106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1183

AN ACT

To amend the Fastener Quality Act to strengthen

other purposes.eliminate unnecessary requirements, and formisrepresented, and counterfeit fasteners andthe protection against the sale of mismarked,
106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1183

AN ACT

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.

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

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fastener Quality Act

3 Amendments Act of 1999’’.

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

5 Section 2 of the Fastener Quality Act (15 U.S.C.

6 5401) is amended to read as follows:

7 ‘‘SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

8 ‘‘The Congress finds that—

9 ‘‘(1) the United States fastener industry is a

10 significant contributor to the global economy, em11 ploying thousands of workers in hundreds of commu12 nities;

13 ‘‘(2) the American economy uses billions of fas14 teners each year;

15 ‘‘(3) state-of-the-art manufacturing and im16 proved quality assurance systems have dramatically

17 improved fastener quality, so virtually all fasteners

18 sold in commerce meet or exceed the consensus

19 standards for the uses to which they are applied;

20 ‘‘(4) a small number of mismarked, misrepre21 sented, and counterfeit fasteners do enter commerce

22 in the United States; and

23 ‘‘(5) multiple criteria for the identification of

24 fasteners exist, including grade identification mark25 ings and manufacturer’s insignia, to enable pur-
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1 chasers and users of fasteners to accurately evaluate

2 the characteristics of individual fasteners.’’.

3 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

4 Section 3 of the Fastener Quality Act (15 U.S.C.

5 5402) is amended to read as follows:

6 ‘‘SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

7 ‘‘As used in this Act, the term—

8 ‘‘(1) ‘accredited laboratory’ means a fastener

9 testing facility used to perform end-of-line testing

10 required by a consensus standard or standards to

11 verify that a lot of fasteners conforms to the grade

12 identification marking called for in the consensus

13 standard or standards to which the lot of fasteners

14 has been manufactured, and which—

15 ‘‘(A) meets the requirements of ISO/IEC

16 Guide 25 (or another document approved by the

17 Director under section 10(c)), including revi18 sions from time to time; and

19 ‘‘(B) has been accredited by a laboratory

20 accreditation body that meets the requirements

21 of ISO/IEC Guide 58 (or another document ap22 proved by the Director under section 10(d)), in23 cluding revisions from time to time;

24 ‘‘(2) ‘consensus standard’ means the provisions

25 of a document that describes fastener characteristics
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1 published by a consensus standards organization or

2 a Federal agency, and does not include a proprietary

3 standard;

4 ‘‘(3) ‘consensus standards organization’ means

5 the American Society for Testing and Materials, the

6 American National Standards Institute, the Amer7 ican Society of Mechanical Engineers, the Society of

8 Automotive Engineers, the International Organiza9 tion for Standardization, any other organization

10 identified as a United States consensus standards

11 organization or a foreign and international con12 sensus standards organization in the Federal Reg13 ister at 61 Fed. Reg. 50582–83 (September 26,

14 1996), and any successor organizations thereto;

15 ‘‘(4) ‘Director’ means the Director of the Na16 tional Institute of Standards and Technology;

17 ‘‘(5) ‘distributor’ means a person who pur18 chases fasteners for the purpose of reselling them at

19 wholesale to unaffiliated persons within the United

20 States (an original equipment manufacturer and its

21 dealers shall be considered affiliated persons for pur22 poses of this Act);

23 ‘‘(6) ‘fastener’ means a metallic screw, nut,

24 bolt, or stud having internal or external threads,

25 with a nominal diameter of 6 millimeters or greater,
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1 in the case of such items described in metric terms,

or 1 2 ⁄4 inch or greater, in the case of such items de3 scribed in terms of the English system of measure4 ment, or a load-indicating washer, that is through5 hardened or represented as meeting a consensus

6 standard that calls for through-hardening, and that

7 is grade identification marked or represented as

8 meeting a consensus standard that requires grade

9 identification marking, except that such term does

10 not include any screw, nut, bolt, stud, or load-indi11 cating washer that is—

12 ‘‘(A) part of an assembly;

13 ‘‘(B) a part that is ordered for use as a

14 spare, substitute, service, or replacement part,

15 unless that part is in a package containing

16 more than 75 of any such part at the time of

17 sale, or a part that is contained in an assembly

18 kit;

19 ‘‘(C) produced and marked as ASTM A

20 307 Grade A, or a successor standard thereto;

21 ‘‘(D) produced in accordance with ASTM

22 F 432, or a successor standard thereto;

23 ‘‘(E) specifically manufactured for use on

24 an aircraft if the quality and suitability of those

25 fasteners for that use has been approved—
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1 ‘‘(i) by the Federal Aviation Adminis2 tration; or

3 ‘‘(ii) by a foreign airworthiness au4 thority as described in part 21.29, 21.500,

5 21.502, or 21.617 of title 14 of the Code

6 of Federal Regulations;

7 ‘‘(F) manufactured in accordance with a

8 fastener quality assurance system; or

9 ‘‘(G) manufactured to a proprietary stand10 ard, whether or not such proprietary standard

11 directly or indirectly references a consensus

12 standard or any portion thereof;

13 ‘‘(7) ‘fastener quality assurance system’

14 means—

15 ‘‘(A) a system that meets the require16 ments, including revisions from time to time,

17 of—

18 ‘‘(i) International Organization for

19 Standardization (ISO) Standard 9000,

20 9001, 9002, or TS16949;

21 ‘‘(ii) Quality System (QS) 9000

22 Standard;

23 ‘‘(iii) Verband der Automobilindustrie

24 e. V. (VDA) 6.1 Standard; or
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1 ‘‘(iv) Aerospace Basic Quality System

2 Standard AS9000; or

3 ‘‘(B) any fastener manufacturing system—

4 ‘‘(i) that has as a stated goal the pre5 vention of defects through continuous im6 provement;

7 ‘‘(ii) that seeks to attain the goal stat8 ed in clause (i) by incorporating—

9 ‘‘(I) advanced quality planning;

10 ‘‘(II) monitoring and control of

11 the manufacturing process;

12 ‘‘(III) product verification em13 bodied in a comprehensive written

14 control plan for product and process

15 characteristics, and process controls

16 (including process influence factors

17 and statistical process control), tests,

18 and measurement systems to be used

19 in production; and

20 ‘‘(IV) the creation, maintenance,

21 and retention of electronic, photo22 graphic, or paper records required by

23 the control plan regarding the inspec24 tions, tests, and measurements per-
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1 formed pursuant to the control plan;

2 and

3 ‘‘(iii) that—

4 ‘‘(I) is subject to certification in

5 accordance with the requirements of

6 ISO/IEC Guide 62 (or another docu7 ment approved by the Director under

8 section 10(a)), including revisions

9 from time to time, by a third party

10 who is accredited by an accreditation

11 body in accordance with the require12 ments of ISO/IEC Guide 61 (or an13 other document approved by the Di14 rector under section 10(b)), including

15 revisions from time to time; or

16 ‘‘(II) undergoes regular or ran17 dom evaluation and assessment by the

18 end user or end users of the screws,

19 nuts, bolts, studs, or load-indicating

20 washers produced under such fastener

21 manufacturing system to ensure that

22 such system meets the requirements

23 of clauses (i) and (ii);

24 ‘‘(8) ‘grade identification marking’ means any

25 grade-mark or property class symbol appearing on a
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1 fastener purporting to indicate that the lot of fas2 teners conforms to a specific consensus standard,

3 but such term does not include a manufacturer’s in4 signia or part number;

5 ‘‘(9) ‘importer’ means a distributor located

6 within the United States who contracts for the ini7 tial purchase of fasteners manufactured outside the

8 United States;

9 ‘‘(10) ‘lot’ means a quantity of fasteners of one

10 part number fabricated by the same production

11 process from the same coil or heat number of metal

12 as provided by the metal manufacturer;

13 ‘‘(11) ‘manufacturer’ means a person who fab14 ricates fasteners for sale in commerce;

15 ‘‘(12) ‘proprietary standard’ means the provi16 sions of a document that describes characteristics of

17 a screw, nut, bolt, stud, or load-indicating washer

18 and is issued by a person who—

19 ‘‘(A) uses screws, nuts, bolts, studs, or

20 load-indicating washers in the manufacture, as21 sembly, or servicing of its products; and

22 ‘‘(B) with respect to such screws, nuts,

23 bolts, studs, or washers, is a developer and

24 issuer of descriptions that have characteristics
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1 similar to consensus standards and that bear

2 such user’s identification;

3 ‘‘(13) ‘record of conformance’ means a record

4 or records for each lot of fasteners sold or offered

5 for sale that contains—

6 ‘‘(A) the name and address of the manu7 facturer;

8 ‘‘(B) a description of the type of fastener;

9 ‘‘(C) the lot number;

10 ‘‘(D) the nominal dimensions of the fas11 tener (including diameter and length of bolts or

12 screws), thread form, and class of fit;

13 ‘‘(E) the consensus standard or specifica14 tions to which the lot of fasteners has been

15 manufactured, including the date, number, revi16 sion, and other information sufficient to iden17 tify the particular consensus standard or speci18 fications being referenced;

19 ‘‘(F) the chemistry and grade of material;

20 ‘‘(G) the coating material and characteris21 tics and the applicable consensus standard or

22 specifications for such coating; and

23 ‘‘(H) the results or a summary of results

24 of any tests performed for the purpose of

25 verifying that a lot of fasteners conforms to its
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1 grade identification marking or to the grade

2 identification marking the lot of fasteners is

3 represented to meet;

4 ‘‘(14) ‘represent’ means to describe one or more

5 of a fastener’s purported characteristics in a docu6 ment or statement that is transmitted to a pur7 chaser through any medium;

8 ‘‘(15) ‘Secretary’ means the Secretary of Com9 merce;

10 ‘‘(16) ‘specifications’ means the required char11 acteristics identified in the contractual agreement

12 with the manufacturer or to which a fastener is oth13 erwise produced, except that the term does not in14 clude proprietary standards; and

15 ‘‘(17) ‘through-harden’ means heating above

16 the transformation temperature followed by quench17 ing and tempering for the purpose of achieving uni18 form hardness.’’.

19 SEC. 4. SALE OF FASTENERS.

20 (a) AMENDMENT.—Sections 5 through 7 of the Fas21 tener Quality Act (15 U.S.C. 5404–6) are repealed, and

22 the following new section is inserted after section 3 of such

23 Act:
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1 ‘‘SEC. 4. SALE OF FASTENERS.

2 ‘‘(a) GENERAL RULE.—It shall be unlawful for a

3 manufacturer or distributor, in conjunction with the sale

4 or offer for sale of fasteners from a single lot, to knowingly

5 misrepresent or falsify—

6 ‘‘(1) the record of conformance for the lot of

7 fasteners;

8 ‘‘(2) the identification, characteristics, prop9 erties, mechanical or performance marks, chemistry,

10 or strength of the lot of fasteners; or

11 ‘‘(3) the manufacturer’s insignia.

12 ‘‘(b) REPRESENTATIONS.—A direct or indirect ref13 erence to a consensus standard to represent that a fas14 tener conforms to particular requirements of the con15 sensus standard shall not be construed as a representation

16 that the fastener meets all the requirements of the con17 sensus standard.

18 ‘‘(c) SPECIFICATIONS.—A direct or indirect contrac19 tual reference to a consensus standard for the purpose of

20 identifying particular requirements of the consensus

21 standard that serve as specifications shall not be con22 strued to require that the fastener meet all the require23 ments of the consensus standard.

24 ‘‘(d) USE OF ACCREDITED LABORATORIES.—In the

25 case of fasteners manufactured solely to a consensus

26 standard or standards, end-of-line testing required by the
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1 consensus standard or standards, if any, for the purpose

2 of verifying that a lot of fasteners conforms with the grade

3 identification marking called for in the consensus standard

4 or standards to which the lot of fasteners has been manu5 factured shall be conducted by an accredited laboratory.’’.

6 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by

7 subsection (a) shall take effect 2 years after the date of

8 enactment of this Act.

9 SEC. 5. MANUFACTURERS’ INSIGNIAS.

10 Section 8 of the Fastener Quality Act (15 U.S.C.

11 5407) is redesignated as section 5 and is amended—

12 (1) by amending subsection (a) to read as fol13 lows:

14 ‘‘(a) GENERAL RULE.—Unless the specifications pro15 vide otherwise, fasteners that are required by the applica16 ble consensus standard or standards to bear an insignia

17 identifying their manufacturer shall not be offered for sale

18 or sold in commerce unless—

19 ‘‘(1) the fasteners bear such insignia; and

20 ‘‘(2) the manufacturer has complied with the

21 insignia recordation requirements established under

22 subsection (b).’’; and

23 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘and private

24 label’’ and all that follows and inserting ‘‘described

25 in subsection (a).’’.
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1 SEC. 6. REMEDIES AND PENALTIES.

2 Section 9 of the Fastener Quality Act (15 U.S.C.

3 5408) is redesignated as section 6 and is amended—

4 (1) in subsection (b)(3), by striking ‘‘of this

5 section’’ and inserting ‘‘of this subsection’’;

6 (2) in subsection (b)(4), by inserting ‘‘arbi7 trate,’’ after ‘‘Secretary may’’; and

8 (3) in subsection (d)—

9 (A) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘ENFORCE10 MENT.—’’; and

11 (B) by adding at the end the following new

12 paragraph:

13 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall establish and maintain a

14 hotline system to facilitate the reporting of alleged viola15 tions of this Act, and the Secretary shall evaluate allega16 tions reported through that system and report any credible

17 allegations to the Attorney General.’’.

18 SEC. 7. RECORDKEEPING REQUIREMENTS.

19 Section 10 of the Fastener Quality Act (15 U.S.C.

20 5409) is redesignated as section 7 and is amended by

21 striking subsections (a) and (b) and inserting the fol22 lowing:

23 ‘‘Manufacturers and importers shall retain the record

24 of conformance for fasteners for 5 years, on paper or in

25 photographic or electronic format in a manner that allows

26 for verification of authenticity. Upon request of a dis-
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1 tributor who has purchased a fastener, or a person who

2 has purchased a fastener for use in the production of a

3 commercial product, the manufacturer or importer of the

4 fastener shall make available information in the record of

5 conformance to the requester.’’.

6 SEC. 8. RELATIONSHIP TO STATE LAWS.

7 Section 11 of the Fastener Quality Act (15 U.S.C.

8 5410) is redesignated as section 8.

9 SEC. 9. CONSTRUCTION.

10 Section 12 of the Fastener Quality Act (15 U.S.C.

11 5411) is redesignated as section 9 and is amended by

12 striking ‘‘in effect on the date of the enactment of this

13 Act’’.

14 SEC. 10. CERTIFICATION AND ACCREDITATION.

15 Sections 13 and 15 of the Fastener Quality Act (15

16 U.S.C. 5412 and 14) are repealed, and the following new

17 section is inserted at the end of that Act:

18 ‘‘SEC. 10. CERTIFICATION AND ACCREDITATION.

19 ‘‘(a) CERTIFICATION.—A person publishing a docu20 ment setting forth guidance or requirements for the cer21 tification of manufacturing systems as fastener quality as22 surance systems by an accredited third party may petition

23 the Director to approve such document for use as de24 scribed in section 3(7)(B)(iii)(I). The Director shall act

25 upon a petition within 180 days after its filing, and shall
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1 approve such petition if the document provides equal or

2 greater rigor and reliability as compared to ISO/IEC

3 Guide 62.

4 ‘‘(b) ACCREDITATION.—A person publishing a docu5 ment setting forth guidance or requirements for the ap6 proval of accreditation bodies to accredit third parties de7 scribed in subsection (a) may petition the Director to ap8 prove such document for use as described in section

9 3(7)(B)(iii)(I). The Director shall act upon a petition

10 within 180 days after its filing, and shall approve such

11 petition if the document provides equal or greater rigor

12 and reliability as compared to ISO/IEC Guide 61.

13 ‘‘(c) LABORATORY ACCREDITATION.—A person pub14 lishing a document setting forth guidance or requirements

15 for the accreditation of laboratories may petition the Di16 rector to approve such document for use as described in

17 section 3(1)(A). The Director shall act upon a petition

18 within 180 days after its filing, and shall approve such

19 petition if the document provides equal or greater rigor

20 and reliability as compared to ISO/IEC Guide 25.

21 ‘‘(d) APPROVAL OF ACCREDITATION BODIES.—A

22 person publishing a document setting forth guidance or

23 requirements for the approval of accreditation bodies to

24 accredit laboratories may petition the Director to approve

25 such document for use as described in section 3(1)(B).
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1 The Director shall act upon a petition within 180 days

2 after its filing, and shall approve such petition if the docu3 ment provides equal or greater rigor and reliability as

4 compared to ISO/IEC Guide 58. In addition to any other

5 voluntary laboratory accreditation programs that may be

6 established by private sector persons, the Director shall

7 establish a National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation

8 Program, for the accreditation of laboratories as described

9 in section 3(1)(B), that meets the requirements of ISO/

10 IEC Guide 58 (or another document approved by the Di11 rector under this subsection), including revisions from

12 time to time.

13 ‘‘(e) AFFIRMATION.—(1) An accreditation body ac14 crediting third parties who certify manufacturing systems

15 as fastener quality assurance systems as described in sec16 tion 3(7)(B)(iii)(I) shall affirm to the Director that it

17 meets the requirements of ISO/IEC Guide 61 (or another

18 document approved by the Director under subsection (b)),

19 including revisions from time to time.

20 ‘‘(2) An accreditation body accrediting laboratories as

21 described in section 3(1)(B) shall affirm to the Director

22 that it meets the requirements of ISO/IEC Guide 58 (or

23 another document approved by the Director under sub24 section (d)), including revisions from time to time.
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1 ‘‘(3) An affirmation required under paragraph (1) or

2 (2) shall take the form of a self-declaration that the ac3 creditation body meets the requirements of the applicable

4 Guide, signed by an authorized representative of the ac5 creditation body, without requirement for accompanying

6 documentation. Any such affirmation shall be considered

7 to be a continuous affirmation that the accreditation body

8 meets the requirements of the applicable Guide, unless

9 and until the affirmation is withdrawn by the accreditation

10 body.’’.

11 SEC. 11. APPLICABILITY.

12 At the end of the Fastener Quality Act, insert the

13 following new section:

14 ‘‘SEC. 11. APPLICABILITY.

15 ‘‘The requirements of this Act shall be applicable only

16 to fasteners fabricated 180 days or more after the date

17 of the enactment of the Fastener Quality Act Amendments

18 Act of 1999, except that if a manufacturer or distributor

19 of fasteners fabricated before that date prepares a record

20 of conformance for such fasteners, representations about

21 such fasteners shall be subject to the requirements of this

22 Act.’’.

23 SEC. 12. COMPTROLLER GENERAL REPORT.

24 Not later than 2 years after the date of the enact25 ment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall transmit
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1 to the Congress a report describing any changes in indus2 try practice resulting from or apparently resulting from

3 the enactment of section 3(6)(B) of the Fastener Quality

4 Act, as added by section 3 of this Act.

Passed the House of Representatives May 11, 1999.

Attest:

Clerk.