IIA

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 447

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

SEPTEMBER 5, 1996

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science,

and Transportation

AN ACT

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

are American-made.

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. ESTABLISHMENT OF TOLL FREE NUMBER

2 PILOT PROGRAM.

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

4 determines, on the basis of comments submitted in rule5 making under section 2, that—

6 (1) interest among manufacturers is sufficient

7 to warrant the establishment of a 3-year toll free

8 number pilot program, and

9 (2) manufacturers will provide fees under sec10 tion 2(c) so that the program will operate without

11 cost to the Federal Government,

12 the Secretary shall establish such program solely to help

13 inform consumers whether a product is made in America

14 or the equivalent thereof. The Secretary shall publish the

15 toll-free number by notice in the Federal Register.

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

17 enter into a contract for—

18 (1) the establishment and operation of the toll

19 free number pilot program provided for in subsection

20 (a), and

21 (2) the registration of products pursuant to

22 regulations issued under section 2,

23 which shall be funded entirely from fees collected under

24 section 2(c).

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

26 to inform consumers as to whether products are registered
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1 under section 2 as made in America or the equivalent

2 thereof. Consumers shall also be informed that registra3 tion of a product does not mean—

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

5 the Government,

6 (2) that the Secretary has conducted any inves7 tigation to confirm that the product is a product

8 which meets the definition of made in America or

9 the equivalent thereof, or

10 (3) that the product contains 100 percent Unit11 ed States content.

12 SEC. 2. REGISTRATION.

13 (a) PROPOSED REGULATION.—The Secretary of

14 Commerce shall propose a regulation—

15 (1) to establish a procedure under which the

16 manufacturer of a product may voluntarily register

17 such product as complying with the definition of a

18 product made in America or the equivalent thereof

19 and have such product included in the information

20 available through the toll free number established

21 under section 1(a);

22 (2) to establish, assess, and collect a fee to

23 cover all the costs (including start-up costs) of reg24 istering products and including registered products

25 in information provided under the toll-free number;
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1 (3) for the establishment under section 1(a) of

2 the toll-free number pilot program; and

3 (4) to solicit views from the private sector con4 cerning the level of interest of manufacturers in reg5 istering products under the terms and conditions of

6 paragraph (1).

7 (b) PROMULGATION.—If the Secretary determines

8 based on the comments on the regulation proposed under

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

10 the registration of products is warranted, the Secretary

11 shall promulgate such regulations.

12 (c) REGISTRATION FEE.—

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Manufacturers of products

14 included in information provided under section 1

15 shall be subject to a fee imposed by the Secretary

16 of Commerce to pay the cost of registering products

17 and including them in information provided under

18 subsection (a).

19 (2) AMOUNT.—The amount of fees imposed

20 under paragraph (1) shall—

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

22 greater than the cost of registering the manu23 facturer’s product and providing product infor24 mation directly attributable to such manufac25 turer, and
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1 (B) in the case of the total amount of fees,

2 not be greater than the total amount appro3 priated to the Secretary of Commerce for sala4 ries and expenses directly attributable to reg5 istration of manufacturers and having products

6 included in the information provided under sec7 tion 1(a).

8 (3) CREDITING AND AVAILABILITY OF FEES.—

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—Fees collected for a fis10 cal year pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be

11 credited to the appropriation account for sala12 ries and expenses of the Secretary of Commerce

13 and shall be available in accordance with appro14 priation Acts until expended without fiscal year

15 limitation.

16 (B) COLLECTIONS AND APPROPRIATION

17 ACTS.—The fees imposed under paragraph

18 (1)—

19 (i) shall be collected in each fiscal

20 year in an amount equal to the amount

21 specified in appropriation Acts for such fis22 cal year, and

23 (ii) shall only be collected and avail24 able for the costs described in paragraph

25 (2).
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1 SEC. 3. PENALTY.

2 Any manufacturer of a product who knowingly reg3 isters a product under section 2 which is not made in

4 America or the equivalent thereof—

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

6 more than $7500 which the Secretary of Commerce

7 may assess and collect, and

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

9 the Federal Government.

10 SEC. 4. DEFINITION.

11 For purposes of this Act:

12 (1) The term ‘‘made in America or the equiva13 lent thereof’’, with respect to a product, has the

14 meaning given such term for purposes of laws ad15 ministered by the Federal Trade Commission.

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

17 a retail value of at least $250.

18 SEC. 5. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.

19 Nothing in this Act or in any regulation promulgated

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

21 or otherwise affect in any way, the Federal Trade Com22 mission Act or the opinions, decisions, rules, or any guid23 ance issued by the Federal Trade Commission regarding

24 the use of the term ‘‘made in America or the equivalent

25 thereof’’ in labels on products introduced, delivered for in-
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1 troduction, sold, advertised, or offered for sale in com2 merce.

Passed the House of Representatives September 4,

1996.

Attest: ROBIN H. CARLE,

Clerk.