Over at the Government Accountability Project (GAP) blog, Dylan Blaylock previews next week's Senate showdown over legislation that would expand the resources and responsibilities of the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The House version of the bill (H.R. 4040) passed in December in a 407-0 vote, but things may not go so smoothly in the Senate.

GAP and Public Citizen have obtained a Senate Republican Caucus memo that contains talking points arguing against the bill. The memo also contains letters from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers opposing the bill. One of the talking points argues against giving CPSC the resources it desperately needs:

The bill increases the budget of the CPSC from $80 Million in FY08 to over $158 Million in 2015. It would also take the CPSC from its 2007 level of 393 full time equivalents to 500 full time equivalents. While there may be needs at the CPSC, there has been scant justification for these increases in the size and scope of government.

Scant justification? Since the 1970s, CPSC's budget (see graph below) and staffing level have been halved, as OMB Watch recently reported. Even with the employment increases mandated in the legislation, CPSC would be significantly understaffed.

Meanwhile, the industries CPSC regulates have skyrocketed. For example, from 1985 to 2004, four-wheel ATV use increased 17-fold, according to CPSC statistics. CPSC estimates show a steady rise in ATV-related deaths over the same 20-year period, from 55 in 1985 to 734 in 2004. (See graph below.) Despite the risk, in recent years CPSC has been unwilling or unable to regulate the ATV industry.

The Republican Caucus's rhetoric is anti-government ideology run amok. The CPSC reform legislation is not an attempt to dramatically expand the role of government, but an effort to keep the agency's resources on par with its responsibilities — and its responsibilities on par with the industries it regulates.

Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) is leading the charge against the CSPC reform bill. DeMint and the industry lobbyists he is stumping for should drop their campaign to derail this sensible legislation.

Toys "R" Us has announced plans to enforce a voluntary standard for lead in toys tighter than the mandatory federal standard. According to the retailer's press release, "We have instructed all manufacturers who produce items for Toys "R" Us, Inc. that products shipped to the company on or after March 1, 2008 must comply with strict new standards, which include…applying a more stringent standard of 90 ppm for lead in surface coatings versus the current federal standard of 600 ppm for all products manufactured exclusively for Toys "R" Us, Inc."

While reducing lead in toys is a no-brainer, Toys "R" Us should receive extra commendation for also moving to ban phthalates in toys. As BNA news service reported this morning, Toys "R" Us plans to require all products sold in their stores to be phthalate-free by the end of 2008.

Studies have shown phthalate exposure to cause developmental abnormalities, particularly in fetuses and infants. The European Union and the state of California have announced restrictions on the presence of phthalates in children's products.

Congress has been working toward a new federal standard for lead in the substance of toys that, over time, would be tighter than the Toys "R" Us voluntary standard. In legislation that would expand the budget and authority of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), would require CPSC to set a standard of "100 parts per million total lead content by weight for any part of the product, effective 4 years after the date of enactment of this Act, unless the Commission determines, after notice and a hearing, that a standard of 100 parts per million is not feasible, in which case the Commission shall require the lowest amount of lead that the Commission determines is feasible to achieve." (H.R. 4040 § 101(a)(2)(C) )

A version of the bill moving through the Senate, which the chamber may debate in the coming days, would make the 100 ppm standard effective 3 years after enactment. Both bills would set a lead standard of 90 ppm for the paint on toys.

Congressional action is needed, as President Bush continues to block CPSC from doing its job. One of CPSC's three commissioners resigned in 2006. Under the Consumer Product Safety Act, CPSC can continue to conduct formal business with two commissioners for six months. That quorum expired in January 2007, but in August Congress passed legislation extending the quorum another six months.

On Feb. 4, the quorum expired again. All the while, President Bush has refused to nominate a suitable candidate to serve as CPSC's third commissioner, even as concern over toy safety has found the national spotlight.

FDA's inability to ensure the safety of imported products is in the news again today. According to The New York Times, a plant in China, uninspected by FDA, is responsible for a contaminated ingredient in Heparin, a blood-thinning drug common in dialysis, heart surgeries and chronic care hospitals. At least four people have already died from using the drug.

Unlike some other dangerous import stories, this one isn't just about the inability of a federal agency to monitor imports; it's about flat-out negligence by FDA and by Heparin's maker, Baxter International. New York Times reporter Gardiner Harris has the story:

Public health officials noticed a problem with heparin supplies late last year when children undergoing dialysis at a Missouri hospital had severe allergic reactions. As officials investigated, they discovered hundreds of similar cases.

Baxter initially recalled some of the product, but the problems persisted.

The F.D.A. decided to allow Baxter to deliver heparin that it was in the midst of shipping for fear that a total recall would lead to an immediate and severe shortage of the drug. The F.D.A. cautioned doctors to use as little of the Baxter drug as possible and to infuse it into patients very slowly.

FDA and Baxter have known about the danger of Heparin for months, but, for most Americans, today will be the first they have heard of it.

Meanwhile, because FDA refused to stop Baxter shipments, users of Heparin were getting sick. According to an FDA press release, "About 350 adverse events associated with the Baxter product have been reported since the end of last year compared to less than 100 reports in 2007."

So instead of disseminating information that could have helped people, FDA chose to cover up the problem in the name of public health, even though hundreds were sickened and several died? Forgive Reg•Watch's cynicism, but could this be a case of FDA putting Baxter's corporate profits ahead of patients' safety?

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President Bush's FY 2009 budget request, announced Feb. 4, proposes level funding for the Consumer Product Safety Commission — essentially a budget cut when adjusted for inflation. Bush has chosen to flat-line the agency's funding even though the public, media, and Congress are realizing resource shortfalls at CPSC have undermined its ability to ensure product safety.

A new article by OMB Watch tracks the history of budget and staffing cuts at the agency and shows how CPSC's resources have not kept pace with the growth of the industries it regulates, specifically the toy industry and the ATV industry.

Click here for excerpts and neato line graphs

Posted by Matt Madia, 11:19:29 AM

Friday, February 01, 2008