H.R. 6131 (112th): To extend the Undertaking Spam, Spyware, And Fraud Enforcement With Enforcers beyond Borders Act of 2006, and for other purposes.

Introduced:
Jul 17, 2012 (112th Congress, 2011–2013)
Sponsor:
Rep. Mary Bono Mack [R-CA45]
Status:
Signed by the President
Slip Law:
This bill became Pub.L. 112-203.

The bill’s title was written by the bill’s sponsor. H.R. stands for House of Representatives bill.

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Status

This bill was enacted after being signed by the President on December 4, 2012.

Progress
Introduced Jul 17, 2012
Referred to Committee Jul 17, 2012
Reported by Committee Sep 10, 2012
Passed House Sep 11, 2012
Passed Senate Nov 14, 2012
Signed by the President Dec 04, 2012
Cosponsors
6 cosponsors (3R, 3D) (show)
Committees

House Energy and Commerce

The committee chair determines whether a bill will move past the committee stage.

Summary

No summaries available.

Text

Read Bill Text »

Last updated Jan 01, 2012.
1 pages

Primary Source

View on THOMAS (The Library of Congress)

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Citation

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GovTrack’s Bill Summary

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Library of Congress Summary

The summary below was written by the Congressional Research Service, which is a nonpartisan division of the Library of Congress.

12/4/2012--Public Law. (This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary of that version is repeated here.) Extends, until September 30, 2020, the repeal date of the Undertaking Spam, Spyware, And Fraud Enforcement With Enforcers beyond Borders Act of 2006 (U.S. SAFE WEB Act of 2006).

House Republican Conference Summary

The summary below was written by the House Republican Conference, which is the caucus of Republicans in the House of Representatives.

This summary can be found at http://www.gop.gov/bill/112/2/hr6131.

Background

Current law authorizes the Federal Trade Commission to combat cross border fraud.  Specifically, the Undertaking Spam, Spyware, and Fraud Enforcement with Enforcers beyond Borders Act, amends the FTC Act definition of ‘‘unfair or deceptive acts or practices’’ to include acts of foreign commerce that:

  1. Cause or are likely to cause reasonably foreseeable injury within the United States; or
  2. Involve material conduct occurring within the United States.

Current law creates remedies for such unfair and deceptive acts or practices, including restitution to domestic or foreign victims.  Current law also permits the FTC to provide assistance to and share information with foreign government law enforcement agencies in the investigation and enforcement of violations of anti-fraud laws.  H.R. 6131 would extend this authority. 

Summary

H.R. 6131 would reauthorize the Undertaking Spam, Spyware, and Fraud Enforcement with Enforcers beyond Borders Act, which would otherwise expire on December 22, 2013.  The bill would extend the Act through September 30, 2020. 

Cost

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that implementing H.R. 6131 would have no significant effect on discretionary spending over the 2013-2017 period.  Enacting H.R. 6131 could result in collections of additional civil and criminal penalties, which would affect both revenues and direct spending; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures apply.  However, CBO estimates that those effects also would be insignificant. 

House Democratic Caucus Summary

The House Democratic Caucus does not provide summaries of bills.

So, yes, we display the House Republican Conference’s summaries when available even if we do not have a Democratic summary available. That’s because we feel it is better to give you as much information as possible, even if we cannot provide every viewpoint.

We’ll be looking for a source of summaries from the other side in the meanwhile.

The bill contains the following citations to other parts of U.S. law:

Slip Laws

Slip laws refer to enacted bills and joint resolutions in their original form as enacted by Congress, that is, before other laws amend them. Slip laws are cited as “Public Law XXX-YYY”, where XXX is the number of the Congress in which the bill or resolution was introduced.

  • Public Law 109-455

United States Code

The United States Code is the compilation of permanent laws enacted by Congress. Temporary and other non-permanent laws do not appear in the United States Code. (About half of the United States Code is the law itself, called positive law. The other half is merely a compilation of the laws but has no legal significance.)

  • Title 15: COMMERCE AND TRADE
  • Chapter 2: FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION; PROMOTION OF EXPORT TRADE AND PREVENTION OF UNFAIR METHODS OF COMPETITION
  • Subchapter I: FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
  • Section 44: Definitions