Foreign Manufacturers Legal Accountability Act of 2013
Latest action · Jun 3, 2013 Referred to the Subcommittee on Trade.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedMay 9, 2013
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Foreign Manufacturers Legal Accountability Act of 2013 - Expresses the sense of Congress with respect to jurisdiction of courts in the United States over foreign manufacturers that import products into the United States.
Directs the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (with respect to drugs, devices, cosmetics, and biological products), the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) (with respect to consumer products), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (with respect to chemical substances, new chemical substances, and pesticides) to require foreign manufacturers and producers of such products (or components used to manufacture them), in excess of a minimum value or quantity, to establish a registered agent in the United States authorized to accept service of process on their behalf for the purpose of any state or federal regulatory proceeding or civil action in state or federal court.
Deems a foreign manufacturer or producer of products covered under this Act that registers an agent to consent to the personal jurisdiction of the state or federal courts of the state in which the agent is located for the purpose of any civil or regulatory proceeding.
Requires any person who imports into the United States a covered product manufactured or produced outside the United States to provide to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) a declaration that to the best of the person's knowledge, with respect to the importation of each covered product, the foreign manufacturer or producer of the product has registered an agent in the United States. Directs the CBP Commissioner to prescribe related regulations.
Subjects an importer who fails to provide or files a false declaration to certain penalties.
Requires the Secretary of Agriculture and the Commissioner of Food and Drugs jointly to study the feasibility and advisability of requiring foreign producers of food distributed in commerce to establish a registered agent in the United States who is authorized to accept service of process on behalf of such producers for the purpose of all civil and regulatory actions in state and federal courts.
Requires the head of each agency cited in this Act similarly to study feasible and advisable methods of requiring foreign manufacturers or producers of component parts of covered products distributed in U.S. commerce to establish registered agents in the United States for purposes of such service of process.
Cosponsors 54
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from May 9, 2013 to Nov 20, 2014; 32 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-FL | Alan Grayson | Original | May 9, 2013 |
| D-FL | Alcee L. Hastings | Original | May 9, 2013 |
| D-NH | Ann M. Kuster | Original | May 9, 2013 |
| D-IA | Bruce L. Braley | Original | May 9, 2013 |
| D-NH | Carol Shea-Porter | Original | May 9, 2013 |
| D-NY | Carolyn McCarthy | Original | May 9, 2013 |
| R-OH | David P. Joyce | Original | May 9, 2013 |
| D-MD | Donna F. Edwards | Original | May 9, 2013 |
| D-CO | Ed Perlmutter | Original | May 9, 2013 |
| D-DC | Eleanor Holmes Norton | Original | May 9, 2013 |
| D-TX | Filemon Vela | Original | May 9, 2013 |
| D-MI | Gary C. Peters | Original | May 9, 2013 |
| D-TX | Gene Green | Original | May 9, 2013 |
| D-GA | Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. | Original | May 9, 2013 |
| D-CT | Joe Courtney | Original | May 9, 2013 |
Committees 3
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Energy and Commerce Committee | Referred May 9, 2013 |
| Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade Subcommittee | Referred May 10, 2013 | |
| House | Ways and Means Committee | Referred May 9, 2013 |
| Trade Subcommittee | Referred Jun 3, 2013 | |
| House | Agriculture Committee | Referred May 9, 2013 |
| Conservation, Research, and Biotechnology Subcommittee | Referred May 22, 2013 |
Actions 6
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Jun 3, 2013Referred to the Subcommittee on Trade.
- May 23, 2013Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR H2916-2917)
- May 22, 2013Referred to the Subcommittee on Horticulture, Research, Biotechnology, and Foreign Agriculture.
- May 10, 2013Referred to the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade.
- May 9, 2013Introduced in House
- May 9, 2013Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, and Agriculture, 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.
In the Congressional Record 1
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| House | Debate and remarks H2916 | Matt Cartwright D-PA | May 23, 2013 |
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the page H2569.
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To require foreign manufacturers of products imported into the United States to establish registered agents in the United States who are authorized to accept service of process against such manufacturers.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Foreign Manufacturers Legal Accountability Act of 2013
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Law.
- Administrative law and regulatory procedures
- Agricultural trade
- Civil actions and liability
- Consumer Product Safety Commission
- Department of Commerce
- Department of Homeland Security
- Drug safety, medical device, and laboratory regulation
- Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
- Food supply, safety, and labeling
- Government information and archives
- Government studies and investigations
- Hazardous wastes and toxic substances
- Jurisdiction and venue
- Law
- Manufacturing
- Product safety and quality
- Trade restrictions
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- May 9, 2013Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
