II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 739 

To require imported explosives to be marked in the same manner as 

domestically manufactured explosives. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 7, 2005 

Mr. KOHL (for himself and Mr. HATCH) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To require imported explosives to be marked in the same 

manner as domestically manufactured explosives. 

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

3 SECTION 1. IDENTIFICATION OF EXPLOSIVE MATERIALS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 842 of title 18, United 

5 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘(q) IDENTIFICATION OF EXPLOSIVE MATERIALS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—It shall be unlawful for any 

9 person to manufacture or import explosive materials 

10 for sale or distribution unless the explosive materials 
2 

•S 739 IS

1 are legibly identified by marking in accordance with 

2 this subsection. 

3 ‘‘(2) TYPE AND PLACEMENT OF MARKING.— 

4 The marks required under this subsection shall— 

5 ‘‘(A) identify the name of the manufac6 turer; 

7 ‘‘(B) identify the location, date, and shift 

8 of manufacture; 

9 ‘‘(C) be placed on each cartridge, bag, or 

10 other immediate container of explosive mate11 rials manufactured for sale or distribution; and 

12 ‘‘(D) be placed on the outside container, if 

13 any, used for the packaging of explosive mate14 rials manufactured for sale or distribution. 

15 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTIONS.— 

16 ‘‘(A) DETONATORS.—Licensed manufac17 turers or importers of detonators are only re18 quired to place the identification marks pre19 scribed in paragraph (2) on the containers used 

20 for the packaging of detonators. 

21 ‘‘(B) AUTHORIZATION OF ALTERNATIVE

22 IDENTIFICATION.—The Attorney General may 

23 authorize a licensed manufacturer or importer 

24 to identify explosive materials in a different 

25 manner than the manner prescribed by para-
3 

•S 739 IS

1 graph (2) upon receipt from the manufacturer 

2 or importer of a written application showing 

3 that the alternative identification is reasonable 

4 and will not hinder the effective administration 

5 of this section. 

6 ‘‘(C) FIREWORKS.—The Attorney General 

7 may authorize the licensed manufacturer or im8 porter to identify fireworks in a different man9 ner than the manner prescribed by paragraph 

10 (2). 

11 ‘‘(4) REPORT.—Not later than 24 hours after 

12 the release of explosive materials from the custody 

13 of the United States Customs and Border Protec14 tion, the importer of such explosive materials shall 

15 submit a report to the Attorney General, in a format 

16 to be determined by the Attorney General, that con17 tains— 

18 ‘‘(A) the name and address of the im19 porter; 

20 ‘‘(B) the manufacturer of the explosive 

21 materials; 

22 ‘‘(C) the city and country where the explo23 sive materials being imported were manufac24 tured; 
4 

•S 739 IS

1 ‘‘(D) the product name, size, and other 

2 marks of identification on the explosive mate3 rials; and 

4 ‘‘(E) the date and shift of manufacture of 

5 the explosive materials.’’. 

6 (b) RULEMAKING.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months 

8 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney 

9 General shall issue final regulations to carry out the 

10 amendment under subsection (a). 

11 (2) DEFERENCE REQUIREMENT.—In promul12 gating the regulations required under paragraph (1), 

13 the Attorney General shall give deference to the 

14 standards for safety and security marking recog15 nized in the explosives industry. 

16 (c) ENFORCEMENT.—Section 844(a)(1) of title 18, 

17 United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘or (l) 

18 through (o)’’ and inserting ‘‘, (l) through (o), or (q)’’. 

Æ