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Wednesday, January 09, 2008

First Signs of Teeth in CPSC Enforcement

Nancy Nord, head of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, will use the agency's newly-boosted budget to station product inspectors at the nation's busiest ports, according to an article in Congress Daily (via GovExec.com).

CPSC staff at ports will not be authorized to turn away dangerous cargo, but it can advise U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials who have the power to deny unsafe products entry into the country. CPSC employees are posted near ports and sometimes conduct inspections, but they also are assigned other duties. The permanent port staff will have access to information on recalls and high-risk products through a tracking system CPSC is developing, Nord said.

The omnibus spending bill for FY 2008, finalized in Congress in late December, included a $17 million (or about 27 percent) increase for CPSC, the regulatory body in charge of ensuring the safety of toys, clothes, and a host of other consumer products. Congress raised the agency's budget in light of mounting evidence that resource and staffing shortfalls were at least partially responsible for a spate of product recalls announced in 2007. President Bush's budget proposed less than $1 million in increases, a virtual budget cut when considering inflation.

Congress is also looking at long-term resource increases and other reforms which would improve CPSC's responsiveness and effectiveness. In December, the House passed the Consumer Product Safety Modernization Act. Senate progress has been slower. For more, read the Jan. 8 OMB Watch article, "Congress Limps Toward Product Safety Reform".