#SubCMT Reviews CPSC Policies and Priorities

Press Release

The Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade today held a hearing with commissioners of the Consumer Product Safety Commission to review the agency's budget, priorities, and policies. Chairman Elliot Kaye, Commissioner Robert Adler, Commissioner Ann Marie Buerkle, and Commissioner John Mohorovic provided testimony.

"Consumer safety is a top priority for this subcommittee and at a time where difficult budgeting decisions are being made across the government, it is critical that all agencies are held accountable for their prioritization decisions," said Subcommittee Chairman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-TX).

Full committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) added, "Oversight of an agency with such broad jurisdiction is critical to ensuring unsafe products are either stopped from coming into the stream of commerce or are taken off the shelves in a seamless and timely manner."

Members of the panel questioned the commissioners over a range of issues facing the agency, including the implementation of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), efforts to reduce third party testing burdens for small businesses, education incentives and partnerships, changes to the voluntary recall process, and other commission rulemakings.

Commissioner Ann Marie Buerkle noted the unintended consequences of the CPSIA and expressed that more still needs to be done to improve the law. "I think it is clear, however, that CPSIA went too far in some respects, forcing regulation without regard to risk, let alone cost," said Buerkle. "This subcommittee led the way in moderating some of the untoward consequences of CPSIA through its work on H.R. 2715, which passed into law while I was a Member of the House. Some objectives of that law remain unfulfilled. … I think there is still much more we can do to remove unnecessary regulatory burdens in this arena, and I look forward to working with this committee to that end."

One open rulemaking at the commission proposes mandatory standards for recreational off-highway vehicles. Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-KS) has introduced legislation, H.R. 999, requiring an independent study of the standards before they go into effect. "I want to make sure that we don't cut short this process, that we get the data right -- the science and the engineering and technology right," said Pompeo. Today's second panel of witnesses provided testimony on Pompeo's bill.

"The ROV manufacturers' engineers and technical staff have serious safety concerns about the effects of the CPSC's proposals. The RIDE Act will help resolve these matters by having the CPSC's proposals examined by an independent agency, such as the National Academy of Sciences, in consultation with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Department of Defense. This commonsense approach -- resolving technical issues before considering implementation -- should be supported by everyone," said Erik Pritchard, Executive Vice President and General Counsel of the Recreational Off-Highway Vehicle Association.

Chairman Burgess concluded, "The CPSC's mission must remain a touchstone for its important work and not a launching off point for an activist state driven by headlines rather than science and economics. Such an approach compromises the trust in an agency that has successfully removed thousands of unsafe consumer products from the economy as well as the voluntary safety standards process that builds safety into products on the front end."