Compressed Gas Cylinder Safety and Oversight Improvements Act of 2023

Subjects: Transportation and Public Works


<html><body><pre>[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1632 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

&lt;DOC&gt;






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1632

 To require the Secretary of Transportation to promulgate regulations 
relating to the approval of foreign manufacturers of cylinders, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 17, 2023

Mr. Vance (for himself, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Hagerty, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Budd, 
and Mr. Brown) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To require the Secretary of Transportation to promulgate regulations 
relating to the approval of foreign manufacturers of cylinders, 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 ``Compressed Gas Cylinder Safety and 
Oversight Improvements Act of 2023''.

SEC. 2. REGULATION OF FOREIGN MANUFACTURERS OF CYLINDERS USED IN 
              TRANSPORTING HAZARDOUS MATERIALS.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Cylinder.--The term ``cylinder'' means any cylinder 
        specified under any of sections 178.36 through 178.68 of title 
        49, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations).
            (2) Foreign manufacturer of cylinders; fmoc.--The term 
        ``foreign manufacturer of cylinders'' or ``FMOC'' means an 
        entity that manufactures cylinders outside of the United States 
        that are intended to be represented, marked, certified, or sold 
        as qualified for use in transporting a hazardous material in 
        commerce in the United States.
            (3) In good standing.--The term ``in good standing'', with 
        respect to an FMOC, means that the FMOC--
                    (A) is approved by the Secretary pursuant to 
                section 107.807 of title 49, Code of Federal 
                Regulations (or a successor regulation); and
                    (B) has demonstrated 3 years of compliance with--
                            (i) part 107 of title 49, Code of Federal 
                        Regulations (or successor regulations); and
                            (ii) chapter 51 of title 49, United States 
                        Code.
            (4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Transportation.
    (b) Approval of Foreign Manufacturers of Cylinders.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall promulgate regulations 
        to provide that an approval provided to an FMOC pursuant to 
        section 107.807 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations (or a 
        successor regulation), shall be for a period of not longer than 
        1 year, except as provided under paragraph (2).
            (2) 5-year approval.--The Secretary may provide a 5-year 
        approval of an FMOC pursuant to section 107.807 of title 49, 
        Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor regulation), if the 
        following requirements are met:
                    (A) The FMOC attests that none of the cylinders 
                made by the FMOC are prohibited from entry to the 
                United States under section 307 of the Tariff Act of 
                1930 (19 U.S.C. 1307).
                    (B) The FMOC certifies that--
                            (i) the information provided pursuant to 
                        subsection (e) is accurate; and
                            (ii) the FMOC has a proactive 
                        responsibility to inform the Secretary if any 
                        such information materially changes.
                    (C) The Secretary determines that the FMOC is in 
                good standing.
            (3) Facility inspections.--
                    (A) Definition of obstructs.--In this paragraph, 
                the term ``obstructs'' means taking actions that are 
                known, or reasonably should be known, to prevent, 
                hinder, or impede an inspection.
                    (B) Penalties.--The Secretary may suspend or 
                terminate an approval of an FMOC if the FMOC obstructs 
                or prevents the Secretary from carrying out an 
                inspection under section 107.807(c) of title 49, Code 
                of Federal Regulations (or a successor regulation).
            (4) Interaction with other statutes, agreements, 
        regulations.--Nothing in this section may be construed to 
        prevent the harmonization of cylinder standards otherwise 
        authorized by law.
            (5) Other cause for suspension or termination.--The 
        Secretary may suspend or terminate an approval of an FMOC on 
        determination that the FMOC knowingly or intentionally 
        misrepresented responses to the Secretary required by law, 
        including under subsection (e).
    (c) Reevaluation by Request for Related Violations.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall promulgate such 
        regulations as are necessary to establish a process, as 
        determined by the Secretary, for any interested party to 
        request a reevaluation of the approval of FMOC cylinders under 
        section 107.807 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations (or a 
        successor regulation), to review the accuracy and safety of the 
        actions of the FMOC.
            (2) Petition for reevaluation.--The regulations promulgated 
        under paragraph (1) shall allow an interested party to file a 
        petition if that party has evidence of inaccurate, changed, or 
        fraudulent attestations or responses made by an FMOC to the 
        Secretary under subsection (e).
    (d) Notice and Comment for Applications by Foreign Manufacturers of 
Cylinders.--On receipt of an application for approval under section 
107.807 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor 
regulation), the Secretary shall--
            (1) timely publish notification of the application on the 
        website of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety 
        Administration; and
            (2) provide 30 days for public comment on the application 
        prior to approval.
    (e) Additional Questions To Ensure Safety and Compliance With DOT 
Processes.--
            (1) Additional questions.--The Secretary shall require, as 
        part of an application for approval pursuant to section 107.807 
        of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor 
        regulation), that the applicant answer the following questions:
                    (A) Whether the FMOC applying, or any entity 
                controlling more than 10 percent of that FMOC, has ever 
                been subject to a civil monetary penalty under title 
                49, United States Code, relating to any actions carried 
                out as an approved FMOC or during the application for 
                approval under that section.
                    (B) Whether the FMOC applying, or any entity 
                controlling more than 10 percent of that FMOC, has been 
                delinquent in the payment of any civil monetary 
                penalties or other fines or fees under title 49, United 
                States Code.
                    (C) Whether the FMOC applying, or any entity 
                controlling more than 10 percent of that FMOC, is 
                subject to the Do Not Pay Initiative established under 
                section 3354 of title 31, United States Code, as of the 
                date of the application.
                    (D) Whether the FMOC applying, or any entity 
                controlling more than 10 percent of that FMOC, is 
                listed in the Military End User List of the Department 
                of Commerce as of the date of the application.
                    (E) Whether the FMOC applying, or any entity 
                controlling more than 10 percent of that FMOC, is 
                identified by the Department of Defense as an entity 
                listed under section 1237 of the Strom Thurmond 
                National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1999 
                (50 U.S.C. 1701 note; Public Law 105-261) as of the 
                date of application.
                    (F) Whether the FMOC applying, or any entity 
                controlling more than 10 percent of that FMOC, has been 
                found guilty of a criminal penalty or assessed a civil 
                penalty under section 1760 of division A of the John S. 
                McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 
                Year 2019 (50 U.S.C. 4819).
                    (G) Whether the FMOC applying, or any entity 
                controlling more than 10 percent of that FMOC, is 
                subject to a final antidumping or countervailing duty 
                order from the Department of Commerce as of the date of 
                application.
            (2) Denial of application.--The Secretary may deny under 
        section 107.709 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations (or a 
        successor regulation), an application for approval under 
        section 107.807 of that title (or a successor regulation) based 
        on the responses to the questions required under paragraph (1).
    (f) Foreign Manufacturers Listing Approvals.--Not later than 1 year 
after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the 
Secretary shall publish and maintain on the website of the Department 
of Transportation a list of approved foreign manufacturers of cylinders 
and the duration of those approvals.
    (g) Authorizing Foreign Inspections.--Not later than 180 days after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall revise section 
107.807(c) of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations--
            (1) to require that in any case in which the Secretary 
        determines there is good cause, an inspection under that 
        section shall be carried out annually for such duration as the 
        Secretary determines appropriate;
            (2) to specify that a refusal of inspection under that 
        section shall result in a loss of the status of in good 
        standing;
            (3) to allow the Secretary to request, at the discretion of 
        the Secretary--
                    (A) production of test and production records; and
                    (B) random sample testing; and
            (4) to allow for the recovery of all associated costs of 
        foreign inspections to include travel, time, and other costs, 
        as determined by the Secretary.
                                 &lt;all&gt;
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