[House Report 111-672]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
111th Congress } { Report
2d Session } HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES { 111-672
=======================================================================
BEREAVED CONSUMER'S BILL OF RIGHTS ACT OF 2010
_______
December 7, 2010.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Waxman, from the Committee on Energy and Commerce, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
together with
DISSENTING VIEWS
[To accompany H.R. 3655]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office)
The Committee on Energy and Commerce, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 3655) to direct the Federal Trade Commission to
establish rules to prohibit unfair or deceptive acts or
practices related to the provision of funeral services, having
considered the same, report favorably thereon with an amendment
and recommend that the bill as amended do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
Amendment........................................................ 2
Purpose and Summary.............................................. 4
Background and Need for Legislation.............................. 4
Legislative History.............................................. 5
Committee Consideration.......................................... 5
Committee Votes.................................................. 5
Statement of Committee Oversight Findings and Recommendations.... 5
Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives............ 6
Constitutional Authority Statement............................... 6
Earmarks and Tax and Tariff Benefits............................. 6
Federal Advisory Committee Statement............................. 6
Applicability of Law to Legislative Branch....................... 6
Federal Mandates Statement....................................... 6
Committee Cost Estimate.......................................... 6
Budget Authority and Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate... 7
Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation................... 8
Explanation of Amendment......................................... 10
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............ 10
Dissenting Views................................................. 11
AMENDMENT
The amendment is as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Bereaved Consumer's Bill of Rights Act
of 2010''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) there have been shocking consumer abuses in the funeral
industry, including scandals at Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip,
Illinois, Menorah Gardens Cemetery in Palm Beach, Florida, and
the Tri State Crematory in Noble, Georgia;
(2) funeral arrangements are a major expense for most
American households and families;
(3) some consumers seek to ease the burdens on their families
by arranging and paying for pre-need funeral and cemetery
arrangements;
(4) most funerals are planned by grieving family members at a
time when they are especially vulnerable and unlikely to focus
on cost comparison;
(5) the Federal Trade Commission's Funeral Industry Practices
Trade Regulation Rule (known as the Funeral Rule) dictates
consumer protections in the funeral home, but does not cover
the practices of cemeteries, crematoria, or sellers of
monuments, urns, or caskets;
(6) State laws are inconsistent and frequently too weak to
provide adequate consumer protections, creating a need for
minimum federal standards in this area;
(7) consumers have the right to receive clear and accurate
information about all funeral goods and services offered for
sale;
(8) consumers need effective protection from fraud and
abusive practices by all providers of funeral goods and
services and at all stages of the funeral planning process; and
(9) a new Federal law that provides adequate protections to
grieving families is warranted.
SEC. 3. FTC RULEMAKING RELATING TO UNFAIR OR DECEPTIVE ACTS OR
PRACTICES IN THE PROVISION OF FUNERAL GOODS OR
SERVICES.
(a) In General.--The Federal Trade Commission shall prescribe rules
prohibiting unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the provision of
funeral goods or services. Such rules shall include the following:
(1) A requirement that providers of funeral goods or funeral
services furnish accurate price information disclosing clearly
and conspicuously the cost to the purchaser for each of the
specific funeral goods or funeral services provided or offered
for sale.
(2) A prohibition on misrepresentations by such providers,
including misrepresentations of the requirements of Federal,
State, or local law.
(3) A prohibition on conditioning the provision of any
funeral good or funeral service upon the purchase of any other
funeral good or funeral service from that provider, except as
required by law.
(4) A requirement that any presale disclosures and contracts
for funeral services or funeral goods be written clearly,
stating the merchandise and services that purchasers are buying
and their prices.
(5) In the case of contracts for funeral services or funeral
goods that are pre-paid in whole or in part, a requirement for
clear and conspicuous presale and contractual disclosure
regarding any penalties incurred if the consumer decides to
cancel or transfer the contract to another provider of funeral
services or funeral goods.
(6) A requirement that contracts for funeral services or
funeral goods disclose clearly and conspicuously all fees and
costs to be incurred in the future or at the time that the
funeral services or funeral goods are provided.
(7) A requirement that cemeteries provide to consumers, in a
timely manner, all written rules and regulations of the
cemetery, and a clear explanation in writing of the interment,
inurnment, or entombment right that has been purchased, and any
material terms and conditions of that purchase, including any
repurchase option by the cemetery or resale rights available to
the consumer.
(8) A requirement that cemeteries--
(A) retain all records in existence on the date of
enactment of this Act, including maps or other systems
indicating the location and date of each interment,
inurnment, or entombment;
(B) accurately record and retain records of all
interments, inurnments, or entombments occurring, as
well as any internment, inurnment, or entombment rights
sold, after the effective date of the regulations
issued under this subsection, in such manner and form
as the Commission may prescribe in such regulations;
and
(C) make such records available to Federal, State,
and local governments, as appropriate.
(b) Rulemaking.--The Commission shall prescribe the rules under
subsection (a) within 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act.
Such rules, and any future rules or revision of rules prescribed by the
Commission prohibiting unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the
provision of funeral goods or services, shall be prescribed in
accordance with section 553 of title 5, United States Code.
(c) Application of Rules to Tax Exempt Organizations and States.--
Notwithstanding the definition of corporation in section 4 of the
Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 44), the rules prescribed under
subsection (a), and any future rules or revision of rules prescribed by
the Commission prohibiting unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the
provision of funeral goods or funeral services, shall also apply to
cemeteries organized or operated by--
(1) organizations described in section 501(c) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 that are exempt from taxation under
section 501(a) of such Code, except for cemeteries organized,
operated, managed, and owned by a religious denomination,
middle judicatory, house of worship, or similar religious
organization, and that are not organized, operated, managed, or
owned by contract or affiliation with a for-profit provider of
funeral goods or services that offers those goods and services
for sale to the public; and
(2) States or any political subdivision of a State.
(d) Enforcement.--Any violation of any rule prescribed under this
section shall be treated as a violation of a regulation prescribed
under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15
U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)) regarding unfair or deceptive acts or practices.
The Federal Trade Commission shall enforce this Act 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. Any person who
violates the regulations prescribed under this Act shall be subject to
the penalties and entitled to the privileges and immunities provided in
that Act.
SEC. 4. ENFORCEMENT BY STATES.
(a) In General.--Whenever an attorney general of any State has reason
to believe that the interests of the residents of that State have been
or are being threatened or adversely affected because any person has
engaged or is engaging in an act or practice which violates any rule of
the Commission issued under section 3 of this Act or the Trade
Regulation Rule on Funeral Industry Practices (16 C.F.R. 453.1 et
seq.), the State, as parens patriae, may bring a civil action on behalf
of its residents in an appropriate district court of the United States
to enjoin such violative act or practice, to enforce compliance with
such rule of the Commission, to obtain damages, restitution, or other
compensation on behalf of residents of such State, or to obtain such
further and other relief as the court may determine appropriate.
(b) Notice.--The State shall provide prior written notice of any
civil action under subsection (a) or (f)(2) to the Commission and
provide the Commission with a copy of its complaint, except that if it
is not feasible for the State to provide such prior notice, the State
shall provide such notice immediately upon instituting such action.
Upon receiving a notice respecting a civil action, the Commission shall
have the right--
(1) to intervene in such action;
(2) upon so intervening, to be heard on all matters arising
therein;
(3) to remove the action to the appropriate United States
district court; and
(4) to file petitions for appeal.
(c) Construction.--For purposes of bringing any civil action under
subsection (a), nothing in this Act shall prevent an attorney general
from exercising the powers conferred on the attorney general by the
laws of such State to conduct investigations or to administer oaths or
affirmations or to compel the attendance of witnesses or the production
of documentary and other evidence.
(d) Actions by Commission.--Whenever a civil action has been
instituted by or on behalf of the Commission for violation of any rule
prescribed under section 3 of this Act, no State may, during the
pendency of such action instituted by or on behalf of the Commission,
institute a civil action under subsection (a) or (f)(2) of this section
against any defendant named in the complaint in such action for
violation of any rule as alleged in such complaint.
(e) Venue; Service of Process.--Any civil action brought under
subsection (a) of this section in a district court of the United States
may be brought in the district in which the defendant is found, is an
inhabitant, or transacts business or wherever venue is proper under
section 1391 of title 28, United States Code. Process in such an action
may be served in any district in which the defendant is an inhabitant
or in which the defendant may be found.
(f) Actions by Other State Officials.--
(1) Construction.--Nothing contained in this section shall
prohibit an authorized State official from proceeding in State
court on the basis of an alleged violation of any civil or
criminal statute of such State.
(2) Other state actions.--In addition to actions brought by
an attorney general of a State under subsection (a) of this
section, such an action may be brought by officers of such
State who are authorized by the State to bring actions in such
State on behalf of its residents.
SEC. 5. EFFECT ON OTHER LAW.
Nothing in this Act or the rules prescribed under this Act shall be
construed to preempt any provision of any law of a State or political
subdivision of that State that provides protections to consumers of
funeral services or funeral goods, except to the extent that the
provision of law is inconsistent with any provision of this Act or a
rule prescribed under this Act, and then only to the extent of the
inconsistency.
SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act--
(1) the term ``cemetery'' means any organization, association
or other business that offers for sale the interment,
inurnment, or entombment of human remains, but does not include
any cemetery that--
(A) performs fewer than 25 interments, inurnments,
and entombments during any calendar year; or
(B) sells fewer than 25 interment, inurnment, or
entombment rights during any calendar year;
(2) the term ``funeral goods'' are the goods which are sold
or offered for sale directly to the public for use in
connection with funeral services; and
(3) the term ``funeral services'' means--
(A) any services which are sold or offered for sale
to the public in order to--
(i) care for and prepare deceased human
bodies for burial, cremation, or other final
disposition; or
(ii) arrange, supervise, or conduct the
funeral ceremony or the final disposition of
deceased human bodies; or
(B) services provided by funeral directors,
morticians, cemeterians, cremationists, and retailers
of caskets, urns, monuments, and markers.
PURPOSE AND SUMMARY
H.R. 3655, the ``Bereaved Consumer's Bill of Rights Act of
2009'', was introduced by Rep. Bobby L. Rush (D-IL) on
September 25, 2009. H.R. 3655 would require the Federal Trade
Commission (FTC) to prescribe rules prohibiting unfair or
deceptive acts and practices in the provision of funeral goods
and services.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois, made national news in
July 2009 when stories surfaced that cemetery employees had
removed human remains from graves and resold some of the graves
to unsuspecting consumers.\1\ H.R. 3655 was introduced by Rep.
Rush to address some of the deplorable conditions discovered at
Burr Oak. The legislation would require, among other things,
that all cemeteries record and retain records of burial,
inurnment, and entombment locations; explain to consumers the
nature of the burial, inurnment, or entombment rights they are
purchasing; and provide consumers with all the cemetery's
written rules and regulations.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\Bodies Unearthed at Alsip Cemetery, Chicago Tribune (July 9,
2009).
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Funeral arrangements are a major expense for most families
and households. Each year consumers spend billions of dollars
arranging more than two million funerals for families and
friends.\2\ Consumers are currently protected under the FTC's
Funeral Rule against unfair and deceptive acts and practices
committed by funeral homes.\3\ The FTC's Funeral Rule further
requires funeral homes to provide pricing disclosures for goods
and services that they sell. Also, funeral homes may not force
consumers to buy package deals but instead must allow consumers
to pick and choose the goods and services they want.\4\ Similar
protections, however, are not afforded to consumers of funeral,
burial, and cremation goods and services, when those goods and
services are sold by cemeteries, crematoria, or third-party
sellers. Because consumers of funeral goods and services are
grieving, they can be easily exploited and financially harmed
by deceitful salesmen. H.R. 3655 seeks to reconcile the
differences in consumer protections that the same consumer
would receive when shopping for funeral-related goods and
services as compared to burial and cremation goods and
services.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\Federal Trade Commission, Facts for Consumers: Funerals: A
Consumer's Guide (online at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/
products/pro19.shtm).
\3\16 C.F.R. part 453 (1982).
\4\Id.
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LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
H.R. 3655 was introduced on September 25, 2009, by Rep.
Rush of Illinois. The bill was referred to the Subcommittee on
Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection, and the Subcommittee
held a legislative hearing on H.R. 3655 on January 25, 2010.
COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION
On March 24, 2010, the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and
Consumer Protection met in open markup session and forwarded
H.R. 3655, amended, favorably to the full Committee by a voice
vote.
On July 21, 2010, the Committee on Energy and Commerce met
in open markup session and considered H.R. 3655 as approved by
the Subcommittee. The Committee adopted an amendment to the
bill by Rep. Rush, as amended by an amendment offered by Mr.
Gingrey of Georgia. The full Committee subsequently ordered
H.R. 3655 favorably reported to the House, amended, by a voice
vote.
COMMITTEE VOTES
Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives requires the Committee to list the record votes
on the motion to report legislation and amendments thereto.
There were no recorded votes during consideration of H.R. 3655.
STATEMENT OF COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII and clause
(2)(b)(1) of rule X of the Rules of the House of
Representatives, the oversight findings and recommendations of
the Committee are reflected in the descriptive portions of this
report, including the finding that consumers have a different
level of protection regarding funeral-related goods and
services as compared to burial and cremation goods and
services.
STATEMENT OF GENERAL PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
In accordance with clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the performance goals and
objectives of the Committee are reflected in the descriptive
portions of this report, including the goal that equivalent
consumer protections should apply to funeral-related goods and
services and burial and cremation goods and services.
CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT
Under clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House
of Representatives, the Committee must include a statement
citing the specific powers granted to Congress to enact the law
proposed by H.R. 3655. Article I, section 8, clauses 3 and 18
of the Constitution of the United States grant the Congress the
power to enact this law.
EARMARKS AND TAX AND TARIFF BENEFITS
H.R. 3655 does not contain any congressional earmarks,
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in
clause 9(d), 9(e), or 9(f) of rule XXI of the Rules of the
House of Representatives.
FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE STATEMENT
The Committee finds that the legislation does not establish
or authorize the establishment of an advisory committee within
the definition of 5 U.S.C. App., section 5(b).
APPLICABILITY OF LAW TO THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
Section 102(b)(3) of Public Law 104-1 requires a
description of the application of this bill to the legislative
branch where the bill relates to terms and conditions of
employment or access to public services and accommodations.
This bill does not relate to employment or access to public
services and accommodations.
FEDERAL MANDATES STATEMENT
Section 423 of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment
Control Act (as amended by Section 101(a)(2) of the Unfunded
Mandates Reform Act, P.L. 104-4) requires a statement whether
the provisions of the reported bill include unfunded mandates.
In compliance with this requirement the Committee has received
a letter from the Congressional Budget Office included herein.
COMMITTEE COST ESTIMATE
Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives requires an estimate and a comparison by the
Committee of the costs that would be incurred in carrying out
H.R. 3655. The Committee adopts as its own the cost estimate on
H.R. 3655 prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office included herein.
BUDGET AUTHORITY AND CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE
With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) of rule
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section
308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 and with respect
to requirements of clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives and section 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has received
the following cost estimate for H.R. 3655 from the Director of
the Congressional Budget Office:
September 8, 2010.
Hon. Henry A. Waxman,
Chairman, Committee on Energy and Commerce,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 3655, the Bereaved
Consumer's Bill of Rights Act of 2009.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Susan Willie.
Sincerely,
Douglas W. Elmendorf.
Enclosure.
H.R. 3655--Bereaved Consumer's Bill of Rights Act of 2009
H.R. 3655 would broaden rules prohibiting unfair or
deceptive acts or practices in the provision of funeral goods
or services. Among other things, the bill would require
cemeteries to disclose all fees and costs to be incurred in the
future or at the time such goods or services are provided and
to keep accurate burial records. The bill would require the
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to develop rules to enforce the
new requirements within one year of enactment.
Based on information from the FTC, CBO assumes that the
agency would require five additional staff positions at a cost
of about $1 million per year to develop and enforce the new
requirements, train staff, and develop educational materials.
CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 3655 would cost about $5
million over the 2011-2015 period, assuming appropriation of
the necessary amounts. Enacting H.R. 3655 could affect revenues
from collections of civil penalties; therefore, pay-as-you-go
procedures apply. However, CBO estimates that revenue
collections from those penalties would not be significant in
any year.
H.R. 3655 would impose intergovernmental and private-sector
mandates, as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
(UMRA), because it would require public and private cemeteries
to maintain records and respond to requests for information as
well as issue disclosures to consumers. The bill also would
impose mandates on providers of funeral goods or services.
Based on information from the FTC and industry sources, CBO
estimates that the aggregate cost of complying with the
mandates would fall below the annual thresholds established in
UMRA for intergovernmental and private-sector mandates ($70
million and $141 million, respectively, in 2010, adjusted
annually for inflation).
The bill would require public and private cemeteries and
other funeral service providers to document and retain records
on the location and date of each internment, inurnment, or
entombment. The bill also would require those entities to make
records available to federal, state, and local governments upon
request. In most cases, state laws and industry standards
already require recordkeeping of that kind; therefore, CBO
estimates that the incremental cost of recording and reporting
such information would be small.
The bill would require public and private cemeteries to
provide consumers with written explanations of cemetery rules
and the specific rights, terms, conditions, prices, fees, and
penalties associated with the goods or services purchased.
Industry experts indicate that those practices are already the
standard among cemeteries and most other funeral service
providers; therefore, CBO estimates that the additional cost of
complying with this requirement would be small.
The bill also would require providers and retailers of
funeral goods or services to provide clear and accurate pricing
and fee information to purchasers. Current federal regulations
for this industry extend only to entities that provide both
funeral goods and services, not to those that provide one or
the other. The bill also would prohibit conditioning the
provision of any good or service on the purchase of any other.
That requirement would prohibit the practice of bundling or
packaging of certain funeral goods and services by providers
and retailers previously not regulated by the FTC funeral rule.
Most providers and retailers of funeral goods or services
are already in compliance with many of the mandates contained
in the legislation through compliance with state law or current
industry standards. Based on information from industry
professionals and on data on the cost of compliance from the
FTC, CBO estimates that the additional compliance costs of
those mandates would be small relative to the annual threshold
for private-sector mandates.
The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Susan Willie
(for federal costs), Elizabeth Cove Delisle (for the
intergovernmental impact), and Marin Randall (for the private-
sector impact). The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo,
Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE LEGISLATION
Section 1. Short title
This Act is entitled the ``Bereaved Consumer's Bill of
Rights Act of 2010.''
Section 2. Findings
Section 2 contains findings about abuses in the funeral
industry and the need for additional regulation.
Section 3. FTC rulemaking relating to unfair or deceptive acts or
practices in the provision of funeral goods or services
Section 3(a) calls on the Federal Trade Commission to
prescribe rules prohibiting unfair or deceptive acts or
practices in the provision of funeral goods and services. The
subsection lists eight requirements that must be included in
the rules. The rules must require that providers of funeral
goods or services: (1) provide consumers with accurate,
itemized price information for each specific funeral good or
service offered for sale; (2) not misrepresent what federal,
state, and local laws require in protecting consumers or
permit, in the way of competition between providers; (3)
prohibit conditioning the provision of any one funeral good or
service on the purchase of another funeral good and service;
(4) write contracts for funeral goods and services using clear
language that consumers are likely to comprehend; (5) include
disclosures in pre-paid contracts regarding fees or penalties
to be assessed for cancellation or transfer, by the purchaser,
of burial, cremation, or entombment rights to different
facilities; (6) disclose in contracts all fees and costs to be
incurred in the future or at the time those funeral goods or
services are provided; (7) in the case of cemeteries, provide
all written rules and regulations of the cemetery, as well as
an explanation in writing of the interment, inurnment, or
entombment right that has been purchased; and (8) in the case
of cemeteries, retain records of the date and location of each
internment, inurnment, and entombment as well as the
corresponding rights of disposition (i.e., perpetual or term),
and make those records available to federal, state, and local
governments.
The Committee expects the FTC to encourage cemeteries and
funeral homes to digitize their records and ensure backup
copies are stored off site. It is the cemeteries'
responsibility to ensure that each burial record can be tied to
a grave space on a map, which in turn can be tied to a grave
space on the ground, and digitizing these records is one of the
best options to ensure that occurs.
Section 3(b) establishes a one year deadline for
promulgating these rules and provides the FTC with authority to
promulgate the rules using the procedures of the Administrative
Procedure Act. Section 3(c) applies the rules, with one
exception, to nonprofit organizations and states. If a cemetery
is nonprofit, but is organized, operated, managed, and owned by
a religious organization and has no contract for the
organization, operation, or management with a for-profit
company, it would be exempt from the rules. Section 3(d)
provides the FTC with the authority to enforce the rules
established under this Act.
Section 4. Enforcement by States
Section 4 provides states with the ability to enforce the
Act, the rules issued under the Act, or other provisions of the
Trade Regulation Rule on Funeral Industry Practices.
Section 5. Effect on other law
Section 5 provides that this Act should not be construed to
preempt any state law except to the extent that there is
inconsistency, and then only to the extent of the
inconsistency.
Section 6. Definitions
Section 6 establishes definitions for the Act. The section
defines ``cemetery'' to include any organization, association,
or other business that offers for sale the interment,
inurnment, or entombment of human remains except if that
cemetery performs fewer than 25 interments, inurnments, or
entombments per year or sells fewer than 25 such rights during
any calendar year. The term ``funeral goods'' is defined as it
is by the FTC in the Trade Regulation Rule on Funeral Industry
Practices. The term ``funeral services'' is defined to
encompass those funeral services covered by the existing FTC
rule as well as the services provided by funeral directors,
morticians, cemeterians, cremationists, and retailers of
caskets, urns, monuments, and markers.
EXPLANATION OF AMENDMENT
Rep. Rush of Illinois offered an amendment during full
Committee markup to provide an exemption to the requirements of
H.R. 3655 for cemeteries run by religious organizations with no
contract for ownership, operation, or management of the
cemeteries. Rep. Gingrey of Georgia offered an amendment to the
Rush amendment that clarified and slightly expanded the
exemption to exclude those cemeteries run by religious
organizations with no contract for ownership, operation, or
management with a for-profit company, thus allowing such
contracts with nonprofit entities. The Rush amendment, as
amended by the Gingrey amendment, was agreed to by a voice
vote.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED
H.R. 3655, as reported, does not make any change in
existing law.
DISSENTING VIEWS
We sympathize with the intent of H.R. 3655 to provide a
federal response to the tragic events discovered at the Chicago
Burr Oaks Cemetery (Burr Oaks) in Alsip, Illinois. We support
meaningful and effective federal consumer protection when the
evidence shows that States cannot effectively regulate.
However, we believe the isolated events at Burr Oaks do not
show any need for federal regulation. The record indicates that
Illinois addressed these events aggressively and adequately,
and that this type of misconduct does not occur frequently.
Indeed, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reports only a
fraction of one percent of the more than 1.3 million consumer
complaints it received in 2009 related to funeral services.
Additionally, we do not believe this legislation is good
policy nor do we believe it will effectively deter the types of
actions that occurred at Burr Oaks. We see no evidence that
requiring additional disclosures to consumers and recordkeeping
would deter actions such as occurred in 2009. Criminal
prosecution of these and similar acts provide a far more
effective deterrent to illegal disinterment. Extending the
current disclosure regulations under the FTC's ``Funeral Rule''
to cemeteries and requiring new disclosures by those currently
subject to the Funeral Rule would increase regulatory and
compliance costs with little or no associated consumer benefit.
During Committee consideration of H.R. 3655, an exemption
for religious non-profit organizations was passed. The majority
of cemeteries in the United States are run by municipalities
and religious organizations. Republicans offered separate
amendments to exempt the religious and municipally operated
cemeteries and funeral homes and restore their statutory
exemption from regulation by the FTC. Unfortunately, the
Majority only accepted the amendment exempting religious
organizations from H.R. 3655. This leaves all the
municipalities that own or operate cemeteries subject to
federal law and FTC enforcement for the first time, even though
the record does not include any persuasive evidence that this
would prevent the types of actions that occurred at Burr Oaks
or otherwise benefit consumers.
There is also the issue of federalism to address. We find
evidence demonstrating that the States can effectively regulate
their cemeteries and funeral providers. When incidents
suggesting the need for additional regulations do occur--as
with Burr Oaks and a few others with similar but rare
problems--States have responded quickly with investigations,
prosecutions, and additional regulations as they felt
appropriate to address their respective situations. We believe
Congress should only consider the larger question of whether
the FTC should have jurisdiction over any non-profit when it
reauthorizes the FTC rather than on a piecemeal, ad hoc basis.
Finally, we note that the bill would impose an extremely
broad obligation on cemeteries to keep all their records
indefinitely. This draconian recordkeeping provision would
likely impose extensive costs with little or no benefit for
consumers or law enforcement.
For these reasons, we, the undersigned, cannot support H.R.
3655.
Joe Barton.
Marsha Blackburn.
Tim Murphy.
Phil Gingrey.
Joseph R. Pitts.
Robert E. Latta.
John Shimkus.
Cliff Stearns.
Lee Terry.