[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7096 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7096

To amend the Consumer Product Safety Act to strike provisions relating 
    to the maximum civil penalties for violations of product safety 
                               standards.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 25, 2024

  Ms. Schakowsky (for herself and Mrs. Watson Coleman) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                                Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Consumer Product Safety Act to strike provisions relating 
    to the maximum civil penalties for violations of product safety 
                               standards.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Consumer Advocacy and Protection 
Act'' or the ``CAP Act''.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY ACT.

    (a) Civil Penalty Cap.--Section 20(a)(1) of the Consumer Product 
Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2069(a)(1)) is amended--
            (1) in the first sentence, by striking ``$100,000'' and 
        inserting ``$250,000'';
            (2) in the second sentence--
                    (A) by striking ``or (11)'' and inserting ``(11), 
                (12), (15), or (16)''; and
                    (B) by striking ``, except that the maximum civil 
                penalty shall not exceed $15,000,000 for any related 
                series of violations''; and
            (3) in the third sentence by striking ``, except that the 
        maximum civil penalty shall not exceed $15,000,000 for any 
        related series of violations''.
    (b) Adjustment for Inflation.--Section 20(a)(3) of the Consumer 
Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2069(a)(3)) is amended--
            (1) by striking subparagraph (B) and inserting the 
        following:
    ``(B) Not later than one year after the date of enactment of this 
subparagraph, and not later than January 15 of every year thereafter, 
the Commission shall--
            ``(i) in accordance with subparagraph (C), determine the 
        inflation adjusted maximum civil penalty for an individual 
        violation; and
            ``(ii) publish each such inflation adjusted maximum civil 
        penalty for an individual violation in the Federal Register.'';
            (2) by striking subparagraph (C) and inserting the 
        following:
    ``(C)(i) The Commission shall adjust civil penalties in accordance 
with this subparagraph and shall make such adjustment notwithstanding 
section 553 of title 5, United States Code.
    ``(ii) The inflation adjusted maximum civil penalty for the 
purposes of subparagraph (B) shall be determined by increasing the 
prior year maximum civil monetary penalty by the cost-of-living 
adjustment. Any increase determined under this subparagraph shall be 
rounded to the nearest multiple of $1.
    ``(iii) For purposes of this subparagraph--
            ``(I) the term `cost-of-living adjustment' means the 
        percentage (if any) by which--
                    ``(aa) the Consumer Price Index for the month of 
                October preceding the date of the adjustment; exceeds
                    ``(bb) the Consumer Price Index for the month of 
                October 1 one year before the month of October referred 
                to in item (aa); and
            ``(II) the term `Consumer Price Index' means the Consumer 
        Price Index for all-urban consumers published by the Department 
        of Labor.
    ``(iv) If the civil penalty subject to a cost-of-living adjustment 
is, during the 12 months preceding a required cost-of-living 
adjustment, increased by law by an amount greater than the amount of 
the adjustment required under subparagraph (B), the Commission is not 
required to make the cost-of-living adjustment otherwise required for 
that year.''; and
            (3) by striking subparagraph (D).
    (c) Technical Amendment.--Section 20(c) of the Consumer Product 
Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2069(c)) is amended, in the second sentence, by 
striking ``including, the'' and inserting ``including the''.
    (d) Technical Amendment.--Section 20(d) of the Consumer Product 
Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2069(d)) is amended, in the first sentence, by 
striking ``man'' and inserting ``person''.
                                 <all>