Union Calendar No. 357
103D CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3342
[Report No. 103–660]
A BILL
To establish a toll free number in the Department
of Commerce to assist consumers in determining
if products are American-made.
AUGUST 3, 1994
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Commit-
tee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and
ordered to be printed
IB
Union Calendar No. 357
103D CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3342
[Report No. 103–660]
To establish a toll free number in the Department of Commerce to assist
consumers in determining if products are American-made.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
OCTOBER 21, 1993
Mr. TRAFICANT introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce
AUGUST 3, 1994
Additional sponsors: Mr. QUINN, Mr. LIGHTFOOT, Mr. BARCA of Wisconsin,
Mr. CONYERS, Mr. CRAMER, Mr. GLICKMAN, Mr. APPLEGATE, Mr. MUR-
THA, Mr. TORRES, Mr. ORTIZ, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. WASHINGTON, Mr.
GORDON, Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey, Mr. BECERRA, Mr. BROWN of Ohio,
Ms. BROWN of Florida, Mr. COPPERSMITH, Mr. PENNY, Mrs. BYRNE,
Mr. COSTELLO, Mr. DE LUGO, Mr. COYNE, Mr. SABO, Mr. PARKER, Mr.
SYNAR, Mr. COLEMAN, Mrs. MORELLA, Mr. GOSS, Mr. HEFLEY, Mr. RA-
HALL, Mr. PACKARD, Mr. PICKLE, Mrs. SCHROEDER, Mr. LAZIO, Mr.
TORRICELLI, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. LAUGHLIN, Mr. MYERS of Indiana, Mr.
HUNTER, Mr. DINGELL, Mrs. MEEK, Mr. SKELTON, Mr. WELDON, Mrs.
BENTLEY, Mr. PORTMAN, Mr. HORN, Mr. BARTLETT of Maryland, Mr.
RAVENEL, Ms. SNOWE, Mr. DORNAN, Mr. WHITTEN, Mr. HUTTO, Mr.
RICHARDSON, Mr. HANSEN, Mrs. LLOYD, Mr. BALLENGER, Mr. COBLE,
Mr. SKEEN, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. KOPETSKI, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mr.
FLAKE, Mr. CARR of Michigan, Mr. HEFNER, Mr. LEHMAN, Mr. NEAL
of Massachusetts, Mr. MEEHAN, Mr. TAYLOR of Mississippi, Mrs.
UNSOELD, Ms. MOLINARI, Mr. PAXON, Mr. MINETA, Mr. FROST, Mr.
BOEHLERT, Mr. QUILLEN, Mr. DUNCAN, Ms. NORTON, Mr. OBERSTAR,
Mr. MAZZOLI, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. GUNDERSON, Mr. FINGERHUT, Mr.
NUSSLE, Mr. VISCLOSKY, Mr. CLYBURN, Mr. MARTINEZ, Mr. SANDERS,
Mr. CLAY, Mr. WISE, Mr. HAMBURG, Mr. MCCLOSKEY, Mr. MANTON,
Mr. SUNDQUIST, Mrs. MINK, Mr. BEILENSON, Ms. PELOSI, Mr. VOLK-
MER, Mr. BISHOP, Mr. MOAKLEY, Mr. SMITH of Michigan, Mr. MFUME,
Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, Mr. VENTO, Mr. MANN, Mrs. COLLINS of
Illinois, Mr. BROWN of California, Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA, Mr. STUPAK, Mr.
MORAN, Mr. JACOBS, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. CLEMENT, Mr. DEUTSCH, Miss
COLLINS of Michigan, Mr. WILLIAMS, Mr. DERRICK, Mr. OXLEY, Mr.
LEWIS of California, Mr. HOBSON, Mr. GILMAN, Mr. COLLINS of Geor-
gia, Mr. WILSON, Mr. KLINK, Mr. LIVINGSTON, Mr. YATES, Mr. EVANS,
Mr. BORSKI, Mr. INHOFE, Mr. THORNTON, Ms. MCKINNEY, Ms. WA-
TERS, Ms. HARMAN, Ms. WOOLSEY, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of
Texas, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. MURPHY, Mr. HYDE, Mr. REG-
ULA, Mrs. JOHNSON of Connecticut, Mr. BLUTE, Mr. MCCURDY, Mr.
HAYES, Mr. ROHRABACHER, Mr. KIM, Mr. KANJORSKI, Mr. BARTON of
Texas, Mr. HUGHES, Mr. EDWARDS of California, Ms. DELAURO, Ms.
SLAUGHTER, Mrs. CLAYTON, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. MILLER of Cali-
fornia, Mr. STOKES, Mr. HOLDEN, Ms. SHEPHERD, Mr. SCOTT, Mr. VAL-
ENTINE, Mr. BARCIA of Michigan, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. MOLLOHAN, Ms.
DUNN, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. BILBRAY, Mr. FRANKS of Connecticut, Mr.
TUCKER, Mr. FOGLIETTA, Mr. STUMP, Mr. BLACKWELL, Mr. JEFFER-
SON, Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. UPTON, Mr. SCHU-
MER, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr. GEPHARDT, Mr. BREWSTER, Mr. FAZIO, Mr.
GINGRICH, Mr. DOOLITTLE, Mr. KINGSTON, Mr. SENSENBRENNER, Mr.
PETRI, Mr. BACHUS of Alabama, Mr. GILLMOR, Ms. LONG, Mr. PETE
GEREN of Texas, Mr. RANGEL, Ms. SCHENK, Mr. ANDREWS of Maine,
Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. INSLEE, Mr. EDWARDS of Texas, Mr. SMITH of
Texas, Mr. CRANE, Mr. EMERSON, Mr. DIAZ-BALART, Mr. BILIRAKIS,
Mrs. ROUKEMA, Mr. SPRATT, Mr. THOMAS of California, Mr. POSHARD,
Mr. WYNN, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. CHAPMAN, Mr. JOHNSON of South
Dakota, Mr. STUDDS, Mr. DELLUMS, Mr. SWETT, Mr. WHEAT, Ms.
PRYCE of Ohio, Mr. FARR of California, Mr. TAUZIN, Mr. REYNOLDS,
Mrs. KENNELLY, Mr. ROSE, Mr. HOKE, Mr. LINDER, Mr. WATT, Mr.
ZIMMER, Mr. BRYANT, Mr. BONIOR, Mr. RUSH, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. WAX-
MAN, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. KING, Mr. REED, Mr. KILDEE, Ms. FURSE, Mr.
SLATTERY, and Mr. STEARNS
AUGUST 3, 1994
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]
A BILL
To establish a toll free number in the Department of Com-
merce to assist consumers in determining if products
are American-made.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. ESTABLISHMENT OF TOLL FREE NUMBER.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Within 180 days of the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce
shall establish a toll free number which may be used by
consumers—
(1) to determine if a product is made in Amer-
ica, and
(2) learn where products may be purchased or
learn a telephone number which will provide infor-
mation on the purchase of products.
The Secretary shall publish the number in the Federal
Register and undertake such outreach activities as may
be appropriate to publicize the number.
(b) USE.—Consumers who use the toll free number
shall be informed that the product list is not complete but
is derived from registrations under section 2.
SEC. 2. REGISTRATION.
The Secretary of Commerce shall establish a proce-
dure under which the manufacturer of a product which
is made in America may register with the Secretary and
have such product included in the information available
through the toll free number established under section 1.
SEC. 3. PENALTY.
Any manufacturer of a product who registers a prod-
uct with the Secretary of Commerce under section 2 which
is not made in America may not offer such product for
purchase by the Federal Government and shall be subject
to prosecution under section 5 of the Federal Trade Com-
mission Act for making a deceptive claim.
SEC. 4. DEFINITION.
For purposes of this Act, the term ‘‘made in Amer-
ica’’ means—
(1) an unmanufactured end product mined or
produced in the United States, or
(2) an end product manufactured in the United
States if the cost of its components mined, pro-
duced, or manufactured in the United States exceeds
50 percent of the cost of all of its components.
SECTION 1. ESTABLISHMENT OF TOLL FREE NUMBER
PILOT PROGRAM.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—If the Secretary of Commerce
determines, on the basis of comments submitted in rule-
making under section 2, that—
(1) interest among manufacturers is sufficient to
warrant the establishment of a 3-year toll free number
pilot program, and
(b) PROMULGATION.—If the Secretary determines
based on the comments on the regulation proposed under
subsection (a) that the toll-free number pilot program and
the registration of products is warranted, the Secretary
shall promulgate such regulations
(c) REGISTRATION FEE.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Manufacturers of products in-
cluded in information provided under section 1 shall
be subject to a fee imposed by the Secretary of Com-
merce to pay the cost of registering products and in-
cluding them in information provided under sub-
section (a).
(2) AMOUNT.—The amount of fees imposed under
paragraph (1) shall—
(A) in the case of a manufacturer, not be
greater than the cost of registering the manufac-
turer’s product and providing product informa-
tion directly attributable to such manufacturer,
and
(B) in the case of the total amount of fees,
not be greater than the total amount appro-
priated to the Secretary of Commerce for salaries
and expenses directly attributable to registration
of manufacturers and having products included
in the information provided under section 1(a).
(3) CREDITING AND AVAILABILITY OF FEES.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—Fees collected for a fiscal
year pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be credited
to the appropriation account for salaries and ex-
penses of the Secretary of Commerce and shall be
available in accordance with appropriation Acts
until expended without fiscal year limitation.
(B) 
COLLECTIONS
AND
APPROPRIATION
ACTS.—The fees imposed under paragraph (1)—
(i) shall be collected in each fiscal year
in an amount equal to the amount specified
in appropriation Acts for such fiscal year,
and
(ii) shall only be collected and avail-
able for the costs described in paragraph
(2).
SEC. 3. PENALTY.
Any manufacturer of a product who knowingly reg-
isters a product under section 2 which is not made in Amer-
ica or the equivalent thereof—
(1) shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more
than $7500 which the Secretary of Commerce may as-
sess and collect, and
(2) shall not offer such product for purchase by
the Federal Government.
SEC. 4. DEFINITION.
For purposes of this Act:
(1) The term ‘‘made in America or the equiva-
lent thereof’’ means—
(A) an unmanufactured end product mined
or produced in the United States; or
(B) an end product manufactured in the
United States if the value of its components
mined, produced, or manufactured in the United
States equals 90 percent or more of the total
value of all of its components.
(2) The term ‘‘product’’ means a product with a
retail value of at least $250.
SEC. 5. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.
Nothing in this Act or in any regulation promulgated
under section 2 shall be construed to alter, amend, modify,
or otherwise affect in any way, the Federal Trade Commis-
sion Act or the opinions, decisions, and rules of the Federal
Trade Commission under such Act regarding the use of the
term ‘‘made in America or the equivalent thereof’’ in labels
on products introduced, delivered for introduction, sold, ad-
vertised, or offered for sale in commerce.