[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5464 Introduced in House (IH)]
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115th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5464
To prohibit the pricing of consumer products and services that are
substantially similar if such products or services are priced
differently based on the gender of the individuals for whose use the
products are intended or marketed or for whom the services are
performed or offered.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 10, 2018
Ms. Speier (for herself, Ms. Bonamici, Ms. Brownley of California, Ms.
Castor of Florida, Mr. Cicilline, Mr. Cohen, Ms. DeLauro, Mr. Grijalva,
Mr. Kildee, Ms. Lee, Mr. Lowenthal, Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney of New
York, Mr. McGovern, Ms. Moore, Mrs. Napolitano, Ms. Norton, Ms. Titus,
Ms. Wasserman Schultz, Mr. Khanna, Mr. Ryan of Ohio, Mrs. Dingell, Mrs.
Bustos, Ms. Meng, Ms. Eshoo, Mr. Ted Lieu of California, Ms.
Schakowsky, Ms. Judy Chu of California, and Mrs. Watson Coleman)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To prohibit the pricing of consumer products and services that are
substantially similar if such products or services are priced
differently based on the gender of the individuals for whose use the
products are intended or marketed or for whom the services are
performed or offered.
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 ``Pink Tax Repeal Act''.
SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON GENDER-BASED PRICING OF CONSUMER PRODUCTS AND
SERVICES.
(a) Prohibited Practices.--
(1) Consumer products.--It shall be unlawful for any person
to sell or offer for sale in interstate commerce any two
consumer products from the same manufacturer that are
substantially similar if such products are priced differently
based on the gender of the individuals for whose use the
products are intended or marketed.
(2) Services.--It shall be unlawful for any person to sell
or offer for sale any services that are substantially similar
if such services are priced differently based on the gender of
the individuals for which the services are performed, offered,
or marketed.
(b) Unfair and Deceptive Act or Practice.--A violation of
subsection (a) shall be treated as a violation of a rule prescribed
under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15
U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)) defining an unfair or deceptive act or practice in
or affecting interstate commerce.
(c) Enforcement.--
(1) Federal trade commission.--The Federal Trade Commission
shall enforce this section in the same manner, by the same
means, and with the same jurisdiction as though all applicable
terms and provisions of the Federal Trade Commission Act were
incorporated into and made a part of this Act.
(2) State attorneys general.--
(A) Civil action.--In any case in which the
attorney general of a State has reason to believe that
an interest of the residents of that State has been or
is adversely affected by a violation of subsection (a),
the attorney general may, as parens patriae, bring a
civil action on behalf of the residents of the State in
an appropriate district court of the United States--
(i) to enjoin further violation of this Act
by the defendant;
(ii) to compel compliance with this Act; or
(iii) obtain damages, restitution, or other
compensation on behalf of residents of the
State.
(B) Notice to the ftc.--
(i) Notice.--Except as provided in clause
(iii), the attorney general of a State shall
notify the Commission in writing of any civil
action under paragraph (2), prior to initiating
such civil action.
(ii) Contents.--The notice required by
clause (i) shall include a copy of the
complaint to be filed to initiate such civil
action.
(iii) Exception.--If it is not feasible for
the attorney general of a State to provide the
notice required by clause (i), the State shall
provide notice immediately upon instituting a
civil action under subparagraph (A).
(C) Intervention by the ftc.--Upon receiving notice
required by subparagraph (B) with respect to a civil
action, the Commission may--
(i) intervene in such action; and
(ii) upon intervening, be heard on all
matters arising in such civil action and file
petitions for appeal of a decision in such
action.
(D) Preemptive action by the ftc.--If the
Commission institutes a civil action for violation of
this Act, no attorney general of a State may bring a
civil action under this paragraph against any defendant
named in the complaint of the Commission for violation
of this Act that is alleged in such complaint.
(d) Rules of Construction.--
(1) Substantially similar products.--For purposes of this
Act, two consumer products are substantially similar if there
are no substantial differences in the materials used in the
product, the intended uses of the product, and the functional
design and features of the product. A difference in coloring
among any consumer products shall not be construed as a
substantial difference for purposes of this paragraph.
(2) Substantially similar services.--For purposes of this
Act, two services are substantially similar if there is no
substantial difference in the amount of time to provide the
services, the difficulty in providing the services, or the cost
of providing the services.
(e) Definition of Consumer Product.--The term ``consumer product''
has the meaning given such term in section 3 of the Consumer Product
Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2052) and includes a device or cosmetics, as such
terms are defined in section 201 of the Federal Food, Drug, and
Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 321). Such term includes a child restraint
system, as such term is defined in section 571.213 of title 49, Code of
Federal Regulations.
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