[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5686 Introduced in House (IH)]

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114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5686

  To prohibit the pricing of consumer products and services that are 
     substantially similar if such products or services are priced 
 differently based on the gender of the individuals for whose use the 
    products are intended or marketed or for whom the services are 
                         performed or offered.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              July 8, 2016

 Ms. Speier (for herself, Ms. Bonamici, Mr. Brady of Pennsylvania, Ms. 
 Brownley of California, Mrs. Bustos, Ms. Castor of Florida, Ms. Judy 
 Chu of California, Mr. Cohen, Ms. DeLauro, Ms. Esty, Mr. Israel, Mr. 
     Kildee, Ms. Lee, Mr. Lowenthal, Mr. McGovern, Ms. Moore, Mrs. 
 Napolitano, Ms. Norton, Mr. Ryan of Ohio, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, Mrs. 
 Watson Coleman, Mr. Grijalva, Ms. Lofgren, and Ms. Eshoo) introduced 
 the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                                Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To prohibit the pricing of consumer products and services that are 
     substantially similar if such products or services are priced 
 differently based on the gender of the individuals for whose use the 
    products are intended or marketed or for whom the services are 
                         performed or offered.

    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 ``Pink Tax Repeal Act''.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON GENDER-BASED PRICING OF CONSUMER PRODUCTS AND 
              SERVICES.

    (a) Prohibited Practices.--
            (1) Consumer products.--It shall be unlawful for any person 
        to sell or offer for sale in interstate commerce any two 
        consumer products from the same manufacturer that are 
        substantially similar if such products are priced differently 
        based on the gender of the individuals for whose use the 
        products are intended or marketed.
            (2) Services.--It shall be unlawful for any person to sell 
        or offer for sale any services that are substantially similar 
        if such services are priced differently based on the gender of 
        the individuals for which the services are performed, offered, 
        or marketed.
    (b) Unfair and Deceptive Act or Practice.--A violation of 
subsection (a) shall be treated as a violation of a rule prescribed 
under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 
U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)) defining an unfair or deceptive act or practice in 
or affecting interstate commerce.
    (c) Enforcement.--
            (1) Federal trade commission.--The Federal Trade Commission 
        shall enforce this section in the same manner, by the same 
        means, and with the same jurisdiction as though all applicable 
        terms and provisions of the Federal Trade Commission Act were 
        incorporated into and made a part of this Act.
            (2) State attorneys general.--
                    (A) Civil action.--In any case in which the 
                attorney general of a State has reason to believe that 
                an interest of the residents of that State has been or 
                is adversely affected by a violation of subsection (a), 
                the attorney general may, as parens patriae, bring a 
                civil action on behalf of the residents of the State in 
                an appropriate district court of the United States--
                            (i) to enjoin further violation of this Act 
                        by the defendant;
                            (ii) to compel compliance with this Act; or
                            (iii) obtain damages, restitution, or other 
                        compensation on behalf of residents of the 
                        State.
                    (B) Notice to the ftc.--
                            (i) Notice.--Except as provided in clause 
                        (iii), the attorney general of a State shall 
                        notify the Commission in writing of any civil 
                        action under paragraph (2), prior to initiating 
                        such civil action.
                            (ii) Contents.--The notice required by 
                        clause (i) shall include a copy of the 
                        complaint to be filed to initiate such civil 
                        action.
                            (iii) Exception.--If it is not feasible for 
                        the attorney general of a State to provide the 
                        notice required by clause (i), the State shall 
                        provide notice immediately upon instituting a 
                        civil action under subparagraph (A).
                    (C) Intervention by the ftc.--Upon receiving notice 
                required by subparagraph (B) with respect to a civil 
                action, the Commission may--
                            (i) intervene in such action; and
                            (ii) upon intervening, be heard on all 
                        matters arising in such civil action and file 
                        petitions for appeal of a decision in such 
                        action.
                    (D) Preemptive action by the ftc.--If the 
                Commission institutes a civil action for violation of 
                this Act, no attorney general of a State may bring a 
                civil action under this paragraph against any defendant 
                named in the complaint of the Commission for violation 
                of this Act that is alleged in such complaint.
    (d) Rules of Construction.--
            (1) Substantially similar products.--For purposes of this 
        Act, two consumer products are substantially similar if there 
        are no substantial differences in the materials used in the 
        product, the intended uses of the product, and the functional 
        design and features of the product. A difference in coloring 
        among any consumer products shall not be construed as a 
        substantial difference for purposes of this paragraph.
            (2) Substantially similar services.--For purposes of this 
        Act, two services are substantially similar if there is no 
        substantial difference in the amount of time to provide the 
        services, the difficulty in providing the services, or the cost 
        of providing the services.
    (e) Definition of Consumer Product.--The term ``consumer product'' 
has the meaning given such term in section 3 of the Consumer Product 
Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2052) and includes a device or cosmetics, as such 
terms are defined in section 201 of the Federal Food, Drug, and 
Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 321). Such term includes a child restraint 
system, as such term is defined in section 571.213 of title 49, Code of 
Federal Regulations.
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