[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5318 Introduced in House (IH)]

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114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5318

To amend the Federal Trade Commission Act to specify certain effects of 
 guidelines, general statements of policy, and similar guidance issued 
                    by the Federal Trade Commission.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 24, 2016

   Mr. Pompeo (for himself, Mr. Burgess, Mr. Bishop of Michigan, Mr. 
   Mullin, Mr. Harper, Mrs. Blackburn, and Mr. Lance) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 
  Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a 
 period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
                          committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Federal Trade Commission Act to specify certain effects of 
 guidelines, general statements of policy, and similar guidance issued 
                    by the Federal Trade Commission.

    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 ``Solidifying Habitual and 
Institutional Explanations of Liability and Defenses Act of 2016'' or 
the ``SHIELD Act of 2016''.

SEC. 2. EFFECTS OF GUIDELINES, GENERAL STATEMENTS OF POLICY, AND 
              SIMILAR GUIDANCE.

    Section 18(a) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 
57a(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(3)(A) No guidelines, general statements of policy, or similar 
guidance related either to unfair methods of competition, or to unfair 
or deceptive acts or practices, in or affecting commerce issued by the 
Commission shall confer any rights upon any person, State, or locality, 
nor shall operate to bind the Commission or any person, State, or 
locality to the approach recommended in such guidelines, general 
statements of policy, or similar guidance. In any enforcement action, 
the Commission shall prove a violation of a provision of law enforced 
by the Commission. The Commission may not base an enforcement action 
on, or execute a consent order based on, acts or practices that are 
alleged to be inconsistent with any such guidelines, general statements 
of policy, or similar guidance, unless the acts or practices violate a 
provision of law enforced by the Commission.
    ``(B) Compliance with any guidelines, general statement of policy, 
or similar guidance issued by the Commission may be used as evidence of 
compliance with the provision of law under which the guidelines, 
general statement of policy, or guidance was issued.
    ``(C) Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to confer any 
authority upon or negate any authority of the Commission to issue 
guidelines, general statements of policy, or similar guidance.''.
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