Jim Sensenbrenner: “the Fastener Quality Act was signed into law in 1990. It required all threaded metallic fasteners of one-quarter inch…”

“the Fastener Quality Act was signed into law in 1990. It required all threaded metallic fasteners of one-quarter inch diameter or greater that reference a consensus standard to be documented by a National Institute of Standards and Technology's certified laboratory. Although the legislation has been on the books for over 8 years, concerns over the bill's impact on the economy have delayed its implementation of final regulations. NIST regulations are slated to go into effect on July 26 of this year. H.R. 3824 amends the Fastener Quality Act by exempting fasteners produced or altered to the standards and specifications of aviation manufacturers from the new regulations. Exempting the proprietary fasteners of aviation manufacturers from the Fastener Quality Act makes sense, considering aviation manufacturers are already required by law to demonstrate to the FAA that they have a quality control system which ensures that their products, including fasteners, meet design specifications. Subjecting the proprietary fasteners of aviation manufacturers to a second set of Federal regulations is redundant and unnecessary. In fact, the FAA has stated that doing so may even undermine the current level of aviation safety.”