[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 106 (Thursday, July 9, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4983-S4984]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         E-WARRANTY ACT OF 2015

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 142, S. 1359.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 1359) to allow manufacturers to meet warranty 
     and labeling requirements for consumer products by displaying 
     the terms of warranties on Internet websites, and for other 
     purposes.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
Fischer-Nelson amendment be agreed to; the bill, as amended, be read a 
third time and passed; and the motion to reconsider be considered made 
and laid upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment (No. 2214) was agreed to, as follows:

                     (Purpose: To improve the bill)

       On page 3, line 21, strike ``on'' and insert ``for''.
       On page 4, line 1, insert ``, through electronic or other 
     means,'' after ``available''.
       On page 4, line 3, strike ``on'' and insert ``for''.
  The bill (S. 1359), as amended, was ordered to be engrossed for a 
third reading, was read the third time, and passed, as follows:

                                S. 1359

       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 ``E-Warranty Act of 2015''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) Many manufacturers and consumers prefer to have the 
     option to provide or receive warranty information online.
       (2) Modernizing warranty notification rules is necessary to 
     allow the United States to continue to compete globally in 
     manufacturing, trade, and the development of consumer 
     products connected to the Internet.
       (3) Allowing an electronic warranty option would expand 
     consumer access to relevant consumer information in an 
     environmentally friendly way, and would provide additional 
     flexibility to manufacturers to meet their labeling and 
     warranty requirements.

     SEC. 3. ELECTRONIC DISPLAY OF TERMS OF WRITTEN WARRANTY FOR 
                   CONSUMER PRODUCTS.

       (a) In General.--Section 102(b) of the Magnuson-Moss 
     Warranty--Federal Trade Commission Improvement Act (15 U.S.C. 
     2302(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(4)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the rules 
     prescribed under this subsection shall allow for the 
     satisfaction of all

[[Page S4984]]

     requirements concerning the availability of terms of a 
     written warranty on a consumer product under this subsection 
     by--
       ``(i) making available such terms in an accessible digital 
     format on the Internet website of the manufacturer of the 
     consumer product in a clear and conspicuous manner; and
       ``(ii) providing to the consumer (or prospective consumer) 
     information with respect to how to obtain and review such 
     terms by indicating on the product or product packaging or in 
     the product manual--
       ``(I) the Internet website of the manufacturer where such 
     terms can be obtained and reviewed; and
       ``(II) the phone number of the manufacturer, the postal 
     mailing address of the manufacturer, or another reasonable 
     non-Internet based means of contacting the manufacturer to 
     obtain and review such terms.
       ``(B) With respect to any requirement that the terms of any 
     written warranty for a consumer product be made available to 
     the consumer (or prospective consumer) prior to sale of the 
     product, in a case in which a consumer product is offered for 
     sale in a retail location, by catalog, or through door-to-
     door sales, subparagraph (A) shall only apply if the seller 
     makes available, through electronic or other means, at the 
     location of the sale to the consumer purchasing the consumer 
     product the terms of the warranty for the consumer product 
     before the purchase.''.
       (b) Revision of Rules.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the Federal Trade Commission shall 
     revise the rules prescribed under such section to comply with 
     the requirements of paragraph (4) of such section, as added 
     by subsection (a) of this section.
       (2) Authority to waive requirement for oral presentation.--
     In revising rules under paragraph (1), the Federal Trade 
     Commission may waive the requirement of section 109(a) of 
     such Act (15 U.S.C. 2309(a)) to give interested persons an 
     opportunity for oral presentation if the Commission 
     determines that giving interested persons such opportunity 
     would interfere with the ability of the Commission to revise 
     rules under paragraph (1) in a timely manner.

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