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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawaii), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, today cosponsored the Consumer Product Safety Commission Reform Act of 2007, introduced by Senator Mark Pryor (D-Ark.). The Act is a reauthorization bill set to improve consumer safety through stronger consumer protection laws, increased authority, and increased authorization levels. Senator Inouye made the following statement on the measure.
“Mr. Inouye: In recent months, the American public has been faced with a series of high profile recalls of consumer products. In the last 2 months alone, approximately 2 million toys were recalled for violating lead paint standards, and more than 5 million toys were recalled for containing magnets that come loose and create an ingestion hazard. The recalls were not limited to toys. Candles, all-terrain vehicles, cribs, bunk beds, space heaters, clothes, knives, scuba masks, radios, lamps, and electronic equipment were also recalled.
Public outcry and press reports have intensified the focus on the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the agency charged with monitoring the safety of these products. What Americans have found is a CPSC restrained by the combination of a far-reaching mandate, a shrinking staff, and the smallest budget of any federal health and safety agency.
This is why I rise today to cosponsor the CPSC Reform Act of 2007, introduced by Senator Mark Pryor. This Act is a comprehensive and aggressive reauthorization bill designed to revitalize the Commission and improve consumer safety through stronger consumer protection laws, increased authority, and increased authorization levels necessary for the CPSC to do its job well.
To say a CPSC budget and staffing increase is long overdue is a gross understatement. The last time the CPSC was reauthorized was in 1990. In order for the CPSC to complete its mission, it needs steady funding. This is why the CPSC Reform Act officially reauthorizes the Commission for the next 7 years. Beginning with an authorization of $80 million for fiscal year (FY) 2009, the funding levels would increase by 10% per year, culminating at approximately $141.7 million for FY 2015.
Furthermore, to improve the CPSC’s ability to test consumer products, the bill authorizes an additional $20 million for FY 2009 and FY 2010 for much needed repair, re-equipping, and upgrading of the CPSC’s research, development, and testing facility.
The CPSC Reform Act also directs the Commission to increase its number of full-time employees to at least 500 within the first 5 years, returning the CPSC to staffing levels comparable to those maintained by the Clinton Administration. When the CPSC was established in 1973, it had 786 full time employees responsible for the safety of 10,000 consumer products. Today, the CPSC is responsible for more than 15,000 consumer products – many of which are manufactured overseas. Yet today, the CPSC functions with only 420 full-time employees. This bill takes great strides in restoring these staffing levels.
Additionally, although the CPSC is authorized to have 5 Commissioners, the agency has been operating with only 2 Commissioners since July 2006. The CPSC Reform Act eliminates a 1992 limitation on the use of funds for more than 3 Commissioners and urges the President to appoint a full complement of 5 Commissioners.
Adequate funding and staffing are only the beginning. The CPSC Reform Act also strengthens consumer products safety laws.
First, the Act increases the maximum per violation civil penalty from $8000 to $250,000 and the maximum civil penalty for a related series of violations from $1.825 million to $100 million. Second, the Act strikes the requirement that violators of the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA) may only be criminally prosecuted after repeated warnings. It also makes a knowing violation of the CPSA punishable by up to a 1-year imprisonment and a knowing and willful violation punishable by up to a 5-year imprisonment.
The Act also goes to the heart of the recent consumer product recalls. It bans the use of lead in children’s products and establishes a maximum level trace amount of lead allowed in such products. It directs manufacturers to label children’s products with marks that can be used to identify the source, production date, and other information useful to facilitate a recall.
Additionally, the Act directs the CPSC to establish a protocol for manufacturers and importers to have independent third party compliance certification for children’s consumer products under CPSC jurisdiction. Further, the measure authorizes the CPSC to refer importers found to have committed multiple violations of the CPSA to U.S. Customs and Border Protection with the recommendation that the importer’s license be revoked.
The CPSC is tasked with keeping unsafe and harmful products off our store shelves and out of our homes and the hands of our children. This line of defense has grown thin because of a lack of resources, staffing, and authorities. Although the dedicated career staff has continued to work diligently under trying circumstances and limited resources, Congress must act quickly to give them the tools to do their job better, so that consumer confidence can be restored.
I look forward to working with my colleagues on this comprehensive CPSC reauthorization legislation.”
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