Committee Approves H.R. 6131 Legislation to Protect Consumers and Cut Red Tape

Committee Votes to Reauthorize SAFE WEB Act and Advance Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest Establishment Act

July 31, 2012

The House Energy and Commerce Committee approved H.R. 6131, a bill to reauthorize the U.S. SAFE Web Act of 2006 and S. 710, the “Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest Establishment Act.” Both measures were reported out of the full committee by voice vote.

Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade Chairman Mary Bono Mack (R-CA) and Ranking Member Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-NC) introduced H.R. 6131 to reauthorize the U.S. Safe Web Act, which is set to expire next year. The Act gives the Federal Trade Commission additional administrative tools to share information with its foreign counterparts and more effectively protect consumers from increased threats of cross-border fraud, spam, and spyware. H.R. 6131 will extend this important consumer protection law for another seven years.

“By any measure, the U.S. SAFE WEB Act has been a clear success to date and should be reauthorized before its expiration next year,” said Bono Mack. “It’s good for the future of e-commerce and it’s the right thing to do for our nation and our friends around the world.”

The “Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest Establishment Act” is a legislative solution to improve hazardous waste reporting requirements. This commonsense solution will modernize the way the federal government and states track the shipment of hazardous waste. It calls for replacing the current paper-based tracking system with an electronic system, which will help reduce paper work, streamline filing processes, and eliminate government waste. The transition to an electronic tracking system could save over $100 million annually.

Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy Chairman John Shimkus (R-IL) endorsed the cost-cutting legislation, stating, “With electronic manifests, shipments will be able to be followed throughout the system versus a paper trail that is delayed by weeks. Each party will have up-to-date information readily accessible and sharable. And it all saves money in the end.”

The Energy and Commerce Committee will reconvene tomorrow at 10 a.m. in room 2123 of the Rayburn House Office Building to consider H.R. 6213, the “No More Solyndras Act,” H.R. 6190, the “Asthma Inhalers Relief Act,” and H.R. 6194, the “U.S. Agricultural Sector Relief Act.”