[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 795 Reported in Senate (RS)]





                                                       Calendar No. 417

106th CONGRESS

  1st Session

                                 S. 795

                          [Report No. 106-224]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

To amend the Fastener Quality Act to strengthen the protection against 
 the sale of mismarked, misrepresented, and counterfeit fasteners and 
      eliminate unnecessary requirements, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                           November 19, 1999

                        Reported with amendments
                                                       Calendar No. 417
106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 795

                          [Report No. 106-224]

To amend the Fastener Quality Act to strengthen the protection against 
 the sale of mismarked, misrepresented, and counterfeit fasteners and 
      eliminate unnecessary requirements, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 14, 1999

   Mr. McCain (for himself, Mr. Hollings, Mr. Frist, Mr. Burns, Mr. 
    Breaux, Mr. Ashcroft, Mr. Abraham, and Mr. Robb) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                 Commerce, Science, and Transportation

                           November 19, 1999

                Reported by Mr. McCain, with amendments
  [Omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Fastener Quality Act to strengthen the protection against 
 the sale of mismarked, misrepresented, and counterfeit fasteners and 
      eliminate unnecessary requirements, 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. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Fastener Quality Act Amendments Act 
of 1999''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    Section 2 of the Fastener Quality Act (15 U.S.C. 5401) is amended 
to read as follows:

``SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    ``The Congress finds that--
            ``(1) the United States fastener industry is a significant 
        contributor to the global economy, employing thousands of 
        workers in hundreds of communities;
            ``(2) the American economy uses billions of fasteners each 
        year;
            ``(3) state-of-the-art manufacturing and improved quality 
        assurance systems have dramatically improved fastener quality, 
        so virtually all fasteners sold in commerce meet or exceed the 
        consensus standards for the uses to which they are applied;
            ``(4) a small number of mismarked, misrepresented, and 
        counterfeit fasteners do enter commerce in the United States; 
        and
            ``(5) multiple criteria for the identification of fasteners 
        exist, including grade identification markings and 
        manufacturer's insignia, to enable purchasers and users of 
        fasteners to accurately evaluate the characteristics of 
        individual fasteners.''.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    Section 3 of the Fastener Quality Act (15 U.S.C. 5402) is amended 
to read as follows:

``SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    ``As used in this Act, the term--
            ``(1) `accredited laboratory' means a fastener testing 
        facility used to perform end-of-line testing required by a 
        consensus standard or standards to verify that a lot of 
        fasteners conforms to the grade identification marking called 
        for in the consensus standard or standards to which the lot of 
        fasteners has been manufactured, and which--
                    ``(A) meets the requirements of ISO/IEC Guide 25, 
                including revisions from time to time, or another 
                document approved by the Director under section 10(c); 
                and
                    ``(B) has been accredited by a laboratory 
                accreditation body that meets the requirements of ISO/
                IEC Guide 58, including revisions from time to time, or 
                another document approved by the Director under section 
                10(d);
            ``(2) `consensus standard' means the provisions of a 
        document that describes fastener characteristics published by a 
        consensus standards organization or a Federal agency, and does 
        not include a proprietary standard;
            ``(3) `consensus standards organization' means the American 
        Society for Testing and Materials, the American National 
        Standards Institute, the American Society of Mechanical 
        Engineers, the Society of Automotive Engineers, the 
        International Organization for Standardization, any other 
        organization identified as a United States consensus standards 
        organization or a foreign and international consensus standards 
        organization in the Federal Register at 61 Fed. Reg. 50582-83 
        (September 26, 1996), and any successor organizations thereto;
            ``(4) `Director' means the Director of the National 
        Institute of Standards and Technology;
            ``(5) `distributor' means a person who purchases fasteners 
        for the purpose of reselling them at wholesale to unaffiliated 
        <DELETED>entities or individuals</DELETED> persons within the 
        United States, and, for purposes of this paragraph, 
        <DELETED>(an </DELETED>an original equipment manufacturer and 
        its dealers shall be considered affiliated <DELETED>entities 
        </DELETED>persons for purposes of this <DELETED>Act); 
        </DELETED>Act;
            ``(6) `fastener' means a metallic screw, nut, bolt, or stud 
        having internal or external threads, with a nominal diameter of 
        6 millimeters or greater, in the case of such items described 
        in metric terms, or 1/4 inch or greater, in the case of such 
        items described in terms of the English system of measurement, 
        or a load-indicating washer, that is through-hardened or 
        represented as meeting a consensus standard that calls for 
        through-hardening, and that is grade identification marked or 
        represented as meeting a consensus standard that requires grade 
        identification marking, except that such term does not include 
        any screw, nut, bolt, stud, or load-indicating washer that is--
                    ``(A) part of an assembly;
                    ``(B) in a package containing no more than 100 of 
                any one screw, nut, bolt, stud, or load-indicating 
                washer at the time of sale;
                    ``(C) produced and marked as ASTM A 307 Grade A, or 
                a successor standard thereto;
                    ``(D) produced in accordance with ASTM F 432, or a 
                successor standard thereto;
                    ``(E) specifically manufactured for use on an 
                aircraft if the quality and suitability of those 
                fasteners for that use has been approved--
                            ``(i) by the Federal Aviation 
                        Administration; or
                            ``(ii) by a foreign airworthiness authority 
                        as described in part 21.29, 21.500, 21.502, or 
                        21.617 of title 14 of the Code of Federal 
                        Regulations;
                    ``(F) manufactured in accordance with a fastener 
                quality assurance system; or
                    ``(G) manufactured to a proprietary standard, 
                whether or not such proprietary standard directly or 
                indirectly references a consensus standard or any 
                portion thereof;
            ``(7) `fastener quality assurance system' means--
                    ``(A) a system that meets the requirements, 
                including revisions from time to time, of--
                            ``(i) International Organization for 
                        Standardization (ISO) Standard 9000, 9001, 
                        9002, or TS16949;
                            ``(ii) Quality System (QS) 9000 Standard;
                            ``(iii) Verband der Automobilindustrie e. 
                        V. (VDA) 6.1 Standard; or
                            ``(iv) Aerospace Basic Quality System 
                        Standard AS9000; or
                    ``(B) any fastener manufacturing system--
                            ``(i) that has as a stated goal the 
                        prevention of defects through continuous 
                        improvement;
                            ``(ii) that seeks to attain the goal stated 
                        in clause (i) by incorporating--
                                    ``(I) advance quality planning;
                                    ``(II) monitoring and control of 
                                the manufacturing process;
                                    ``(III) product verification 
                                embodied in a comprehensive written 
                                control plan for product and process 
                                characteristics, and process controls 
                                (including process influence factors 
                                and statistical process control), 
                                tests, and measurement systems to be 
                                used in production; and
                                    ``(IV) the creation, maintenance, 
                                and retention of electronic, 
                                photographic, or paper records required 
                                by the control plan regarding the 
                                inspections, tests, and measurements 
                                performed pursuant to the control plan; 
                                and
                            ``(iii) that--
                                    ``(I) is subject to certification 
                                in accordance with the requirements of 
                                ISO/IEC Guide 62, including revisions 
                                from time to time, (or another document 
                                approved by the Director under section 
                                10(a)) by a third party who is 
                                accredited by an accreditation body in 
                                accordance with the requirements of 
                                ISO/IEC Guide 61, including revisions 
                                from time to time, (or another document 
                                approved by the Director under section 
                                10(b)); or
                                    ``(II) undergoes regular or random 
                                evaluation and assessment by the end 
                                user or end users of the screws, nuts, 
                                bolts, studs, or load-indicating 
                                washers produced under such fastener 
                                manufacturing system to ensure that 
                                such system meets the requirements of 
                                clauses (i) and (ii);
            ``(8) `grade identification marking' means any grade-mark 
        or property class symbol appearing on a fastener purporting to 
        indicate that the lot of fasteners conforms to a specific 
        consensus standard, but such term does not include a 
        manufacturer's insignia or part number;
            ``(9) `importer' means a distributor located within the 
        United States who contracts for the initial purchase of 
        fasteners manufactured outside the United States;
            ``<DELETED>(9) </DELETED>(10) `lot' means a quantity of 
        fasteners of one part number fabricated by the same production 
        process from the same coil or heat number of metal as provided 
        by the metal manufacturer;
            ``<DELETED>(10) </DELETED>(11) `manufacturer' means a 
        person who fabricates fasteners for sale in commerce;
            ``<DELETED>(11) </DELETED>(12) `proprietary standard' means 
        the provisions of a document that describes characteristics of 
        a screw, nut, bolt, stud, or load-indicating washer and is 
        issued by a person who--
                    ``(A) uses screws, nuts, bolts, studs, or load-
                indicating washers in the manufacture, assembly, or 
                servicing of its products; and
                    ``(B) with respect to such screws, nuts, bolts, 
                studs, or washers, is a developer and issuer of 
                descriptions that have characteristics similar to 
                consensus standards and that bear such user's 
                identification;
            ``<DELETED>(12) </DELETED>(13) `record of conformance' 
        means a record or records for each lot of fasteners sold or 
        offered for sale that contains--
                    ``(A) the name and address of the manufacturer;
                    ``(B) a description of the type of fastener;
                    ``(C) the lot number;
                    ``(D) the nominal dimensions of the fastener 
                (including diameter and length of bolts or screws), 
                thread form, and class of fit;
                    ``(E) the consensus standard or specifications to 
                which the lot of fasteners has been manufactured, 
                including the date, number, revision, and other 
                information sufficient to identify the particular 
                consensus standard or specifications being referenced;
                    ``(F) the chemistry and grade of material; 
                <DELETED>and
                </DELETED>    ``(G) the coating material and 
                characteristics and the applicable consensus standard 
                or specifications for such coating; and
                    ``(H) the results or a summary of results of any 
                tests performed for the purpose of verifying that a lot 
                of fasteners conforms to its grade identification 
                marking or to the grade identification marking the lot 
                of fasteners is represented to meet;
            ``<DELETED>(13) </DELETED>(14) `represent' means to 
        describe one or more of a fastener's purported characteristics 
        in a document or statement that is transmitted to a purchaser 
        through any medium;
            ``<DELETED>(14) </DELETED>(15) `Secretary' means the 
        Secretary of Commerce;
            ``<DELETED>(15) </DELETED>(16) `specifications' means the 
        required characteristics identified in the contractual 
        agreement with the manufacturer or to which a fastener is 
        otherwise produced, except that the term does not include 
        proprietary standards; and
            ``<DELETED>(16) </DELETED>(17) `through-harden' means 
        heating above the transformation temperature followed by 
        quenching and tempering for the purpose of achieving uniform 
        hardness.''.

SEC. 4. SALE OF FASTENERS.

    (a) In General.--Sections 5 through 7 of the Fastener Quality Act 
(15 U.S.C. 5404 through 5406) are repealed, and the following new 
section is inserted after section 3 of such Act:

``SEC. 4. SALE OF FASTENERS.

    ``(a) General Rule.--It shall be unlawful for a manufacturer or 
distributor, in conjunction with <DELETED>a sale or offer for sale of a 
fastener, </DELETED>the sale or offer for sale of fasteners from a 
single lot, to knowingly misrepresent or falsify--
            ``(1) the record of conformance for the lot of fasteners;
            ``(2) the identification, characteristics, properties, 
        mechanical or performance marks, chemistry, or strength of the 
        lot of fasteners; or
            ``(3) the manufacturer's insignia.
    ``(b) Representations.--A direct or indirect reference to a 
consensus standard to represent that a fastener conforms to particular 
requirements of the consensus standard shall not be construed as a 
representation that the fastener meets all the requirements of the 
consensus standard.
    ``(c) Specifications.--A direct or indirect contractual reference 
to a consensus standard for the purpose of identifying particular 
requirements of the consensus standard that serve as specifications 
shall not be construed to require that the fastener meet all the 
requirements of the consensus standard.
    ``(d) Use of Accredited Laboratories.--In the case of fasteners 
manufactured solely to a consensus standard or standards, end-of-line 
testing required by the consensus standard or standards, if any, for 
the purpose of verifying that a lot of fasteners conforms with the 
grade identification marking called for in the consensus standard or 
standards to which the lot of fasteners has been manufactured shall be 
conducted by an accredited laboratory.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--Section 4(d) of the Fastener Quality Act, as 
added by subsection (a), shall take effect 2 years after the date of 
enactment of this Act.

SEC. 5. MANUFACTURERS' INSIGNIAS.

    Section 8 of the Fastener Quality Act (15 U.S.C. 5407) is 
redesignated as section 5 and is amended--
            (1) by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
    ``(a) General Rule.--Unless the specifications provide otherwise, 
<DELETED>a fastener that is required </DELETED>fasteners that are 
required by the applicable consensus standard or standards to bear 
<DELETED>an </DELETED>insignia identifying <DELETED>its </DELETED>their 
manufacturer shall not be offered for sale or sold in commerce unless--
            ``(1) the <DELETED>fastener bears </DELETED>fasteners bear 
        such an insignia; and
            ``(2) the manufacturer has complied with the insignia 
        recordation requirements established under subsection (b).''; 
        and
            (2) in subsection (b), by striking ``and private label'' 
        and all that follows and inserting ``described in subsection 
        (a).''.

SEC. 6. REMEDIES AND PENALTIES.

    Section 9 of the Fastener Quality Act (15 U.S.C. 5408) is 
redesignated as section 6 and is amended--
            (1) by striking paragraph (1) of subsection (b) and 
        inserting the following:
    ``(b) Civil Penalties.--
            ``(1) Any person who is determined by the Secretary, after 
        notice and an opportunity for a hearing, to have--
                    ``(A) negligently violated section 7 or any 
                regulation under section 7 shall be liable to the 
                United States for a civil penalty of not more than 
                $10,000 for each violation;
                    ``(B) committed gross negligence in violating 
                section 7 or any regulation under section 7 shall be 
                liable to the United States for a civil penalty of not 
                more than $35,000 for each violation;
                    ``(C) recklessly or intentionally violated section 
                7 or any regulations under section 7 shall be liable to 
                the United States for a civil penalty of not more than 
                $50,000 for each violation;
                    ``(D) violated section 4(a) or any regulation under 
                section 4(a) shall be liable to the United States for a 
                civil penalty of not more than $50,000 for each 
                violation; or
                    ``(E) violated any other provision of this Act or 
                any other regulation under this Act shall be liable to 
                the United States for a civil penalty of not more than 
                $25,000 for each violation.'';
            <DELETED>(1) </DELETED>(2) by striking ``of this section'' 
        in subsection (b)(3) and inserting ``of this subsection'';
            <DELETED>(2) </DELETED>(3) by inserting ``arbitrate,'' in 
        subsection (b)(4) after ``Secretary may'';
            <DELETED>(3) </DELETED>(4) in subsection (d)--
                    (A) by inserting ``(1)'' after ``Enforcement.--''; 
                and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(2) The Secretary shall establish and maintain a hotline system 
to facilitate the reporting of alleged violations of this Act, and the 
Secretary shall evaluate allegations reported through that system and 
report any credible allegations to the Attorney General.''.

SEC. 7. RECORDKEEPING REQUIREMENTS.

    Section 10 of the Fastener Quality Act (15 U.S.C. 5409) is 
redesignated as section 7 and is amended by striking subsections (a) 
and (b) and inserting the following:
    ``Manufacturers and importers shall retain the record of 
conformance for fasteners for 5 years, on paper or in photographic or 
electronic format in a manner that allows for verification of 
authenticity. Upon request of a distributor who has purchased a 
fastener, or a person who has purchased a fastener for use in the 
production of a commercial product, the manufacturer or importer of the 
fastener shall make available information in the record of conformance 
to the requester.''.

SEC. 8. RELATIONSHIP TO STATE LAWS.

    Section 11 of the Fastener Quality Act (15 U.S.C. 5410) is 
redesignated as section 8.

SEC. 9. CONSTRUCTION.

    Section 12 of the Fastener Quality Act (15 U.S.C. 5411) is 
redesignated as section 9 and is amended by striking ``in effect on the 
date of enactment of this Act''.

SEC. 10. CERTIFICATION AND ACCREDITATION.

    Sections 13 and 15 of the Fastener Quality Act (15 U.S.C. 5412 and 
5414) are repealed, and the following new section is added at the end 
of that Act:

``SEC. 10. CERTIFICATION AND ACCREDITATION.

    ``(a) Certification.--A person publishing a document setting forth 
guidance or requirements for the certification of manufacturing 
systems, including fastener manufacturing systems, by an accredited 
third party may petition the Director to approve such document for use 
as described in section 3(7)(B)(iii)(I). The Director shall act upon a 
petition within 180 days after its filing, and shall approve such 
petition if the document provides equal or greater rigor and 
reliability as compared to ISO/IEC Guide 62.
    ``(b) Accreditation.--A person publishing a document setting forth 
guidance or requirements for the approval of accreditation bodies to 
accredit third parties described in subsection (a) may petition the 
Director to approve such document for use as described in section 
3(7)(B)(iii)(I). The Director shall act upon a petition within 180 days 
after its filing, and shall approve such petition if the document 
provides equal or greater rigor and reliability as compared to ISO/IEC 
Guide 61.
    ``(c) Laboratory Accreditation.--A person publishing a document 
setting forth guidance or requirements for the accreditation of 
laboratories may petition the Director to approve such document for use 
as described in section 3(1)(A). The Director shall act upon a petition 
within 180 days after its filing, and shall approve such petition if 
the document provides equal or greater rigor and reliability as 
compared to ISO/IEC Guide 25.
    ``(d) Approval of Accreditation Bodies.--A person publishing a 
document setting forth guidance or requirements for the approval of 
accreditation bodies to accredit laboratories may petition the Director 
to approve such document for use as described in section 3(1)(B). The 
Director shall act upon a petition within 180 days after its filing, 
and shall approve such petition if the document provides equal or 
greater rigor and reliability as compared to ISO/IEC Guide 58.''.

SEC. 11. APPLICABILITY.

    At the end of the Fastener Quality Act, as amended by section 10, 
add the following:

``SEC. 11. APPLICABILITY.

    ``The requirements of this Act shall be applicable only to 
fasteners fabricated 180 days or more after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, except that if a manufacturer or distributor of fasteners 
fabricated before that date prepares a record of conformance for such 
fasteners, representations about such fasteners shall be subject to the 
requirements of this Act.''.