The Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade, chaired by Rep. Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-TX), has scheduled a markup on Wednesday, June 8, 2016, at 5 p.m. in room 2123 of the Rayburn House Office Building to consider a series of bills that seek to modernize the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for the 21st century. The subcommittee will convene for opening statements only on Wednesday, and reconvene Thursday, June 9, 2016, at 10 a.m. in 2123 Rayburn House Office Building.
Members will consider the following bills.
H.R.___, the FTC Process and Transparency Reform Act, contains eight process and transparency reform bills examined during the subcommittee hearing, including;
* H.R. 5093, the Technological Innovation through Modernizing Enforcement (TIME) Act - sponsored by Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-TX);
* H.R. 5097, the Start Taking Action on Lingering Liabilities (STALL) Act - sponsored by Rep. Susan Brooks (R-IN);
* H.R. 5098, the FTC Robust Elderly Protections and Organizational Requirements to Track Scams Act - sponsored by Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL);
* H.R. 5109, the Clarifying Legality and Enforcement Action Reasoning (CLEAR) Act - sponsored by Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-KY);
* H.R. 5115, the Statement on Unfairness Reinforcement and Emphasis Act (SURE) Act - sponsored by Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK);
* H.R. 5116, the Freeing Responsible and Effective Exchanges (FREE) Act - sponsored by Rep. Pete Olson (R-TX);
* H.R. 5118, the Solidifying Habitual and Institutional Explanations of Liability and Defenses (SHIELD) Act - sponsored by Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-KS); and
* H.R. 5136, the Revealing Economic Conclusions for Suggestions (RECS) Act - sponsored by Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-KS).
The bill would modernize the FTC by introducing additional transparency and helps clarify the analysis supporting consumer protection enforcement to promote investment and innovation.
H.R. 5111, the Consumer Review Fairness Act, authored by subcommittee Vice Chairman Rep. Leonard Lance (R-NJ), would;
* Prohibit gag clauses preventing consumers from publishing truthful reviews and authorize the FTC and states to enforce the Act with civil penalties.
H.R. 5092, the Reinforcing American-Made Products Act of 2016, authored by committee member Rep. Gregg Harper (R-MS), would;
* Establish that the FTC’s authority over Made in USA labeling is the single, national standard, preventing a patchwork of laws around the nation.
H.R. 5104, Better On-line Ticket Sales (BOTS) Act of 2016, authored by full committee Vice Chairman Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), would;
* Empower the FTC to stop software used to buy up swaths of event tickets over defense measures put in place by ticket sellers.
“Our Disrupter Series showed us that many of the laws currently on the books today fail to keep pace with rapid advancements in innovation and technology," said Burgess. “The bills we will consider this week seek to bring 21st century reforms to the FTC to protect consumers, create jobs, and modernize the agency to ensure American products remain competitive in the global marketplace."
Electronic copies of these bills and a background memo can be found on the Energy and Commerce Committee’s website here. Amendments, and votes will be available at the same link as they are posted. Related Items
* CMT Subcommittee Markup of Four Bills
