zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Seniors Fraud Prevention Act of 2015

Directs the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to establish an office within the Bureau of Consumer Protection to advise the FTC on the prevention of fraud targeting seniors and to assist the FTC in monitoring the market for mail, television, Internet, telemarketing, and recorded message telephone call (robocall) fraud targeting seniors.

Requires the FTC, through such office, to: (1) disseminate to seniors and their families and caregivers information on the most common fraud schemes, including methods of reporting complaints either to the FTC's national toll-free telephone number or to the FTC's Consumer Sentinel Network, where complaints become immediately available to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, state attorneys general, and other appropriate law enforcement agencies; (2) provide, in response to a specific request about a particular entity or individual, publicly available information regarding the FTC's enforcement action; and (3) maintain a website as a resource for information on fraud targeting seniors.

Directs the FTC to establish procedures through such office to: (1) log and acknowledge the receipt of complaints by individuals who believe they have been a victim of such fraud in the Consumer Sentinel Network and to make such complaints immediately available to federal, state, and local law enforcement authorities; and (2) provide individuals with information on such fraud as well as the most common schemes.

Date: 2015-06-03
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Consumer Safety)
Subject: Commerce
Credit Access and Inclusion Act of 2015

This bill amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act to authorize a person or the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to furnish to a consumer reporting agency information relating to the performance of a consumer in making payments: (1) under a lease agreement for a dwelling, including a lease in which HUD provides subsidized payments; or (2) pursuant to a contract for a utility or telecommunications service.

Information about a consumer's usage of any utility or telecommunications services may be furnished to a consumer reporting agency only to the extent that such information relates to payment by the consumer for such services or other terms of the provision of such services, including any deposit, discount, or conditions for interruption or termination of service.

An energy utility firm may not report payment information to a consumer reporting agency with respect to an outstanding balance of a consumer as late if the firm and the consumer have entered into a payment plan and the consumer is meeting the obligations of such plan.

Date: 2015-07-13
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Consumer Safety)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
This bill repeals the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010, which established the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The bill revives or restores the provisions of law amended by such Act as if it had not been enacted.

Date: 2015-07-20
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Consumer Safety)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Bureau Research Transparency Act 

 Amends the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to require the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, any time it issues a research paper available to the public, to accompany it with all studies, data, and other analyses on which it was based.

Date: 2015-07-21
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Consumer Safety)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.)

Child Nicotine Poisoning Prevention Act of 2015

(Sec. 2) This bill requires any nicotine provided in a liquid nicotine container sold, offered for sale, manufactured for sale, distributed in commerce, or imported into the United States to be packaged in accordance with the Consumer Product Safety Commission's (CPSC's) standards and testing procedures for special packaging that is difficult for children under five years of age to open or to obtain harmful contents from. The requirement must be treated as a standard for the special packaging of a household substance under the Poison Prevention Packaging Act of 1970.

"Liquid nicotine container" is defined to: (1) include a package from which nicotine in a solution or other form is accessible through normal and foreseeable use by a consumer and that is used to hold soluble nicotine in any concentration; and (2) exclude a sealed, pre-filled, and disposable container of nicotine in a solution or other form in which such container is inserted directly into an electronic cigarette, electronic nicotine delivery system, or other similar product, if the nicotine in the container is inaccessible through customary or reasonably foreseeable handling or use, including reasonably foreseeable ingestion or other contact by children.

The bill applies to any form of chemical nicotine, including any salt or complex, regardless of whether the chemical is naturally or synthetically derived.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must consult with the CPSC if HHS maintains, enforces, imposes, or continues in effect any packaging requirement for liquid nicotine containers, including a child-resistant packaging requirement.

Date: 2015-07-28
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Consumer Safety)
Subject: Commerce
Equal Employment for All Act of 2015

This bill amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act to prohibit a consumer reporting agency from furnishing an employer with a consumer credit report containing information on the consumer's creditworthiness, credit standing, or credit capacity if the employer intends to use that information for any decision made for employment purposes.

An employer may use such a report in either an employment decision or before taking an adverse employment action with the consumer's authorization under certain circumstances. Specifically, a report may be used if the consumer applies for or holds employment that requires eligibility for access to classified information or such use is otherwise required by law.

An employer who has sought such a report may neither deny employment to nor make any other employment decision about a consumer because the consumer has not authorized the employer's procurement of the report.

Date: 2015-09-16
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Consumer Safety)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Annuity Safety and Security Under Reasonable Enforcement Act of 2015 or the ASSURE Act of 2015

 Amends the Truth in Lending Act to direct the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to issue regulations requiring any payment to a recipient of a federal or military pension (a benefit recipient) that diminishes the benefit recipient's ability to control payments from such pension to be treated as an extension of credit.

Requires financial institutions to include the terms of such credit in consumer information disclosures.

Prohibits the annual percentage rate of interest on such arrangements from exceeding the federal funds rate plus 6% or an equivalent aggregate amount of cash and property.

Specifies conditions under which payment of consideration in exchange for the retired pay of enlisted military members is prohibited from assignment under veterans' benefits laws.

Prohibits individuals from making allotments or assignments from annuities under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) or the Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS), including any agreement under which another person acquires for consideration the right to receive payment from such annuities as well as any arrangement for collateral for security for such an agreement. Exempts union dues or payments to employee organizations from such prohibitions.

Authorizes benefit recipients, individuals entitled to military retired pay, and annuity recipients to bring a private legal action in federal or state court against an assignee engaging in prohibited assignments.

Amends the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to direct the CFPB to issue regulations requiring persons offering federal or military pension-related products to provide additional disclosures when advertising or selling such products to allow consumers to understand how their pension relates to the product.

Date: 2015-10-28
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Consumer Safety)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Cosmetic Modernization Amendments of 2015

This bill amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to set forth provisions governing the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) regulation of cosmetics, including requiring the registration of manufacturing establishments and the submission of a cosmetic and ingredient statement for each cosmetic. The FDA must publish a list of registered establishments and a list of cosmetics and their ingredients.

Cosmetic manufacturers, packers, and distributors must report to the FDA any serious and unexpected adverse events likely caused by a cosmetic. Cosmetic labels must include contact information to report a serious adverse event.

The FDA may establish principles and standards for good manufacturing practices for cosmetics. A cosmetic may not be sold if it presents a significant risk of serious adverse health consequences because it was not manufactured in accordance with good manufacturing practices.

Certain ingredients are deemed safe for use in cosmetics unless restricted by the FDA. The FDA must establish a program to evaluate the safety of cosmetics and cosmetic ingredients.

The FDA must establish and maintain a National Cosmetic Regulatory Databank that contains submitted information on cosmetics. Confidential business and trade secret information may be disclosed only to state agencies that request this information for good cause.

The FDA may establish exemptions to requirements so that implementation and compliance is cost-effective.

Color additives that the FDA has not listed as suitable and safe but that are generally recognized as safe may be used in cosmetics.

States and local governments may not establish or continue in effect specified requirements relating to cosmetics.

Cosmetics may only be imported from registered establishments that have submitted a cosmetic and ingredient statement.

Date: 2015-11-18
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Consumer Safety)
Subject: Health
Credit Access and Inclusion Act of 2015

This bill amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act to authorize a person or the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to furnish to a consumer reporting agency information relating to the performance of a consumer in making payments: (1) under a lease agreement for a dwelling, including a lease in which HUD provides subsidized payments; or (2) pursuant to a contract for a utility or telecommunications service.

Information about a consumer's usage of any utility or telecommunications services may be furnished to a consumer reporting agency only to the extent that such information relates to payment by the consumer for such services or other terms of the provision of such services, including any deposit, discount, or conditions for interruption or termination of service.

An energy utility firm may not report payment information to a consumer reporting agency with respect to an outstanding balance of a consumer as late if the firm and the consumer have entered into a payment plan and the consumer is meeting the obligations of such plan.

The bill amends the Consumer Credit Protection Act to make provisions regarding civil liability to consumers of persons for willful or negligent noncompliance with requirements imposed by such Act on credit reporting agencies inapplicable to any violation of this Act.

Date: 2015-12-03
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Consumer Safety)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Debt Collection Practices Harmonization Act

This bill amends the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to:

 cover debt owed to a state, and require the Consumer Financial Protection Board to prescribe a percentage increase based on the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers in order to index annually for inflation civil damages awarded for abusive practices by a debt collector. The bill also empowers the court to award injunctive relief for violations of the Act.

The Department of the Treasury may not contract with any debt collector or other private party to recoup overpayments of disaster assistance to an individual or household by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act.

Date: 2016-01-07
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Consumer Safety)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Made in America Act of 2016

This bill directs the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to establish labels that persons or businesses may use voluntarily to indicate to consumers the extent to which products introduced, delivered for introduction, sold, advertised, or offered for sale in commerce are of U.S. origin.

The FTC must establish four categories of such labels, to be known as America Star labels, which may be used to designate products: (1) that satisfy the standard for an unqualified U.S. origin claim set forth by the FTC in the Enforcement Policy Statement on U.S. Origin Claims; or (2) for which not less than 90%, 80%, or 70% of the total cost of manufacturing is attributable to U.S. costs.

The FTC must promulgate regulations for such labels and enforce such regulations under the Federal Trade Commission Act.

The bill also preempts certain state law requirements relating to the use of "Made in the U.S.A." or "Made in America" labels. The preemption provisions provide for: (1) the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 to supersede state laws that impose more stringent requirements, and (2) FTC regulations under this bill to supersede state laws.

Date: 2016-02-01
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Consumer Safety)
Subject: Commerce
Truth in Advertising Act of 2016

This bill directs the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to submit a report to Congress assessing the prevalence, in advertisements and other media for the promotion of commercial products and services in the United States, of images that have been altered to materially change the appearance and physical characteristics of the faces and bodies of the individuals depicted. The report must contain: (1) an evaluation of the degree to which such use of altered images may constitute an unfair or deceptive act or practice, (2) guidelines for advertisers regarding how the FTC determines whether such use constitutes an unfair or deceptive act or practice, and (3) recommendations reflecting a consensus of stakeholders and experts to reduce consumer harm arising from such use.

The FTC must solicit input, to the extent practicable, from: (1) stakeholders that are geographically and culturally diverse; and (2) experts from physical and mental health, business, consumer advocacy, and advertising industry communities.

Date: 2016-02-03
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Consumer Safety)
Subject: Commerce
Stop Online Booking Scams Act of 2016

This bill amends the Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act (ROSCA) to prohibit a third party online hotel reservation seller (an online seller that is not affiliated with the person who owns the hotel or provides the hotel services or accommodations) from charging a consumer's credit card, debit card, bank account, or other financial account for any good or service sold in an Internet transaction, unless the seller discloses all material terms of the transaction.

Before the conclusion of the transaction, the seller must describe, and disclose the cost of, the offered good or service.

The seller must also disclose, in a manner that is continuously visible to the consumer throughout the transaction process, the fact that it is not affiliated with the person who: (1) owns the hotel, or (2) provides the hotel services or accommodations.

States may bring actions in federal courts to obtain damages, restitution, compensation, or other relief for ROSCA violations. (Currently, states may bring such actions for only injunctive relief.)

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) must publish on its website an assessment of: (1) consumers' capacity to understand which company they are transacting with during online hotel reservation shopping, (2) consumer harm from such uncertainty, and (3) whether any practice by a third party online hotel reservation seller violates ROSCA.

The bill expresses the sense of Congress that the FTC should revise its website to make it easier for consumers and businesses to report complaints of deceptive practices with online booking of hotel reservations.

Date: 2016-02-10
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Consumer Safety)
Subject: Commerce
Cleaning Product Right to Know Act of 2016

This bill requires cleaning products to bear a label with, and requires manufacturers to include on their websites, a list of all of the product's ingredients (including individual ingredients in dyes, fragrances, and preservatives) in descending order of predominance by weight, except that ingredients that constitute less than 1% of the product can be listed at the end in any order. Product websites must include: (1) the CAS Registry Number of each ingredient, and (2) an explanation of each ingredient's purpose.

A product that is not in conformity with the labeling and website listing requirements shall be treated as a misbranded hazardous substance under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act.

A person may petition the Consumer Product Safety Commission to investigate claims that a product does not satisfy these requirements.

Date: 2016-05-12
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Consumer Safety)
Subject: Commerce
Bereaved Consumer's Bill of Rights Act of 2016

 This bill directs the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to prescribe rules prohibiting unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the provision of funeral goods or services. The rules must: (1) require price information to be disclosed clearly and conspicuously; (2) prohibit misrepresentations or the provision of goods or services being conditioned upon the purchase of other goods or services from the provider; (3) require presale disclosures and contracts to be written clearly, stating the merchandise, services, and prices and disclosing any penalties for canceling or transferring a contract; (4) require cemeteries to provide consumers all written rules and regulations of the cemetery and all material terms and conditions of purchase; and (5) require cemeteries to retain all records in existence on the date of enactment of this bill and accurately record and retain records of interments, inurnments, or entombments.

Cemeteries subject to the FTC's rules shall include those organized or operated by states, political subdivisions, or tax-exempt organizations. But the bill excludes cemeteries organized, operated, managed, and owned by a religious organization and that are not affiliated with a for-profit provider offering funeral goods and services for sale to the public. The FTC and states are provided authority to enforce against violations.

Date: 2016-05-12
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Consumer Safety)
Subject: Commerce
Anti-Pyramid Promotional Scheme Act of 2016

 This bill prohibits the establishment, operation, or promotion of a pyramid promotional scheme, which is defined as a plan or operation by which a person gives consideration (money or other thing of value) to a participant in the scheme for the right to receive compensation derived primarily from the participant's introduction of another person into the plan or operation rather than from the sale of products to ultimate users.

The bill grants enforcement authority to the Federal Trade Commission and requires violations to be treated as unfair or deceptive acts or practices under the Federal Trade Commission Act.

Date: 2016-05-13
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Consumer Safety)
Subject: Commerce
Clarifying Legality and Enforcement Action Reasoning Act of 2016 or the CLEAR Act of 2016

This bill amends the Federal Trade Commission Act to require the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to submit an annual report to Congress about its investigations concerning unfair or deceptive acts or practices, or unfair methods of competition, in or affecting commerce. The reports must detail:

 the number of such investigations the FTC has commenced and the disposition of investigations that concluded with official agency action; and the number of investigations the FTC has closed with no official agency action, along with a description that indicates the legal analysis supporting the FTC's decision not to continue such investigations, and the industry sectors of the entities subject to each such investigation. The bill prohibits the FTC from identifying a person who is the subject of an investigation in its description of an investigation that closed with no official agency action.

Date: 2016-05-24
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Consumer Safety)
Subject: Commerce
Stop Tip-overs of Unstable, Risky Dressers on Youth Act or the STURDY Act

 This bill requires the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to promulgate a final consumer product safety standard for free-standing clothing storage units (furniture items referred to as, or that may contain, a chest, door chest, chest of drawers, dresser, or bureau) to protect children from tip-over-related death or injury, unless the CPSC determines that a voluntary ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) International standard adequately protects children and is likely to be complied with by furniture manufacturers.

If an ASTM standard meets the CPSC's requirements, the standard shall be treated as a consumer product safety rule.

Date: 2016-06-09
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Consumer Safety)
Subject: Commerce
This bill: (1) repeals provisions of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 that amended the Electronic Fund Transfer Act to authorize the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to prescribe regulations governing interchange transaction fees for electronic debit transactions, and (2) restores the law amended by such provisions as if they had not been enacted.

Date: 2016-06-14
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Consumer Safety)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
This bill amends the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to require the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to verify the accuracy of information in its consumer complaint database before making it available to the public.

Date: 2016-06-15
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Consumer Safety)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Protect Consumers from Phony Phone Charges Act of 2016

This bill requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to complete a rulemaking proceeding relating to the placing of unauthorized charges on a consumer's telephone bill (commonly referred to as "cramming"). The FCC must consider whether to issue a rule that requires blocking the placement of third-party charges on a consumer's wireline, wireless, or bundled services telephone bill under the criteria it relied upon when it entered into a consent decree relating to cramming with mobile voice and data service providers.

Date: 2016-06-23
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Consumer Safety)
Subject: Science, technology, communications
Pink Tax Repeal Act

This bill prohibits the sale of substantially similar services or consumer products from the same manufacturer if they are priced differently based on the gender of the individuals to whom the products are marketed or intended or for whom the services are marketed, performed, or offered.

A difference in coloring among consumer products shall not be construed as a substantial difference.

Violations shall be treated as unfair or deceptive act or practice under the Federal Trade Commission Act.

The Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general are authorized to enforce against such violations.

Date: 2016-07-08
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Consumer Safety)
Subject: Commerce
Portable Fuel Container Safety Act of 2016

This bill requires the Consumer Product Safety Commission to promulgate a final rule relating to flame mitigation devices in portable fuel containers for flammable liquid fuels that sufficiently reduces the risk of injuries associated with the tendency of vapors igniting when the container is near an open flame or other ignition source. A "portable fuel container" is defined as a receptacle for flammable liquids (including any spout, retrofit spout, cap, and other closure mechanism and component of such receptacle) that foreseeably will be used by consumers and is manufactured or imported for use in the United States.

The rule must be treated as a consumer product safety rule promulgated under the Consumer Product Safety Act.

Date: 2016-07-14
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Consumer Safety)
Subject: Commerce
(This measure has not been amended since it was passed by the Senate on December 10, 2015. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Child Nicotine Poisoning Prevention Act of 2015

(Sec. 2) This bill requires any nicotine provided in a liquid nicotine container sold, offered for sale, manufactured for sale, distributed in commerce, or imported into the United States to be packaged in accordance with the Consumer Product Safety Commission's (CPSC's) standards and testing procedures for special packaging that is difficult for children under five years of age to open or to obtain harmful contents from. The requirement must be treated as a standard for the special packaging of a household substance under the Poison Prevention Packaging Act of 1970.

"Liquid nicotine container" is defined to: (1) include a package from which nicotine in a solution or other form is accessible through normal and foreseeable use by a consumer and that is used to hold soluble nicotine in any concentration; and (2) exclude a sealed, pre-filled, and disposable container of nicotine in a solution or other form in which such container is inserted directly into an electronic cigarette, electronic nicotine delivery system, or other similar product, if the nicotine in the container is inaccessible through customary or reasonably foreseeable handling or use, including reasonably foreseeable ingestion or other contact by children.

The bill applies to any form of chemical nicotine, including any salt or complex, regardless of whether the chemical is naturally or synthetically derived.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must consult with the CPSC if HHS maintains, enforces, imposes, or continues in effect any packaging requirement for liquid nicotine containers, including a child-resistant packaging requirement.

Date: 2015-01-08
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Consumer Safety)
Subject: Commerce
Hunting, Fishing, and Recreational Shooting Protection Act

This bill exempts components of firearms and ammunition and sport fishing equipment and its components (such as lead sinkers) from regulations on chemical substances under the Toxic Substances Control Act.

Date: 2015-01-21
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Consumer Safety)
Subject: Environmental protection
Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection-Inspector General Reform Act of 2015 or CFPB-IG Act of 2015

 Amends the Inspector General Act of 1978 to repeal the authority of the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to appoint the Inspector General of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

Requires the CFPB Inspector General to be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.

Date: 2015-02-12
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Consumer Safety)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Empowering Student Borrowers Act

Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to establish, maintain, and periodically update best practices for institutions of higher education in: (1) teaching financial literacy skills, and (2) providing students with useful and necessary information to assist them in making financial decisions related to student borrowing.

Requires those practices to include:

 methods to ensure that students have a clear sense of their total borrowing obligations; the most effective ways to engage students in financial literacy education; information on how to target different student populations, including part-time students, first-time students, and other nontraditional students; and ways to clearly communicate the importance of graduating on a student's ability to repay student loans.

Date: 2015-03-18
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Consumer Safety)
Subject: Education
Personal Care Products Safety Act

This bill amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to require cosmetics companies to register their facilities with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and to submit to the FDA cosmetic ingredient statements that include the amounts of a cosmetic's ingredients. Companies must pay a facility registration fee based on their annual gross sales of cosmetics. The collected fees can only be used for cosmetic safety activities.

If the FDA determines that a cosmetic has a reasonable probability of causing serious adverse health consequences, it may prohibit the cosmetic's distribution by suspending the cosmetic ingredient statement. If other cosmetics from the same facility may be affected, the FDA may prohibit distribution from the facility by suspending the facility's registration.

The FDA must review the safety of at least five cosmetic ingredients each year, and it may establish conditions for safe use of an ingredient, including a limit on the amount of the ingredient or a requirement for a warning label. A cosmetic cannot be sold if it contains an ingredient that is not safe, not safe under the recommended conditions of use, or not safe in the amount present in the cosmetic.

Cosmetics companies are required to report to the FDA any serious adverse health event associated with their cosmetics.

The FDA must:

 develop and implement cosmetic manufacturing standards that are consistent with existing national and international standards, be allowed to inspect a company's cosmetic safety records, recall a cosmetic that is likely to cause serious adverse health consequences, and encourage cosmetic safety testing practices that minimize the use of animals.

Date: 2015-04-20
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Consumer Safety)
Subject: Health
FIX Credit Reporting Errors Act or the FIX Act

 Amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act with respect to the procedures followed by consumer reporting agencies when a consumer disputes the completeness or accuracy of information contained in the consumer's credit report.

Requires consumer reporting agencies to: (1) expand the dispute notification furnished to any person who provided disputed information to include all documentation provided by the consumer, and (2) consider such consumer documentation when conducting reinvestigations of disputed information.

Directs a consumer reporting agency that operates as reseller, if it receives notice from a consumer of a dispute concerning a report that the reseller produced but the reseller determines that the information is not incomplete or inaccurate as a result of an act or omission of the reseller, to convey the notice of the dispute, together with all relevant information and documentation provided by the consumer, to each consumer reporting agency that provided the reseller with the information that is the subject of the dispute.

Date: 2015-05-06
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Consumer Safety)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Nicholas and Zachary Burt Memorial Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Prevention Act of 2015 

(Sec. 4) This bill directs the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to establish a grant program to provide assistance to states or tribal organizations that require compliant carbon monoxide alarms to be installed in dwelling units.

A "compliant carbon monoxide alarm" is an alarm that complies with: (1) the Standard for Single and Multiple Station Carbon Monoxide Alarms of the American National Standards Institute and UL (ANSI/UL 2034) or a successor standard, and (2) the Standard for Gas and Vapor Detectors and Sensors of the American National Standards Institute and UL (ANSI/UL 2075) or a successor standard.

 In selecting grant recipients, the CPSC must give favorable consideration to states or tribal organizations that: (1) require compliant alarms in specified facilities with fuel-burning appliances or attached garages, including educational facilities, childcare facilities, health care facilities, adult dependent care facilities, government buildings, restaurants, theaters, lodging establishments, or dwelling units; and (2) have strategies to protect vulnerable populations such as children, the elderly, or low-income households.

States or tribal organizations receiving grants may use such funds to: (1) purchase and install such alarms in dwelling units of low-income families or elderly persons, childcare facilities, public schools, senior centers, or student dwelling units owned by public universities; (2) train state, tribal, or local fire code enforcement officials regarding compliance and installation; or (3) educate the public about the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.

The CPSC must report to Congress regarding the implementation of such grant program.

Date: 2015-05-07
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Consumer Safety)
Subject: Commerce
(This measure has not been amended since it was passed by the Senate on July 9, 2015. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

E-Warranty Act of 2015

(Sec. 3) Amends the Magnuson-Moss Warranty--Federal Trade Commission Improvement Act to require the Federal Trade Commission to revise its rules to allow manufacturers to satisfy requirements concerning the availability of written warranties on consumer products by making the terms accessible in a digital format on the manufacturer's Internet website. Requires the product, packaging, or product manual in the case of a warranty provided on a website in such manner to display to the consumer: (1) the website where the warranty terms can be obtained; and (2) a phone number, postal address, or other reasonable non-Internet based means of contacting the manufacturer to obtain and review such terms.

Prohibits such Internet website warranties from satisfying any requirement that a warranty be made available prior to sale in a retail location, by catalog, or through door-to-door sales, unless the seller makes the warranty available, through electronic or other means, at the location of the sale before the purchase.

Date: 2015-05-14
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Consumer Safety)
Subject: Commerce
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Accountability Act of 2015

This bill amends the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to change the source of funding for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) from Federal Reserve System transfers to annual appropriations. Under current law, the transfers from the Federal Reserve System permit the CFPB to be funded outside of the annual congressional appropriations process.

Date: 2015-05-19
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Consumer Safety)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.)

Seniors Fraud Prevention Act of 2015

(Sec. 2) This bill directs the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to establish an office within the Bureau of Consumer Protection to advise the FTC on the prevention of fraud targeting seniors and to assist the FTC in monitoring the market for mail, television, Internet, telemarketing, and recorded message telephone call (robocall) fraud targeting seniors.

The office must: (1) disseminate to seniors and their families and caregivers information on the most common fraud schemes, including methods of reporting complaints either to the FTC's national toll-free telephone number or to the FTC's Consumer Sentinel Network, where complaints become immediately available to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, state attorneys general, and other appropriate law enforcement agencies; (2) provide, in response to a specific request about a particular entity or individual, publicly available information regarding the FTC's enforcement action; and (3) maintain a website as a resource for information on fraud targeting seniors.

The FTC must establish procedures through such office to: (1) log and acknowledge the receipt of complaints by individuals who believe they have been a victim of such fraud in the Consumer Sentinel Network and to make such complaints immediately available to federal, state, and local law enforcement authorities; and (2) provide individuals with information on such fraud as well as the most common schemes.

Date: 2015-06-03
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Consumer Safety)
Subject: Commerce
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.)

Reinforcing American-Made Products Act of 2015

(Sec. 2) This bill amends the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 to require the Federal Trade Commission's regulation of the labeling of products as "Made in the U.S.A." or "Made in America" to supersede any state laws regarding the extent to which a product is introduced, delivered, sold, advertised, or offered for sale in interstate or foreign commerce with such a label in order to represent that the product was in whole or substantial part of domestic origin.

Date: 2015-06-04
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Consumer Safety)
Subject: Commerce
Military Consumer Protection Act

This bill amends the Consumer Financial Protection Act to extend Consumer Financial Protection Bureau oversight and protection to provisions under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act concerning:

 future financial transactions, excluding insurance; default judgments, excluding child custody proceedings; interest rates on pre-service debts; evictions; purchase or lease installment contracts; mortgages and trusts; motor vehicle leases; telephone service contracts; and waiver of rights pursuant to a written agreement, excluding bailments.

Date: 2015-06-11
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Consumer Safety)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Repeal CFPB Act

Repeals the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010, which established the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.

Revives or restores the provisions of law amended by such Act as if it had not been enacted.

Date: 2015-07-21
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Consumer Safety)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection Advisory Board Enhancement Act

 This bill amends the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to require the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to establish: (1) a Small Business Advisory Board to advise and consult with the CFPB in the exercise of its functions under the federal consumer financial laws regarding financial products or services provided for use by consumers primarily for personal, family, or household purposes and to provide information on emerging practices of small businesses that provide such products or services; and (2) a Credit Union Advisory Council and a Community Bank Advisory Council to advise and consult with the CFPB on consumer financial products or services that impact credit unions and community banks, respectively.

Date: 2015-08-05
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Consumer Safety)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Children and Firefighters Protection Act of 2015

Prohibits manufacturers, distributors, or retailers from selling, manufacturing for sale, distributing in commerce, or importing into the United States any children's product or upholstered furniture that contains a flame retardant exceeding a specified amount of the total chemical content by weight for any part of the product or furniture. Specifies flame retardants that are subject to such prohibitions.

Requires the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to appoint a chronic hazard advisory panel to study the effects on human health of all chemical flame retardants as used in such products or upholstered furniture.

Directs the CPSC, after receiving a report from the advisory panel evaluating the full range of such retardants, to promulgate a final rule specifying retardants that are not already listed in this Act that may cause substantial personal injury or illness. Makes such CPSC-specified retardants subject to the prohibitions of this Act.

Date: 2015-08-05
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Consumer Safety)
Subject: Commerce
Consumer Review Freedom Act of 2015

(Sec. 2) This bill makes a provision of a form contract void from the inception if it: (1) prohibits or restricts an individual who is a party to such a contract from engaging in written, oral, or pictorial reviews, or other similar performance assessments or analyses of, including by electronic means, the goods, services, or conduct of a person that is also a party to the contract; (2) imposes penalties or fees against individuals who engage in such communications; or (3) transfers or requires the individual to transfer intellectual property rights in review or feedback content (with the exception of a nonexclusive license to use the content) in any otherwise lawful communications about such person or the goods or services provided by such person.

A "form contract" is a contract with standardized terms: (1) used by a person in the course of selling or leasing the person's goods or services, and (2) imposed on an individual without a meaningful opportunity to negotiate the standardized terms. The definition excludes an employer-employee or independent contractor contract.

The standards under which provisions of a form contract are considered void under this Act shall not be construed to affect:

 legal duties of confidentiality; civil actions for defamation, libel, or slander; or a party's right to establish terms and conditions for the creation of photographs or video of such party's property when those photographs or video are created by an employee or independent contractor of a commercial entity and are solely intended to be used for commercial purposes by that entity. Such standards also shall not be construed to affect any party's right to remove or refuse to display publicly on an Internet website or webpage owned, operated, or controlled by such party content that: (1) contains the personal information or likeness of another person or is libelous, harassing, abusive, obscene, vulgar, sexually explicit, inappropriate with respect to race, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, or other intrinsic characteristic; (2) is unrelated to the goods or services offered by or available at such party's website; or (3) is clearly false or misleading.

A provision shall not be considered void under this Act to the extent that it prohibits disclosure or submission of, or reserves the right of a person or business that hosts online consumer reviews or comments to remove, certain: (1) trade secrets or commercial or financial information; (2) personnel and medical files; (3) law enforcement records; (4) content that is unlawful or that a party has a right to remove or refuse to display; or (5) computer viruses or other potentially damaging computer code, processes, applications, or files.

A person is prohibited from offering form contracts containing a provision that is considered void under this Act.

Enforcement authority is provided to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and states.

The FTC must provide businesses with nonbinding best practices for compliance.

Date: 2015-09-16
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Consumer Safety)
Subject: Commerce
Tallying of the Actual Liabilities Act of 2015 or the TOTAL Act of 2015

This bill prohibits a retailer under the jurisdiction of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) from selling a product or service through an Internet website without presenting the total transaction amount it expects to collect from the potential purchaser (including all fees, taxes, and shipping and handling charges) before the person commits to the purchase.

The bill sets forth authority for: (1) the FTC to enforce a violation of this Act as an unfair or deceptive act or practice, and (2) states to bring civil actions on behalf of residents threatened or adversely affected by such a violation.

Date: 2015-12-17
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Consumer Safety)
Subject: Commerce
Strengthening Access to Valuable Education and Retirement Support Act of 2016 or the SAVERS Act of 2016

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt from the tax on prohibited transactions: (1) the provision of investment advice by a fiduciary to a pension plan, plan participant, or beneficiary which is a best interest recommendation; and (2) any transaction, including a contract for service, between an investment provider and the advice recipient if no more than reasonable compensation is paid for such investment advice and certain disclosures are made with respect to the cost of such advice.

For purposes of this bill, "investment advice" is a recommendation that relates to: (1) the advisability of acquiring, holding, disposing, or exchanging any moneys or other property of a pension plan (or Individual Retirement Account) by the plan, plan participants, or plan beneficiaries, including any recommendation regarding whether to take a distribution of benefits from the plan or any recommendation relating to a rollover or distribution from such plan; (2) the management of moneys or other property of the plan, including recommendations relating to the management of plan assets to be rolled over or otherwise distributed from the plan; or (3) the advisability of retaining or ceasing to retain a person who would receive a fee or other compensation for providing investment advice. Investment advice must be rendered pursuant to either: (1) a written acknowledgment that the person is a fiduciary with respect to the provision of the recommendation; or (2) a mutual agreement, arrangement, or understanding that may include limitations on scope, timing, and responsibility to provide ongoing monitoring or advice services.

The bill defines "best interest recommendation" as a recommendation: (1) for which no more than reasonable compensation is paid; (2) that is provided by a person acting with the care, skill, prudence, and diligence under the prevailing circumstances that a prudent person would exercise based on information obtained from an advice recipient; and (3) where the person giving such advice places the interests of the plan or advice recipient above the person's interests. A best interest recommendation may include a recommendation that is based on a limited range of investment options or may result in variable compensation to the person providing the recommendation.

The bill prohibits the Department of Labor from amending any rules or administrative positions regarding investment advice promulgated under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), the prohibited transaction provisions of the Internal Revenue Code, or other Labor regulations, and no such rules or administrative positions promulgated prior to the enactment date of this Act, but not effective on January 1, 2015, may become effective unless a bill or joint resolution specifically approving such rules or positions is enacted not later than 60 days after the enactment of this Act.

Date: 2016-02-04
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Consumer Safety)
Subject: Labor and employment
Truth in Hotel Advertising Act of 2016

This bill prohibits certain entities that are subject to the enforcement authority of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) from advertising a rate for a hotel room that does not include all required fees other than taxes and fees imposed by a government.

Violations are to be treated as unfair or deceptive acts or practices under the Federal Trade Commission Act.

The bill sets forth authority for the FTC and states to enforce against such violations.

Date: 2016-02-25
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Consumer Safety)
Subject: Commerce