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November 04, 2007
NY Times calls for strong CPSC reform
In today's editorial Playing Games With Toy Safety the New York Times urges Congressional reform of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, and expresses grave concern over the leadership by both the President and the agency's acting chief, Nancy Nord: With the holiday season approaching, there is more bad news about the federal agency charged with protecting children from unsafe toys. Nancy Nord, acting chairwoman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, joined industry lobbyists in opposing a Senate bill intended to strengthen her enfeebled agency. That was followed by the revelation that Ms. Nord and her predecessor took free trips from the toy industry. President Bush came into office promising relief for industry, which he claimed was overburdened by government regulations. Too often, however, that policy allows unscrupulous businesses to put workers and consumers in danger. The editorial includes a call to fix the current law's notorious Section 6(b), which allows manufacturers to control the release of information about their dangerous products:
Perhaps most important, the bill would require the commission to make consumers' complaints public almost immediately, as the National Transportation Safety Administration does for automobiles. The Consumer Product Safety Commission now keeps complaints and even results of internal investigations secret while industry has weeks or longer to respond. That might work for industry, but not for the consumer. Our position is to repeal 6(b); we're working hard to make sure Congress at least adequately reforms it. At a minimum, any final bill must remove the right of industry to sue to block disclosure of known safety hazards. On Tuesday, the Energy and Commerce holds a hearing on its bill, HR 4040. It's a good start, but narrower than the Senate Commerce Committee-passed bill, S. 2045. It doesn't include all necessary reforms, such as the right of state Attorneys General to enforce the product safety laws. Its increase in CPSC civil penalty authority from $1.8 million to only $10 million is inadequate; the Senate would go to $100 million, a real deterrent to corporate wrongdoing.
Posted by Ed Mierzwinski at November 4, 2007 08:25 AM
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