[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 170 (Sunday, December 30, 2012)]
[House]
[Pages H7448-H7450]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
DRYWALL SAFETY ACT OF 2012
Mr. TERRY. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and concur in the
Senate amendment to the bill (H.R. 4212) to prevent the introduction
into commerce of unsafe drywall, to ensure the manufacturer of drywall
is readily identifiable, to ensure that problematic drywall removed
from homes is not reused, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the Senate amendment is as follows:
Senate amendment:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Drywall Safety Act of
2012''.
SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the Secretary of Commerce should insist that the
Government of the People's Republic of China, which has
ownership interests in the companies that manufactured and
exported problematic drywall to the United States, facilitate
a meeting between the companies and representatives of the
United States Government on remedying homeowners that have
problematic drywall in their homes; and
(2) the Secretary of Commerce should insist that the
Government of the People's Republic of China direct the
companies that manufactured and exported problematic drywall
to submit to jurisdiction in United States Federal Courts and
comply with any decisions issued by the Courts for homeowners
with problematic drywall.
SEC. 3. DRYWALL LABELING REQUIREMENT.
(a)Labeling Requirement.--Beginning 180 days after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the gypsum board labeling
provisions of standard ASTM C1264-11 of ASTM International,
as in effect on the day before the date of the enactment of
this Act, shall be treated as a rule promulgated by the
Consumer Product Safety Commission under section 14(c) of the
Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2063(c)).
(b)Revision of Standard.--If the gypsum board labeling
provisions of the standard referred to in subsection (a) are
revised on or after the date of the enactment of this Act,
ASTM International shall notify the Commission of such
revision no later than 60 days after final approval of the
revision by ASTM International. The revised provisions shall
be treated as a rule promulgated by the Commission under
section 14(c) of such Act (15 U.S.C. 2063(c)), in lieu of the
prior version, effective 180 days after the Commission is
notified of the revision (or such later date as the
Commission considers appropriate), unless within 90 days
after receiving that notice the Commission determines that
the revised provisions do not adequately identify gypsum
board by manufacturer and month and year of manufacture, in
which case the Commission shall continue to enforce the prior
version.
SEC. 4. SULFUR CONTENT IN DRYWALL STANDARD.
(a)Rule on Sulfur Content in Drywall Required.--Except as
provided in subsection (c), not later than 2 years after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Consumer Product
Safety Commission shall promulgate a final rule pertaining to
drywall manufactured or imported for use in the United States
that limits sulfur content to a level not associated with
elevated rates of corrosion in the home.
(b)Rule Making; Consumer Product Safety Standard.--A rule
under subsection (a)--
(1) shall be promulgated in accordance with section 553 of
title 5, United States Code; and
(2) shall be treated as a consumer product safety rule
promulgated under section 9 of the Consumer Product Safety
Act (15 U.S.C. 2058).
(c)Exception.--
(1)Voluntary standard.--Subsection (a) shall not apply if
the Commission determines that--
(A) a voluntary standard pertaining to drywall manufactured
or imported for use in the United States limits sulfur
content to a level not associated with elevated rates of
corrosion in the home;
(B) such voluntary standard is or will be in effect not
later than two years after the date of enactment of this Act;
and
(C) such voluntary standard is developed by Subcommittee
C11.01 on Specifications and Test Methods for Gypsum Products
of ASTM International.
(2)Federal register.--Any determination made under
paragraph (1) shall be published in the Federal Register.
(d)Treatment of Voluntary Standard for Purposes of
Enforcement.--If the Commission determines that a voluntary
standard meets the conditions in subsection (c)(1), the
sulfur content limit in such voluntary standard shall be
treated as a consumer product safety rule promulgated under
section 9 of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2058)
beginning on the date that is the later of--
(1) 180 days after publication of the Commission's
determination under subsection (c); or
(2) the effective date contained in the voluntary standard.
(e)Revision of Voluntary Standard.--If the sulfur content
limit of a voluntary standard that met the conditions of
subsection (c)(1) is subsequently revised, the organization
responsible for the standard shall notify the Commission no
later than 60 days after final approval of the revision. The
sulfur content limit of the revised voluntary standard shall
become enforceable as a Commission rule promulgated under
section 9 of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C.
2058), in lieu of the prior version, effective 180 days after
the Commission is notified of the revision (or such later
date as the Commission considers appropriate), unless within
90 days after receiving that notice the Commission determines
that the sulfur content limit of the revised voluntary
standard does not meet the requirements of subsection
(c)(1)(A), in which case the Commission shall continue to
enforce the prior version.
(f)Future Rulemaking.--The Commission, at any time
subsequent to publication of the consumer product safety rule
required by subsection (a) or a determination under
subsection (c), may initiate a rulemaking in accordance with
section 553 of title 5, United States Code, to modify the
sulfur content limit or to include any provision relating
only to the composition or characteristics of drywall that
the Commission determines is reasonably necessary to protect
public health
[[Page H7449]]
or safety. Any rule promulgated under this subsection shall
be treated as a consumer product safety rule promulgated
under section 9 of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C.
2058).
SEC. 5. REVISION OF REMEDIATION GUIDANCE FOR DRYWALL DISPOSAL
REQUIRED.
Not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of
this Act, the Consumer Product Safety Commission shall revise
its guidance entitled ``Remediation Guidance for Homes with
Corrosion from Problem Drywall'' to specify that problematic
drywall removed from homes pursuant to the guidance should
not be reused or used as a component in production of new
drywall.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Nebraska (Mr. Terry) and the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Hochul)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Nebraska.
General Leave
Mr. TERRY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and
insert extraneous material in the Record on H.R. 4212.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Nebraska?
There was no objection.
Mr. TERRY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 4212, an
important bipartisan bill to help fight the problem of defective
Chinese drywall which hit many families as a second plague when their
home was destroyed by a hurricane or other disaster and then rebuilt
using contaminated drywall from China.
The House bill, which passed by voice vote last summer, attacks the
problem in three ways:
First, it directs the Secretary of Commerce to engage Chinese leaders
and push for the manufacturers of the contaminated drywall to step up
and take responsibility for the damages caused by their shoddy product;
Second, the bill requires all drywall manufacturers in the future to
label their product with their name and the date of manufacture. The
lack of such basic identifying information was a major problem for the
homeowners who were stuck with contaminated Chinese drywall but could
not determine which manufacturer produced it;
Third, and finally, the House bill requires the Consumer Product
Safety Commission to restrict elemental sulfur in drywall unless
industry voluntarily adopts an acceptable limit first. Compliance with
such a limit would be easy to check at the ports or elsewhere using
simple handheld devices.
Mr. Speaker, the Senate amendment before us today preserves all of
these key aspects of the House bill, making only a few minor changes.
Notably, the Senate amendment provides that the CPSC may only enforce a
voluntary sulfur limit if it is adopted by a specified standard-setting
body. This responds to a concern that the voluntary sulfur limit be a
true consensus standard; that is, the product of an open process that
allows for participation of industry and consumers alike.
Mr. Speaker, the Senate amendment does not undercut the House-passed
version of the bill, nor does it add any unnecessary government
regulation. Therefore, I strongly urge the adoption of H.R. 4212.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. HOCHUL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I rise to speak about the amended version of H.R. 4212, the Drywall
Safety Act of 2012 returned to this Chamber by the Senate.
The House approved its own version of H.R. 4212 this past September
by a voice vote. That version was the result of bipartisan negotiations
that involved the sponsors of this bill, Mr. Rigell of Virginia and Mr.
Deutch of Florida, along with the leadership from both sides of the
aisle of the Energy and Commerce Committee and its Subcommittee on
Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade.
I believe the House produced a good bill that met Mr. Rigell's and
Mr. Deutch's goal of getting the U.S. Government to take action
regarding a problematic drywall situation.
The Senate version we are considering today retains significant
portions of the House language, so I intend to vote in favor of what
the Senate has sent back to us. Just like the previously approved House
version, this Senate version requires that all new drywall be marked
with a permanent label that can be used to identify who manufactured a
particular sheet of drywall and when it was manufactured.
A major problem many homeowners experienced was that they didn't know
who made the drywall in their homes or when it was made. The labeling
requirement should make it easier to pin down exactly who is
responsible for producing any given sheet of drywall.
In addition, just like the previously approved House version, the
Senate version requires all drywall used in the United States to be
subject to a sulfur content limit. After extensive investigation by the
CPSC, sulfur was the element found to be associated with the awful odor
and metal corrosion homeowners were experiencing.
The Senate version specifies the American Society for Testing and
Metals, or ASTM, international standard for gypsum board labeling as
the labeling standard that must be complied with. The House version did
not pick a particular voluntary standard.
{time} 1720
Instead, CPSC would have specified the industry-generated voluntary
standard to be complied with or, failing that, write its own rule on
the matter. The Senate version also specifically grants responsibility
for the standard on sulfur content to an ASTM committee. Both of these
changes are made because one trade association believed that, under the
House version, the CPSC could rely on a voluntary standard that was not
developed through a process with safeguards for due process, the airing
of diverse views, and consensus decisionmaking. There's not one
instance that anyone can point to where the CPSC has relied on a
voluntary industry standard that was not produced through a process
that involved due process, the airing of diverse views, and consensus
decisionmaking.
In addition to referencing the ASTM voluntary standard-setting body
twice, the Senate tweaked the future rulemaking section. The House
granted CPSC authority to ``reduce'' the sulfur content limit or set
limits regarding the composition or characteristics of drywall that are
reasonably necessary to protect public health or safety. We granted
this authority in case later down the road it becomes apparent that
there are other problems associated with drywall that we have not yet
identified. The Senate's version replaces the word ``reduce'' with
``modify,'' so the CPSC has the authority to modify the sulfur content
limit. The word ``modify'' encompasses reducing the limit, so we are
willing to live with this change.
I continue to support this bill despite these changes, because the
time to act has long past. As far back as late 2008, consumers have
complained about homes that smelled like rotten eggs, health concerns
that included irritated and itchy eyes and skin, breathing problems,
asthma attacks, persistent coughs, bloody and running noses, and
recurring headaches. Complaints also included reports of blackened and
corroded metal components in the home. The CPSC received nearly 4,000
such complaints from residents in 43 States who believed these
conditions related to the presence of Chinese drywall in their homes.
Most of these complaints were concentrated in the South, where there
was a construction boom in 2006 and 2007 due to hurricanes in 2004 and
2005.
To help bring some relief to these homeowners and to reduce the
chance of something like this ever happening again, this legislation
does a few other things in addition to the labeling and sulfur content
requirements:
It asks the Secretary of Commerce to engage the Chinese Government to
prod those companies that exported problematic drywall to the United
States--some of which are partly owned by the Chinese Government--to
meet with U.S. officials about providing some sort of remedy to
homeowners affected by this defective product;
The bill also asks the Secretary of Commerce to engage the Chinese
Government to try to get the government to direct these companies to
submit to the jurisdiction of our courts and comply with judgments that
have been entered against them;
It also calls on the CPSC to revise guidance it published on the
removal of
[[Page H7450]]
problematic drywall from homes to specify that this drywall should not
be reused or put back into the drywall production stream. Once this
drywall is removed from one home, we need to make sure it does not end
up in another.
Despite issues with why H.R. 4212 is back here on the House floor,
the Democratic leadership of the Energy and Commerce Committee and its
Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade, and I along with
them, support this bill and urge my colleagues to do the same.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. TERRY. At this time I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from
Virginia (Mr. Rigell), who's the lead Republican sponsor. His dogged
leadership on this is why it's back on the House floor again.
Mr. RIGELL. I thank Chairman Terry very much for yielding and my
friend and colleague, the gentlelady from New York, for your support of
this good bill.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Drywall Safety Act of
2012, as amended. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on really what
is much-needed and commonsense legislation that's going to come before
the House tonight.
For nearly 4 years, families across the country have suffered from
the harmful effects of defective Chinese-manufactured drywall. They're
friends and neighbors, and they're families, Mr. Speaker, who worked
hard and saved and really set out for that classic American Dream to
own their own home or to finish their retirement years in a home, and
yet that dream turned into a literal nightmare when their home was
filled with a mysterious and foul rotten egg type of odor. I've been in
these homes. It completely makes the home uninhabitable. It takes all
the copper wiring in the home and basically turns it into black soot.
They have to replace the compressors on the air conditioners. And even
worse is that their health deteriorates.
They turn first to the builders. The builders are not covered by
their insurance. Some were able to help out the homeowners and renovate
the home on their own, but many are not able to do that, and some
builders have gone out of business. They turned then to the
manufacturer of the contaminated drywall in China, but really have no
recourse there. It's a profoundly sad situation where Americans,
through no fault of their own, are experiencing bankruptcy and terrible
financial problems.
But tonight we have an opportunity to do what's right and to stand
with our friends and neighbors and pass this legislation. It will hold
China responsible in no uncertain terms for failing to require their
manufacturers to rightly compensate Americans who have been damaged and
victimized by those contaminated products.
We express the undivided sense of Congress, Republicans and Democrats
working together, that we're going to make sure that China is held
accountable for what they've done here. It requires labeling on all the
drywall products to make sure that we can find out who's responsible
for the manufacturer of each and every piece of drywall that's
manufactured; it will limit the amount of sulfur in the drywall, which
was the cause of all of this; and, as has been pointed out by my
colleague from New York, it's a voluntary standard as opposed to just
more massive government intervention. I think that's the right path to
go.
So I thank my friends and colleagues from both sides of the aisle for
making this possible. The underlying legislation passed the House
unanimously in September. The amendment that has been made, I think, is
very modest. I especially want to thank my friend and colleague from
Florida, Mr. Deutch, for working with me as cochair of the Chinese
Drywall Caucus. I thank the chairman for yielding and for your support
on this piece of legislation.
Ms. HOCHUL. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. TERRY. Mr. Speaker, in closing, let me make one very important
point. Republicans and Democrats alike are united on this important
health and safety issue. I urge all Members to pass this amendment
today and get the needed consumer protections in place.
I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Terry) that the House suspend the rules
and concur in the Senate amendment to the bill, H.R. 4212.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Ms. HOCHUL. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a
quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not
present.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this question will be postponed.
The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.
____________________