text: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
  
      This Act may be cited as the ``Respirator Access Assurance Act of 
  2005''.
  
  SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
  
      Congress makes the following findings:
              (1) Each year millions of workers, responders, and citizens 
          in the United States and around the world depend on the 
          availability of respirators made in the United States for 
          protection against exposure to hazardous materials and in the 
          event of terrorist incidents, airborne disease epidemics, and 
          other disasters.
              (2) Respirators are tested, and the design and labeling of 
          respirators is regulated by an independent Federal agency, the 
          National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, which is 
          part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. NIOSH 
          establishes the performance standards for respirators, 
          independently tests and certifies that respirators meet its 
          standards, and performs follow-up field audits of respirators 
          to ensure continued compliance with NIOSH performance 
          standards. Prior to the establishment of NIOSH, respirators 
          were approved by the United States Bureau of Mines.
              (3) Respirator manufacturers and sellers do not and cannot 
          control or determine the manner in which their products are 
          used.
              (4) Manufacturers and sellers of respirators designed and 
          labeled in compliance with NIOSH requirements have been named 
          as defendants in a substantial number of product liability 
          claims alleging that these NIOSH-approved designs and warnings 
          are defective.
              (5) Respirators are sold in and have an effect on 
          interstate commerce.
              (6) Manufacturers of respirators may cease making such 
          products, in principal part because of the costs of litigation.
              (7) A continued United States capacity to manufacture and 
          distribute respirators is necessary to assure that these 
          products remain available. Lack of availability of respirators 
          will increase risks to the health of millions of American 
          workers and emergency responders.
              (8) The protections set forth in this Act are needed to 
          assure the continued commercial availability of lifesaving 
          respirators.
  
  SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
  
      In this Act:
              (1) Manufacturer.--The term ``Manufacturer'' means any 
          person who, in the course of a business conducted for that 
          purpose, designs, makes, produces, packages, or labels any 
          respirator or component part of a respirator, or engages 
          another to do so.
              (2) NIOSH.--The term ``NIOSH'' means the National Institute 
          for Occupational Safety and Health.
              (3) NIOSH approval.--The term ``NIOSH approval'' means a 
          certificate or formal document issued by NIOSH stating that an 
          individual respirator or combination of respirators has met the 
          minimum requirements of part 84 of title 42, Code of Federal 
          Regulations, or part 11 of title 30, Code of Federal 
          Regulations, and that the manufacturer is authorized to use and 
          attach an approval label to any respirator manufactured in 
          conformance with the plans and specifications upon which the 
          approval was based. For purposes of this Act, NIOSH approval 
          shall also mean certification or approval by any Federal 
          Government agency with authority to approve respirators, 
          including the United States Bureau of Mines and the Mine Safety 
          and Health Administration.
              (4) Respirator.--The term ``Respirator'' means any device, 
          including component or replacement parts for a device, designed 
          to provide the wearer with respiratory protection against 
          inhalation of a hazardous atmosphere.
              (5) Seller.--The term ``Seller'' means a person or entity, 
          including a retailer, distributor, or wholesaler, that is 
          regularly engaged in selling respirators.
  
  SEC. 4. EFFECT OF NIOSH APPROVAL OF DESIGN AND LABELING.
  
      (a) In General.--A manufacturer or seller of a respirator shall not 
  be subject to any claim for defective design or warning relating to a 
  respirator or any claim which is based on such an allegation if such 
  respirator has received a NIOSH approval, and such respirator is 
  manufactured in compliance with the NIOSH-approved design and labeling 
  in effect on the date of manufacture. This provision shall not apply to 
  a respirator that fails to comply with the NIOSH-approved design and 
  labeling standards in effect on the date of manufacture.
      (b) Withdrawal of Approval.--Subsection (a) shall not apply to a 
  manufacturer or seller of a respirator if NIOSH withdraws its approval 
  for the respirator that is the subject of the claim involved based on a 
  finding by NIOSH that the manufacturer or seller--
              (1) withheld from or misrepresented to NIOSH material 
          information about the respirator's design or labeling and the 
          respirator otherwise would not have been approved; or
              (2) made an illegal payment to a NIOSH official or employee 
          for the purpose of securing or maintaining approval of the 
          respirator's design or labeling.
      (c) Statute of Limitations.--A statute of limitations that would 
  otherwise apply to claims to which subsection (b) applies shall not 
  begin to run until the date on which NIOSH withdraws its approval for 
  the respirator involved.
  
  SEC. 5. PREEMPTION AND STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.
  
      (a) Preemption.--The provisions of this Act shall supersede any and 
  all State or local laws insofar as they may now or hereafter relate to 
  any claim for defective design or warning relating to a respirator or 
  any claim which is based on such an allegation if such respirator 
  complied with the NIOSH-approved design and labeling in effect on the 
  date of manufacture.
      (b) Statutory Construction.--Nothing in this Act may be construed 
  to affect any defense available to a defendant under any other 
  provision of State or Federal law, or to create a cause of action or 
  Federal court jurisdiction pursuant to section 1331 or 1332 of title 
  28, United States Code, that otherwise would not exist under applicable 
  law.
  
  SEC. 6. APPLICABILITY.
  
      This Act applies to any civil action in a Federal or State court, 
  on the basis of any legal theory, for harm allegedly caused, directly 
  or indirectly, by a respirator, a respirator manufacturer, or a 
  respirator seller.
  
  SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE.
  
      This Act shall become effective upon enactment and shall apply to 
  any action that has not proceeded to trial as of the date of enactment, 
  regardless of when the respirator was manufactured or sold.
target: Respirator Access Assurance Act of 2005 - States that manufacturers or sellers of respirators shall not be subject to claims for defective design or warning, or any claims based on such allegations, if the respirator in question received National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) approval and was manufactured in compliance with NIOSH-approved design and labeling in effect on the date of manufacture.
  
  Provides for withdrawal of a previous NIOSH approval of a respirator on grounds of misrepresentation of material information or bribery of a NIOSH officer or employee (thus subjecting the manufacturer or seller to liability for a claim).
  
  Preempts all state and local laws with regard to such claims.
  
  Makes this Act applicable to any civil action in federal or state court for harm allegedly caused by a respirator, respirator manufacturer, or respirator seller.
  
  Applies this Act to any action than has not proceeded to trial as of the date of enactment.
feat_title: A bill to protect American workers and responders by ensuring the continued commercial availability of respirators and to establish rules governing product liability actions against manufacturers and sellers of respirators.