HR 1183 IH

To amend the Fastener Quality Act to strengthen the protection against the sale of mismarked, misrepresented, and counterfeit fasteners and eliminate unnecessary requirements, and for other purposes.

March 18, 1999

Mr. SENSENBRENNER (for himself, Mr. BROWN of California, Mrs. MORELLA, Mr. GREEN of Wisconsin, Mr. COOK, Mrs. BIGGERT, and Mr. KUYKENDALL) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, and in addition to the Committee on Commerce, 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

To amend the Fastener Quality Act to strengthen the protection against the sale of mismarked, misrepresented, and counterfeit fasteners and eliminate unnecessary requirements, and for other purposes.

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 `Fastener Quality Act Amendments Act of 1999'.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

Section 2 of the Fastener Quality Act (15 U.S.C. 5401) is amended to read as follows:

`SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

`The Congress finds that--

`(1) the United States fastener industry is a significant contributor to the global economy, employing thousands of workers in hundreds of communities;

`(2) the American economy uses billions of fasteners each year;

`(3) state-of-the-art manufacturing and improved quality assurance systems have dramatically improved fastener quality, so virtually all fasteners sold in commerce meet or exceed the consensus standards for the uses to which they are applied;

`(4) a small number of mismarked, misrepresented, and counterfeit fasteners do enter commerce in the United States; and

`(5) multiple criteria for the identification of fasteners exist, including grade identification markings and manufacturer's insignia, to enable purchasers and users of fasteners to accurately evaluate the characteristics of individual fasteners.'.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

Section 3 of the Fastener Quality Act (15 U.S.C. 5402) is amended to read as follows:

`SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

`As used in this Act, the term--

`(1) `consensus standard' means the provisions of a document that describes fastener characteristics published by a consensus standards organization or a Federal agency, and does not include a proprietary standard;

`(2) `consensus standards organization' means the American Society for Testing and Materials, the American National Standards Institute, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the Society of Automotive Engineers, the International Organization for Standardization, any other organization identified as a United States consensus standards organization or a foreign and international consensus standards organization in the Federal Register at 61 Fed. Reg. 50582-83 (September 26, 1996), and any successor organizations thereto;

`(3) `Director' means the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology;

`(4) `distributor' means a person who purchases fasteners for the purpose of reselling them at wholesale to unaffiliated entities or individuals (an original equipment manufacturer and its dealers shall be considered affiliated entities for purposes of this Act);

`(5) `fastener' means a metallic screw, nut, bolt, or stud having internal or external threads, with a nominal diameter of 6 millimeters or greater, in the case of such items described in metric terms, or 1/4 inch or greater, in the case of such items described in terms of the English system of measurement, or a load-indicating washer, that is through-hardened or represented as meeting a consensus standard that calls for through-hardening, and that is grade identification marked or represented as meeting a consensus standard that requires grade identification marking, except that such term does not include any screw, nut, bolt, stud, or load-indicating washer that is--

`(A) part of an assembly;

`(B) in a package containing no more than 100 of any one screw, nut, bolt, stud, or load-indicating washer at the time of sale;

`(C) produced and marked as ASTM A 307 Grade A, or a successor standard thereto;

`(D) produced in accordance with ASTM F 432, or a successor standard thereto;

`(E) specifically manufactured for use on an aircraft if the quality and suitability of those fasteners for that use has been approved--

`(i) by the Federal Aviation Administration; or

`(ii) by a foreign airworthiness authority as described in part 21.29, 21.500, 21.502, or 21.617 of title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations;

`(F) manufactured in accordance with a fastener quality assurance system; or

`(G) manufactured to a proprietary standard, whether or not such proprietary standard directly or indirectly references a consensus standard or any portion thereof;

`(6) `fastener quality assurance system' means--

`(A) a system that meets the requirements, including revisions from time to time, of--

`(i) International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Standard 9000, 9001, 9002, or TS16949;

`(ii) Quality System (QS) 9000 Standard;

`(iii) Verband der Automobilindustrie e. V. (VDA) 6.1 Standard; or

`(iv) Aerospace Basic Quality System Standard AS9000; or

`(B) any fastener manufacturing system--

`(i) that has as a stated goal the prevention of defects through continuous improvement;

`(ii) that seeks to attain the goal stated in clause (i) by incorporating--

`(I) advance quality planning;

`(II) monitoring and control of the manufacturing process;

`(III) product verification embodied in a comprehensive written control plan for product and process characteristics, and process controls (including process influence factors and statistical process control), tests, and measurement systems to be used in production; and

`(IV) the creation, maintenance, and retention of electronic, photographic, or paper records required by the control plan regarding the inspections, tests, and measurements performed pursuant to the control plan; and

`(iii) that--

`(I) is subject to certification in accordance with the requirements of ISO/IEC Guide 62, including revisions from time to time, by a third party who is accredited by an accreditation body in accordance with the requirements of ISO/IEC Guide 61, including revisions from time to time, or another document approved by the Director under section 10; or

`(II) undergoes regular or random evaluation and assessment by the end user or end users of the screws, nuts, bolts, studs, or load-indicating washers produced under such fastener manufacturing system to ensure that such system meets the requirements of clauses (i) and (ii);

`(7) `grade identification marking' means any grade-mark or property class symbol appearing on a fastener purporting to indicate that the lot of fasteners conforms to a specific consensus standard, but such term does not include a manufacturer's insignia or part number;

`(8) `lot' means a quantity of fasteners of one part number fabricated by the same production process from the same coil or heat number of metal as provided by the metal manufacturer;

`(9) `manufacturer' means a person who fabricates fasteners for sale in commerce;

`(10) `proprietary standard' means the provisions of a document that describes characteristics of a screw, nut, bolt, stud, or load-indicating washer and is issued by a person who--

`(A) uses screws, nuts, bolts, studs, or load-indicating washers in the manufacture, assembly, or servicing of its products; and

`(B) with respect to such screws, nuts, bolts, studs, or washers, is a developer and issuer of descriptions that have characteristics similar to consensus standards and that bear such user's identification;

`(11) `record of conformance' means a record or records designated for each lot of fasteners sold or offered for sale that contains--

`(A) the name and address of the manufacturer;

`(B) a description of the type of fastener;

`(C) the lot number;

`(D) the nominal dimensions of the fastener (including diameter and length of bolts or screws), thread form, and class of fit;

`(E) the consensus standard or specifications to which the lot of fasteners has been manufactured, including the date, number, revision, and other information sufficient to identify the particular consensus standard or specifications being referenced;

`(F) the chemistry and grade of material; and

`(G) the coating material and characteristics and the applicable consensus standard or specifications for such coating;

`(12) `represent' means to describe one or more of a fastener's purported characteristics in a document or statement that is transmitted to a purchaser through any medium;

`(13) `Secretary' means the Secretary of Commerce;

`(14) `specifications' means the required characteristics identified in the contractual agreement with the manufacturer or to which a fastener is otherwise produced, except that the term does not include proprietary standards; and

`(15) `through-harden' means heating above the transformation temperature followed by quenching and tempering for the purpose of achieving uniform hardness.'.

SEC. 4. SALE OF FASTENERS.

Sections 5 through 7 of the Fastener Quality Act (15 U.S.C. 5404-7) are repealed, and the following new section is inserted after section 3 of such Act:

`SEC. 4. SALE OF FASTENERS.

`(a) GENERAL RULE- It shall be unlawful for a manufacturer or distributor, in conjunction with a sale or offer for sale of a fastener, to knowingly misrepresent or falsify--

`(1) the record of conformance for the lot of fasteners;

`(2) the identification, characteristics, properties, mechanical or performance marks, chemistry, or strength of the lot of fasteners; or

`(3) the manufacturer's insignia.

`(b) REPRESENTATIONS- A direct or indirect reference to a consensus standard to represent that a fastener conforms to particular requirements of the consensus standard shall not be construed as a representation that the fastener meets all the requirements of the consensus standard.

`(c) SPECIFICATIONS- A direct or indirect contractual reference to a consensus standard for the purpose of identifying particular requirements of the consensus standard that serve as specifications shall not be construed to require that the fastener meet all the requirements of the consensus standard.

`(d) VOLUNTARY ACCREDITATION OF LABORATORIES- The Secretary, acting through the Director, shall maintain a program for the voluntary accreditation of laboratories, and shall make information about such laboratories available to the public. If the parties to the sale of a fastener agree, a laboratory accredited under such voluntary program shall be used to perform tests that may be required by consensus standards or specifications.'.

SEC. 5. MANUFACTURERS' INSIGNIAS.

Section 8 of the Fastener Quality Act (15 U.S.C. 5407) is redesignated as section 5 and is amended--

(1) in subsection (a), by striking `which is required' and all that follows through `by the Secretary' and inserting `that is required by the specifications or applicable consensus standard or standards in the record of conformance to bear an insignia identifying its manufacturer shall be offered for sale or sold in commerce unless the manufacturer of such fastener has complied with the insignia recordation requirements prescribed by the Secretary, acting through the Director,'; and

(2) in subsection (b), by striking `and private label' and all that follows and inserting `described in subsection (a).'.

SEC. 6. REMEDIES AND PENALTIES.

Section 9 of the Fastener Quality Act (15 U.S.C. 5408) is redesignated as section 6 and is amended--

(1) in subsection (b)(3), by striking `of this section' and inserting `of this subsection';

(2) in subsection (b)(4), by inserting `arbitrate,' after `Secretary may';

(3) by striking paragraph (3) of subsection (c); and

(4) in subsection (d)--

(A) by inserting `(1)' after `ENFORCEMENT- '; and

(B) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

`(2) The Secretary, acting through the Director, shall establish and maintain a hotline system to facilitate the reporting of alleged violations of this Act, and the Secretary shall investigate credible allegations reported through that system.'.

SEC. 7. RECORDKEEPING REQUIREMENTS.

Section 10 of the Fastener Quality Act (15 U.S.C. 5409) is redesignated as section 7 and is amended by striking subsections (a) and (b) and inserting the following:

`Manufacturers shall retain the record of conformance for fasteners for 5 years, on paper or in photographic or electronic format in a manner that allows for verification of authenticity.'.

SEC. 8. RELATIONSHIP TO STATE LAWS.

Section 11 of the Fastener Quality Act (15 U.S.C. 5410) is redesignated as section 8.

SEC. 9. CONSTRUCTION.

Section 12 of the Fastener Quality Act (15 U.S.C. 5411) is redesignated as section 9 and is amended by striking `in effect on the date of enactment of this Act'.

SEC. 10. CERTIFICATION AND ACCREDITATION.

Sections 13 and 15 of the Fastener Quality Act (15 U.S.C. 5412 and 14) are repealed, and the following new section is inserted at the end of that Act:

`SEC. 10. CERTIFICATION AND ACCREDITATION.

`(a) CERTIFICATION- A person publishing a document setting forth guidance or requirements for the certification of manufacturing systems, including fastener manufacturing systems, by an accredited third party may petition the Director to approve such document for use as described in section 3(6)(B)(iii)(I). The Director shall act upon a petition within 180 days after its filing, and shall approve such petition if the document provides equal or greater rigor and reliability as compared to ISO/IEC Guide 62.

`(b) ACCREDITATION- A person publishing a document setting forth guidance or requirements for the approval of accreditation bodies to accredit third parties described in subsection (a) may petition the Director to approve such document for use as described in section 3(6)(B)(iii)(I). The Director shall act upon a petition within 180 days after its filing, and shall approve such petition if the document provides equal or greater rigor and reliability as compared to ISO/IEC Guide 61.'.

SEC. 11. APPLICABILITY.

At the end of the Fastener Quality Act, insert the following new section:

`SEC. 11. APPLICABILITY.

`The requirements of this Act shall be applicable only to fasteners fabricated 180 days or more after the date of the enactment of the Fastener Quality Act Amendments of 1999, except that if a manufacturer or distributor of fasteners fabricated before that date designates a record of conformance for such fasteners, representations about such fasteners shall be subject to the requirements of this Act.'.

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