[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5393 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5393

 To amend title 18, United States Code, to provide a criminal penalty 
 for the unauthorized placement of a writing with a consumer product, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 5, 2000

  Mr. McCollum (for himself and Ms. Baldwin) introduced the following 
       bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title 18, United States Code, to provide a criminal penalty 
 for the unauthorized placement of a writing with a consumer product, 
                        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. UNAUTHORIZED PLACEMENT OF WRITING WITH A CONSUMER PRODUCT.

    (a) Unauthorized Placement.--Section 1365 of title 18, United 
States Code, is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsections (f) and (g) as subsections 
        (g) and (h), respectively;
            (2) by inserting after subsection (e) the following new 
        subsection:
    ``(f)(1) Whoever knowingly stamps, prints, places, or inserts any 
writing in or on any consumer product, or the box, package, or other 
container of any consumer product, prior to its sale to any consumer, 
shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 3 years, or 
both.
    ``(2) This subsection shall not apply in any case in which the 
manufacturer, retailer, or authorized distributor of the product 
consents to the stamping, printing, placing, or inserting of the 
writing for promotional or sales purposes.''; and
            (3) Subsection (h) (as redesignated by paragraph (1)) is 
        amended--
                    (A) in paragraph (3)(D), by striking ``and'';
                    (B) in paragraph (4), by striking the period and 
                inserting ``; and''; and
                    (C) by adding after paragraph (4) the following:
            ``(5) the term `writing' means any form of representation 
        or communication, including handbills, notices, or advertising 
        that contains letters, words, or pictorial representations.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--Sections 2261A and 2332b(g)(3) of this 
title are each amended by striking ``1365(g)(3)'' and inserting 
``1365''.
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