Foreign Manufacturers Legal Accountability Act of 2015
Latest action · Aug 25, 2015 Referred to the Subcommittee on Biotechnology, Horticulture, and Research.
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.
- IntroducedJul 29, 2015
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Foreign Manufacturers Legal Accountability Act of 2015
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 (with respect to consumer products), and the Environmental Protection Agency (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 Department of Agriculture and the FDA 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 37
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jul 29, 2015 to Nov 30, 2015; 32 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-FL | Alan Grayson | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| D-FL | Alcee L. Hastings | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| D-NH | Ann M. Kuster | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| D-CA | Anna G. Eshoo | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| D-MN | Betty McCollum | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| R-FL | Bill Posey | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| D-NJ | Bonnie Watson Coleman | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| D-NY | Brian Higgins | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| D-MD | Donna F. Edwards | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| D-CA | Eric Swalwell | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| D-TX | Filemon Vela | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| D-TX | Gene Green | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| D-GA | Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| D-MA | James P. McGovern | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| D-RI | James R. Langevin | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| D-KY | John A. Yarmuth | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| D-CA | Julia Brownley | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| D-MN | Keith Ellison | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| D-CA | Linda T. Sánchez | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| D-TX | Lloyd Doggett | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| D-WI | Mark Pocan | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| D-MA | Michael E. Capuano | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| R-OH | Michael R. Turner | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| D-FL | Patrick Murphy | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| D-OR | Peter A. DeFazio | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| D-PA | Robert A. Brady | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| D-IL | Robin L. Kelly | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| D-TX | Sheila Jackson Lee | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| D-TN | Steve Cohen | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| D-OR | Suzanne Bonamici | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| D-OH | Tim Ryan | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| R-NC | Walter B. Jones | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| D-CO | Ed Perlmutter | Jul 31, 2015 | |
| D-CT | Joe Courtney | Jul 31, 2015 | |
| D-CA | John Garamendi | Sep 25, 2015 | |
| D-MA | Stephen F. Lynch | Oct 7, 2015 | |
| D-NY | Louise McIntosh Slaughter | Nov 30, 2015 |
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 Jul 29, 2015 |
| Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade Subcommittee | Referred Jul 31, 2015 | |
| House | Ways and Means Committee | Referred Jul 29, 2015 |
| Trade Subcommittee | Referred Aug 12, 2015 | |
| House | Agriculture Committee | Referred Jul 29, 2015 |
| Conservation, Research, and Biotechnology Subcommittee | Referred Aug 25, 2015 |
Actions 5
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Aug 25, 2015Referred to the Subcommittee on Biotechnology, Horticulture, and Research.
- Aug 12, 2015Referred to the Subcommittee on Trade.
- Jul 31, 2015Referred to the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade.
- Jul 29, 2015Introduced in House
- Jul 29, 2015Referred 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.
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 Congressional Record, vol. 161, no. 121, July 29, 2015, page H5771.
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 2015
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.
- Jul 29, 2015Introduced 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.
