and suitability of those 
                fasteners for that use has been approved--
                            ``(i) by the Federal Aviation 
                        Administration; or
                            ``(ii) by a foreign airworthiness authority 
                        as described in part 21.29, 21.500, 21.502, or 
                        21.617 of title 14 of the Code of Federal 
                        Regulations;
                    ``(F) manufactured in accordance with a fastener 
                quality assurance system; or
                    ``(G) manufactured to a proprietary standard, 
                whether or not such proprietary standard directly or 
                indirectly references a consensus standard or any 
                portion thereof;
            ``(6) `fastener quality assurance system' means--
                    ``(A) a system that meets the requirements, 
                including revisions from time to time, of--
                            ``(i) International Organization for 
                        Standardization (ISO) Standard 9000, 9001, 
                        9002, or TS16949;
                            ``(ii) Quality System (QS) 9000 Standard;
                            ``(iii) Verband der Automobilindustrie e. 
                        V. (VDA) 6.1 Standard; or
                            ``(iv) Aerospace Basic Quality System 
                        Standard AS9000; or
                    ``(B) any fastener manufacturing system--
                            ``(i) that has as a stated goal the 
                        prevention of defects through continuous 
                        improvement;
                            ``(ii) that seeks to attain the goal stated 
                        in clause (i) by incorporating--
                                    ``(I) advance quality planning;
                                    ``(II) monitoring and control of 
                                the manufacturing process;
                                    ``(III) product verification 
                                embodied in a comprehensive written 
                                control plan for product and process 
                                characteristics, and process controls 
                                (including process influence factors 
                                and statistical process control), 
                                tests, and measurement systems to be 
                                used in production; and
                                    ``(IV) the creation, maintenance, 
                                and retention of electronic, 
                                photographic, or paper records required 
                                by the control plan regarding the 
                                inspections, tests, and measurements 
                                performed pursuant to the control plan; 
                                and
                            ``(iii) that--
                                    ``(I) is subject to certification 
                                in accordance with the requirements of 
                                ISO/IEC Guide 62, including revisions 
                                from time to time, by a third party who 
                                is accredited by an accreditation body 
                                in accordance with the requirements of 
                                ISO/IEC Guide 61, including revisions 
                                from time to time, or another document 
                                approved by the Director under section 
                                10; or
                                    ``(II) undergoes regular or random 
                                evaluation and assessment by the end 
                                user or end users of the screws, nuts, 
                                bolts, studs, or load-indicating 
                                washers produced under such fastener 
                                manufacturing system to ensure that 
                                such system meets the requirements of 
                                clauses (i) and (ii);
            ``(7) `grade identification marking' means any grade-mark 
        or property class symbol appearing on a fastener purporting to 
        indicate that the lot of fasteners conforms to a specific 
        consensus standard, but such term does not include a 
        manufacturer's insignia or part number;
            ``(8) `lot' means a quantity of fasteners of one part 
        number fabricated by the same production process from the same 
        coil or heat number of metal as provided by the metal 
        manufacturer;
            ``(9) `manufacturer' means a person who fabricates 
        fasteners for sale in commerce;
            ``(10) `proprietary standard' means the provisions of a 
        document that describes characteristics of a screw, nut, bolt, 
        stud, or load-indicating washer and is issued by a person who--
                    ``(A) uses screws, nuts, bolts, studs, or load-
                indicating washers in the manufacture, assembly, or 
                servicing of its products; and
                    ``(B) with respect to such screws, nuts, bolts, 
                studs, or washers, is a developer and issuer of 
                descriptions that have characteristics similar to 
                consensus standards and that bear such user's 
                identification;
            ``(11) `record of conformance' means a record or records 
        designated for each lot of fasteners sold or offered for sale 
        that contains--
                    ``(A) the name and address of the manufacturer;
                    ``(B) a description of the type of fastener;
                    ``(C) the lot number;
                    ``(D) the nominal dimensions of the fastener 
                (including diameter and length of bolts or screws), 
                thread form, and class of fit;
                    ``(E) the consensus standard or specifications to 
                which the lot of fasteners has been manufactured, 
                including the date, number, revision, and other 
                information sufficient to identify the particular 
                consensus standard or specifications being referenced;
                    ``(F) the chemistry and grade of material; and
                    ``(G) the coating material and characteristics and 
                the applicable consensus standard or specifications for 
                such coating;
            ``(12) `represent' means to describe one or more of a 
        fastener's purported characteristics in a document or statement 
        that is transmitted to a purchaser through any medium;
            ``(13) `Secretary' means the Secretary of Commerce;
            ``(14) `specifications' means the required characteristics 
        identified in the contractual agreement with the manufacturer 
        or to which a fastener is otherwise produced, except that the 
        term does not include proprietary standards; and
            ``(15) `through-harden' means heating above the 
        transformation temperature followed by quenching and tempering 
        for the purpose of achieving uniform hardness.''.

SEC. 4. SALE OF FASTENERS.

    Sections 5 through 7 of the Fastener Quality Act (15 U.S.C. 5404-7) 
are repealed, and the following new section is inserted after section 3 
of such Act:

``SEC. 4. SALE OF FASTENERS.

    ``(a) General Rule.--It shall be unlawful for a manufacturer or 
distributor, in conjunction with a sale or offer for sale of a 
fastener, to knowingly misrepresent or falsify--
            ``(1) the record of conformance for the lot of fasteners;
            ``(2) the identification, characteristics, properties, 
        mechanical or performance marks, chemistry, or strength of the 
        lot of fasteners; or
            ``(3) the manufacturer's insignia.
    ``(b) Representations.--A direct or indirect reference to a 
consensus standard to represent that a fastener conforms to particular 
requirements of the consensus standard shall not be construed as a 
representation that the fastener meets all the requirements of the 
consensus standard.
    ``(c) Specifications.--A direct or indirect contractual reference 
to a consensus standard for the purpose of identifying particular 
requirements of the consensus standard that serve as specifications 
shall not be construed to require that the fastener meet all the 
requirements of the consensus standard.
    ``(d) Voluntary Accreditation of Laboratories.--The Secretary, 
acting through the Director, shall maintain a program for the voluntary 
accreditation of laboratories, and shall make information about such 
laboratories available to the public. If the parties to the sale of a 
fastener agree, a laboratory accredited under such voluntary program 
shall be used to perform tests that may be required by consensus 
standards or specifications.''.

SEC. 5. MANUFACTURERS' INSIGNIAS.

    Section 8 of the Fastener Quality Act (15 U.S.C. 5407) is 
redesignated as section 5 and is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), by striking ``which is required'' 
        and all that follows through ``by the Secretary'' and inserting 
        ``that is required by the specifications or applicable 
        consensus standard or standards in the record of conformance to 
        bear an insignia identifying its manufacturer shall be offered 
        for sale or sold in commerce unless the manufacturer of such 
        fastener has complied with the insignia recordation 
        requirements prescribed by the Secretary, acting through the 
        Director,''; and
            (2) in subsection (b), by striking ``and private label'' 
        and all that follows and inserting ``described in subsection 
        (a).''.

SEC. 6. REMEDIES AND PENALTIES.

    Section 9 of the Fastener Quality Act (15 U.S.C. 5408) is 
redesignated as section 6 and is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b)(3), by striking ``of this section'' 
        and inserting ``of this subsection'';
            (2) in subsection (b)(4), by inserting ``arbitrate,'' after 
        ``Secretary may'';
            (3) by striking paragraph (3) of subsection (c); and
            (4) in subsection (d)--
                    (A) by inserting ``(1)'' after ``Enforcement.--''; 
                and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following new 
                paragraph:
    ``(2) The Secretary, acting through the Director, shall establish 
and maintain a hotline system to facilitate the reporting of alleged 
violations of this Act, and the Secretary shall investigate credible 
allegations reported through that system.''.

SEC. 7. RECORDKEEPING REQUIREMENTS.

    Section 10 of the Fastener Quality Act (15 U.S.C. 5409) is 
redesignated as section 7 and is amended by striking subsections (a) 
and (b) and inserting the following:
    ``Manufacturers shall retain the record of conformance for 
fasteners for 5 years, on paper or in photographic or electronic format 
in a manner that allows for verification of authenticity.''.

SEC. 8. RELATIONSHIP TO STATE LAWS.

    Section 11 of the Fastener Quality Act (15 U.S.C. 5410) is 
redesignated as section 8.

SEC. 9. CONSTRUCTION.

    Section 12 of the Fastener Quality Act (15 U.S.C. 5411) is 
redesignated as section 9 and is amended by striking ``in effect on the 
date of enactment of this Act''.

SEC. 10. CERTIFICATION AND ACCREDITATION.

    Sections 13 and 15 of the Fastener Quality Act (15 U.S.C. 5412 and 
14) are repealed, and the following new section is inserted at the end 
of that Act:

``SEC. 10. CERTIFICATION AND ACCREDITATION.

    ``(a) Certification.--A person publishing a document setting forth 
guidance or requirements for the certification of manufacturing 
systems, including fastener manufacturing systems, by an accredited 
third party may petition the Director to approve such document for use 
as described in section 3(6)(B)(iii)(I). The Director shall act upon a 
petition within 180 days after its filing, and shall approve such 
petition if the document provides equal or greater rigor and 
reliability as compared to ISO/IEC Guide 62.
    ``(b) Accreditation.--A person publishing a document setting forth 
guidance or requirements for the approval of accreditation bodies to 
accredit third parties described in subsection (a) may petition the 
Director to approve such document for use as described in section 
3(6)(B)(iii)(I). The Director shall act upon a petition within 180 days 
after its filing, and shall approve such petition if the document 
provides equal or greater rigor and reliability as compared to ISO/IEC 
Guide 61.''.

SEC. 11. APPLICABILITY.

    At the end of the Fastener Quality Act, insert the following new 
section:

``SEC. 11. APPLICABILITY.

    ``The requirements of this Act shall be applicable only to 
fasteners fabricated 180 days or more after the date of the enactment 
of the Fastener Quality Act Amendments of 1999, except that if a 
manufacturer or distributor of fasteners fabricated before that date 
designates a record of conformance for such fasteners, representations 
about such fasteners shall be subject to the requirements of this 
Act.''.
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