[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5895 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5895

      To require certain labeling of unsolicited commercial mail.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 24, 2008

 Mr. Ackerman introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
      To require certain labeling of unsolicited commercial mail.

    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 ``Solicitation Disclosure Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) American consumers collectively spend millions of hours 
        opening and reading mail they are induced into falsely 
        believing is from a government entity or an institution with 
        which they are currently doing business;
            (2) misleading commercial solicitations commonly employ the 
        use of emblems, seals, or designs similar to those used by the 
        Federal government or by State or local governments; and
            (3) annually, millions of Americans receive commercial 
        solicitations in the mail luring them into purchasing a good or 
        service by deliberately misleading them into believing they 
        have won a contest.

SEC. 3. LABELING REQUIREMENT FOR UNSOLICITED COMMERCIAL MAIL.

    (a) Labeling Requirement.--Beginning 6 months after the date of 
enactment of this Act, any unsolicited commercial offer that is sent to 
an individual through the mails shall contain, on the outside of such 
solicitation, a notice to the recipient. Such notice shall be in a 
large, clear, and bold typeface, in a contrasting color, and in a clear 
and conspicuous location on the outside envelope containing such 
solicitation, or in the case of a solicitation that is mailed without 
an envelope, in a clear and conspicuous location at the top of such 
solicitation. Such notice shall read ``This Is an Unsolicited 
Commercial Offer From'' followed by the name of the person or company 
making such offer.
    (b) Definition.--As used in this Act, the term ``unsolicited 
commercial offer'' means any solicitation or offer that--
            (1) is sent to an individual without that individual having 
        requested such solicitation or offer; and
            (2) is for any financial product or service, including 
        loans or other offers of credit, offers of insurance coverage, 
        debt refinancing services, debt cancellation services, 
        mortgages, and investment products.
Such term does not include an advertisement for the purchase of 
consumer goods at retail.
    (c) Enforcement.--
            (1) Enforcing agencies.--Compliance with the requirements 
        imposed under this section shall be enforced under--
                    (A) section 8 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act 
                (12 U.S.C. 1818), in the case of--
                            (i) national banks, and Federal branches 
                        and Federal agencies of foreign banks, by the 
                        Office of the Comptroller of the Currency;
                            (ii) member banks of the Federal Reserve 
                        System (other than national banks), branches 
                        and agencies of foreign banks (other than 
                        Federal branches, Federal agencies, and insured 
                        State branches of foreign banks), commercial 
                        lending companies owned or controlled by 
                        foreign banks, and organizations operating 
                        under section 25 or 25(a) of the Federal 
                        Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 601 et seq., 611 et 
                        seq.), by the Board; and
                            (iii) banks insured by the Federal Deposit 
                        Insurance Corporation (other than members of 
                        the Federal Reserve System) and insured State 
                        branches of foreign banks, by the Board of 
                        Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance 
                        Corporation;
                    (B) section 8 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act 
                (12 U.S.C. 1818), by the Director of the Office of 
                Thrift Supervision, in the case of a savings 
                association the deposits of which are insured by the 
                Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation;
                    (C) the Federal Credit Union Act (12 U.S.C. 1751 et 
                seq.), by the Administrator of the National Credit 
                Union Administration with respect to any Federal credit 
                union; and
                    (D) the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 
                78a et seq.), by the Securities and Exchange 
                Commission, with respect to any broker or dealer 
                subject to that Act.
        The terms used in subparagraph (A) that are not defined in this 
        Act or otherwise defined in section 3(s) of the Federal Deposit 
        Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1813(s)) shall have the meaning given 
        to them in section 1(b) of the International Banking Act of 
        1978 (12 U.S.C. 3101).
            (2) Violations of section deemed violations of pre-existing 
        statutory requirements; additional powers.--For the purpose of 
        the exercise by any agency referred to in paragraph (1) of its 
        powers under any Act referred to in that paragraph, a violation 
        of any requirement imposed under this section shall be deemed 
        to be a violation of a requirement imposed under that Act. In 
        addition to its powers under any provision of law specifically 
        referred to in paragraph (1), each of the agencies referred to 
        in that paragraph may exercise, for the purpose of enforcing 
        compliance with any requirement imposed under this section, any 
        other authority conferred on it by law.
            (3) Overall enforcement authority of federal trade 
        commission.--Except to the extent that enforcement of the 
        requirements imposed under this section is specifically 
        committed to some other Government agency under paragraph (1), 
        the Federal Trade Commission shall enforce such requirements. 
        For the purpose of the exercise by the Federal Trade Commission 
        of its functions and powers under the Federal Trade Commission 
        Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.), a violation of any requirement 
        imposed under this section shall be deemed a violation of a 
        requirement imposed under that Act. All of the functions and 
        powers of the Federal Trade Commission under the Federal Trade 
        Commission Act are available to the Commission to enforce 
        compliance by any person subject to the jurisdiction of the 
        Commission with the requirements imposed under this section, 
        irrespective of whether that person is engaged in commerce or 
        meets any other jurisdictional tests in the Federal Trade 
        Commission Act.
            (4) Additional enforcement with respect to insurance 
        companies.--The attorney general of a State, the State 
        insurance commission, or any other State agency authorized by 
        State law may--
                    (A) bring a civil action on behalf of the residents 
                of the State in a district court of the United States 
                of appropriate jurisdiction to enforce the provisions 
                of this Act with respect to insurance companies; and
                    (B) utilize administrative procedures authorized by 
                the State to enforce the provisions of this Act with 
                respect to insurance companies.
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