Executive Summary

HR 2100, which would make the destruction or alteration of product identification codes punishable by fines ranging from $500 to $1 mil., was the subject of an Oct. 21 House Judiciary/Intellectual Property Subcommittee hearing. Concerns raised at the hearing addressed potential consumer harm related to purchasing products of questionable merit. However, American Free Trade Association counsel Gilbert Sandler testifies the bill would place unwarranted restrictions on numerous companies. Similar legislation was introduced by sponsor Robert Goodlatte (R-Va.) in the last Congress, but the measure failed to receive the required two-thirds vote under a suspension of the rules, failing 245-167 (1"The Tan Sheet" Oct. 5, 1998, p. 27). The Consumer Healthcare Products Association is a strong advocate of the bill; companion legislation could be introduced in the Senate by Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) or Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.)