SEC. 2. AMERICA STAR PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a 
voluntary program, to be known as the ‘‘America Star 
Program’’, under which manufacturers may have products 
certified as meeting the standards of labels that indicate 
to consumers the extent to which the products are manu-
factured in the United States. 
(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF LABELS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall by rule 
establish such America Star labels as the Secretary 
considers appropriate, including the content of the 
labels and the standards that a product shall meet 
in order to bear a particular America Star label. The 
labels shall be consistent with public perceptions of 
the meaning of descriptions of the extent to which 
a product is manufactured in the United States. 
(2) GOALS.—The America Star labels shall be 
designed to achieve the following goals: 
(A) Providing clarity for consumers about 
the extent to which products are manufactured 
in the United States. 
(B) Encouraging manufacturers to manu-
facture more products in the United States. 
(C) Highlighting the importance of domes-
tic manufacturing for the economy of the 
United States. 
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(c) CERTIFICATION OF PRODUCTS.— 
(1) APPLICATION
PROCEDURES.—A manufac-
turer that wishes to have a product certified as 
meeting the standards of an America Star label may 
apply to the Secretary for certification in accordance 
with such procedures as the Secretary shall by rule 
establish. 
(2) ACTION BY SECRETARY.—After receiving an 
application for certification under paragraph (1), the 
Secretary shall, not later than a reasonable time to 
be specified by the Secretary by rule— 
(A) determine whether the product meets 
the standards of the label; 
(B) if the product meets such standards, 
certify the product; and 
(C) notify the manufacturer of the deter-
mination and whether the product has been cer-
tified. 
(d) 
MONITORING; 
WITHDRAWAL
OF
CERTIFI-
CATION.— 
(1) MONITORING.—The Secretary shall conduct 
such monitoring and compliance review as the Sec-
retary considers necessary to— 
(A) detect violations of subsection (h); and 
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(B) ensure that products certified as meet-
ing the standards of America Star labels con-
tinue to meet such standards. 
(2) WITHDRAWAL OF CERTIFICATION.— 
(A) ON INITIATIVE OF SECRETARY.—If the 
Secretary determines that a product certified as 
meeting the standards of an America Star label 
no longer meets such standards, the Secretary 
shall— 
(i) notify the manufacturer of the de-
termination and any corrective action that 
would enable the product to meet such 
standards; and 
(ii) if the manufacturer does not take 
such action within a reasonable time after 
receiving notification under clause (i), to 
be specified by the Secretary by rule, the 
Secretary shall withdraw the certification 
of the product and notify the manufacturer 
of the withdrawal. 
(B) AT REQUEST OF MANUFACTURER.—At 
the request of the manufacturer of a product, 
the Secretary shall withdraw the certification of 
the product and notify the manufacturer of the 
withdrawal. 
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(e) REGULATIONS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may promul-
gate such regulations as are necessary to implement 
this section. 
(2) DEADLINE.—Not later than 2 years after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 
shall promulgate such regulations as are necessary 
to begin certifying products under the America Star 
Program. 
(f) ADMINISTRATION BY CONTRACT.—The Secretary 
may enter into a contract with a person under which such 
person carries out certification determinations under sub-
section (c), monitoring activities and withdrawal deter-
minations under subsection (d), collection of fees under 
subsection (k)(1) and the remission of such fees to the 
Secretary (but not the establishment of the amounts of 
such fees), and related administrative activities. For pur-
poses of subsections (h) and (j), such a determination, ac-
tivity, or collection by such person shall be considered to 
be an action of the Secretary. 
(g) CONSULTATION.— 
(1) WITH
FEDERAL
TRADE
COMMISSION.—In 
establishing the America Star labels and operating 
the America Star Program, the Secretary shall con-
sult with the Federal Trade Commission to ensure 
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consistency with the requirements enforced by the 
Commission with respect to representations of the 
extent to which products are manufactured in the 
United States. 
(2) WITH PRIVATE-SECTOR COMPANIES.—In es-
tablishing the America Star labels and operating the 
America Star Program, the Secretary should consult 
with private-sector companies that have developed 
labeling programs to verify or certify to consumers 
the extent to which products are manufactured in 
the United States. 
(h) PROHIBITED CONDUCT.—Unless there is in effect 
a certification by the Secretary that a product meets the 
standards of an America Star label, a person may not 
place such label on such product, use such label in any 
marketing materials for such product, or in any other way 
represent that such product meets or is certified as meet-
ing the standards of such label. 
(i) ENFORCEMENT.— 
(1) CIVIL PENALTY.—Any person who know-
ingly violates subsection (h) shall be subject to a 
civil penalty of not more than $10,000. 
(2) INELIGIBILITY.— 
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(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 
subparagraph (C), if the Secretary determines 
that a manufacturer— 
(i) has made a false statement to the 
Secretary in connection with the America 
Star Program; 
(ii) knowing, or having reason to 
know, that a product does not meet the 
standards of an America Star label, has 
placed such label on such product, has 
used such label in any marketing materials 
for such product, or in any other way has 
represented that such product meets or is 
certified as meeting the standards of such 
label; or 
(iii) has otherwise violated the pur-
poses of the America Star Program; 
the Secretary may not, for a period of 5 years 
after the conduct described in clause (i), (ii), or 
(iii), certify the product to which such conduct 
relates as meeting the standards of an America 
Star label. 
(B) 
EFFECT
ON
EXISTING
CERTIFI-
CATION.—In the case of a product with respect 
to which, at the time of the determination of 
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the Secretary under subparagraph (A), there is 
in effect a certification by the Secretary that 
the product meets the standards of an America 
Star label— 
(i) if the product continues to meet 
such standards, the Secretary may either 
withdraw the certification or allow the cer-
tification to continue in effect, as the Sec-
retary considers appropriate; and 
(ii) if the product no longer meets 
such standards, the Secretary shall with-
draw the certification. 
(C) WAIVER.—Notwithstanding subpara-
graph (A), the Secretary may waive or reduce 
the period referred to in such subparagraph if 
the Secretary determines that the waiver or re-
duction is in the best interests of the America 
Star Program. 
(3) FALSE STATEMENTS.—A false statement in 
connection with the America Star Program to a per-
son with whom the Secretary contracts under sub-
section (f) shall be considered a false statement to 
the Secretary for purposes of paragraph (2)(A)(i) 
and section 1001 of title 18, United States Code. 
(j) ADMINISTRATIVE APPEAL.— 
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(1) EXPEDITED
APPEALS
PROCEDURE.—The 
Secretary shall establish an expedited administrative 
appeals procedure under which persons may appeal 
an action of the Secretary under this section that— 
(A) adversely affects such person; or 
(B) is inconsistent with the America Star 
Program. 
(2) APPEAL OF FINAL DECISION.—A final deci-
sion of the Secretary under paragraph (1) may be 
appealed to the United States district court for the 
district in which the person is located. 
(k) OFFSETTING COLLECTIONS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may collect 
reasonable fees from— 
(A) manufacturers that apply for certifi-
cation of products as meeting the standards of 
America Star labels; and 
(B) manufacturers of products for which 
such certifications are in effect. 
(2) ACCOUNT.—The fees collected under para-
graph (1) shall be credited to the account that in-
curs the cost of the certification services provided 
under this section. 
(3) USE.—The fees collected under paragraph 
(1) shall be available to the Secretary, without fur-
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ther appropriation or fiscal-year limitation, to pay 
the expenses of the Secretary incurred in providing 
certification services under this section. 
(l) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) AMERICA STAR LABEL.—The term ‘‘Amer-
ica Star label’’ means a label described in subsection 
(a) and established by the Secretary under sub-
section (b)(1). 
(2) AMERICA
STAR
PROGRAM.—The term 
‘‘America Star Program’’ means the voluntary label-
ing program established under this section. 
(3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Commerce. 
Æ 
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