[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 754 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 754

 To establish a toll free number under the Federal Trade Commission to 
     assist consumers in determining if products are American-made.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 11, 1999

Mr. Traficant introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                         Committee on Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To establish a toll free number under the Federal Trade Commission to 
     assist consumers in determining if products are American-made.

    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 ``Made in America Information Act''.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF TOLL FREE NUMBER PILOT PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment.--If the Federal Trade Commission determines, on 
the basis of comments submitted in rulemaking under section 3, that--
            (1) interest among manufacturers is sufficient to warrant 
        the establishment of a 3-year toll free number pilot program, 
        and
            (2) manufacturers will provide fees under section 3(c) so 
        that the program will operate without cost to the Federal 
        Government,
the Commission shall establish such program solely to help inform 
consumers whether a product is ``Made in America''. The Commission 
shall publish the toll-free number by notice in the Federal Register.
    (b) Contract.--The Federal Trade Commission shall enter into a 
contract for--
            (1) the establishment and operation of the toll free number 
        pilot program provided for in subsection (a), and
            (2) the registration of products pursuant to regulations 
        issued under section 3,
which shall be funded entirely from fees collected under section 3(c).
    (c) Use.--The toll free number shall be used solely to inform 
consumers as to whether products are registered under section 3 as 
``Made in America''. Consumers shall also be informed that registration 
of a product does not mean--
            (1) that the product is endorsed or approved by the 
        Government,
            (2) that the Federal Trade Commission has conducted any 
        investigation to confirm that the product is a product which 
        meets the definition of ``Made in America'' in section 5, or
            (3) that the product contains 100 percent United States 
        content.

SEC. 3. REGISTRATION.

    (a) Proposed Regulation.--The Federal Trade Commission shall 
propose a regulation--
            (1) to establish a procedure under which the manufacturer 
        of a product may voluntarily register such product as complying 
        with the definition of ``Made in America'' in section 5 and 
        have such product included in the information available through 
        the toll free number established under section 2(a);
            (2) to establish, assess, and collect a fee to cover all 
        the costs (including start-up costs) of registering products 
        and including registered products in information provided under 
        the toll-free number;
            (3) for the establishment under section 2(a) of the toll-
        free number pilot program; and
            (4) to solicit views from the private sector concerning the 
        level of interest of manufacturers in registering products 
        under the terms and conditions of paragraph (1).
    (b) Promulgation.--If the Federal Trade Commission 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 Commission shall promulgate such regulation.
    (c) Registration Fee.--
            (1) In general.--Manufacturers of products included in 
        information provided under section 2 shall be subject to a fee 
        imposed by the Federal Trade Commission to pay the cost of 
        registering products and including them in information provided 
        under subsection (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 manufacturer's product 
                and providing product information directly attributable 
                to such manufacturer, and
                    (B) in the case of the total amount of fees, not be 
                greater than the total amount appropriated to the 
                Federal Trade Commission for salaries and expenses 
                directly attributable to registration of manufacturers 
                and having products included in the information 
                provided under section 2(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 expenses of the 
                Federal Trade Commission 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 available 
                        for the costs described in paragraph (2).

SEC. 4. PENALTY.

    Any manufacturer of a product who knowingly registers a product 
under section 3 which is not ``Made in America''--
            (1) shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than 
        $7500 which the Federal Trade Commission may assess and 
        collect, and
            (2) shall not offer such product for purchase by the 
        Federal Government.

SEC. 5. DEFINITION.

    For purposes of this Act:
            (1) The term ``Made in America'' has the meaning given 
        unqualified ``Made in U.S.A.'' or ``Made in America'' claims 
        for purposes of laws administered by the Federal Trade 
        Commission.
            (2) The term ``product'' means a product with a retail 
        value of at least $250.

SEC. 6. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.

    Nothing in this Act or in any regulation promulgated under section 
3 shall be construed to alter, amend, modify, or otherwise affect in 
any way, the Federal Trade Commission Act or the opinions, decisions, 
rules, or any guidance issued by the Federal Trade Commission regarding 
the use of unqualified ``Made in U.S.A.'' or ``Made in America'' claims 
in labels on products introduced, delivered for introduction, sold, 
advertised, or offered for sale in commerce.
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