Durbin Calls for CPSC Reform

Press Release

Durbin Calls for CPSC Reform

United States Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) announced four new steps the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) should take immediately to alleviate parent's concerns about toy safety and to improve the agency's effectiveness. In a speech at the National Press Club, Durbin also urged the Administration to dramatically increase the neglected agency's budget and to work with Congressional Democrats to fill three vacant positions on the commission's governing board.

"The CPSC has failed American families," Durbin said. "Too many parents have no where to turn for reliable advice on safe toys."

This year alone, more than 20 million Chinese made toys have been recalled because they pose hazards to children. The CPSC, which is responsible for overseeing the safety of more than 15,000 consumer goods, employs fewer than 425 full-time staff, relies on antiquated testing facilities and employs just one full-time toy tester.

To help reverse the perception that the CPSC is putting the interests of business before the safety of consumers, Durbin called on the CPSC to declare a one-year moratorium on industry-paid travel after reports that CPSC Chairman, Nancy Nord, has taken dozens of trips paid for by the industry the agency is tasked with regulating.

"The CPSC needs to immediately ensure there is no conflict of interest when it comes to the safety of children. If Chairman Nord will not end industry-paid travel voluntarily, I will offer legislation to make it mandatory," Durbin said.

With funding stagnant, staff levels at their lowest since 1980 and foreign imports at an all time high, Durbin also called on the Administration to send a responsible budget request for the CPSC to Congress next year. Durbin asked for a 10 to 15 percent funding increase next year alone, as Congress works on the multi-year task of rebuilding the agency. This summer, Durbin, Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee that oversees the agency's budget, increased the CPSC's budget by $8 million over the President's request to keep 18 full time employees who otherwise would have lost their jobs. Durbin asked that the new funds be used for necessities like skilled staff and much need improvements to testing labs.

Finally, Durbin asked the President to work with Congressional Democrats to fill the three empty slots on the CPSC. The agency currently has only two of five commissioner positions filled and was forced to receive a waver that allows them to take regulatory action without the presence of a quorum. Durbin added that the positions should be filled with qualified candidates who have a demonstrated commitment to consumer safety, not industry lobbyists, as proposed earlier this year with the nomination of Michael Baroody.

"It shouldn't take a waiver to make sure American consumers are protected," Durbin said. "The CPSC needs a full commission to fulfill its obligation to protect American families and to show a true dedication to safety. The only thing worse than a CPSC that can barely function, is a CPSC that can't function at all."

Durbin is an outspoken leader in the Senate on the issue of consumer safety. This year he's held two hearings on the issue of toy safety. In June, the Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government, which Durbin chairs, held a field hearing in Chicago where CPSC Chairwoman Nancy Nord testified. In September, Durbin held a second hearing on the issue where he heard again from Nord and the CEOs of Mattel and Toys "R" Us, the nation's largest toy manufacture and retailer.

He has introduced two pieces of legislation in an effort to reform the declining consumer protection agency. Both of Durbin's bills were included in a package of reforms introduced by Senator Mark Pryor (D-AR). That bill, The CPSC Reform Act of 2007, will more than double the agency's budget from $62.7 million to $141.7 million by 2015, increase staffing levels by nearly 20 percent, dramatically increase the cap on fines from $1.8 million to $100 million and give the CPSC greater authority to inspect and recall products. The bill also contains a third party testing requirement for children's products, bans lead in children's jewelry, and makes it illegal to knowingly sell a recalled product.

Chairwoman Nord has objected to the proposed funding increase. In a letter to the Senate Commerce Committee, Nord argued that the proposed funding increase contained in the Senate bill would "harm product safety and put American people at greater risk." Durbin responded by pointing out that the cliché "less is more," often cited by Nord, has done little to improve consumer safety. Instead, he argued, it has done a great deal to protect industry's bottom line.

The Senate Commerce Committee passed the CPSC Reform Act last month and Durbin urged his Senate colleagues to take up and pass the legislation before year's end.

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