[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 135 (Wednesday, September 12, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S11511]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. PRYOR (for himself and Mr. Inouye):
  S. 2045. A bill to reform the Consumer Product Safety Commission to 
provide greater protection for children's products, to improve the 
screening of noncompliant consumer products, to improve the 
effectiveness of consumer product recall programs, and for other 
purposes; to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
  Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, in recent months, the American public has 
been faced with a series of high profile recalls of consumer products. 
In the last 2 months alone, approximately 2 million toys were recalled 
for violating lead paint standards, and more than 5 million toys were 
recalled for containing magnets that come loose and create an ingestion 
hazard. The recalls were not limited to toys. Candles, all-terrain 
vehicles, cribs, bunk beds, space heaters, clothes, knives, scuba 
masks, radios, lamps, and electronic equipment were also recalled.
  Public outcry and press reports have intensified the focus on the 
Consumer Product Safety Commission, CPSC, the agency charged with 
monitoring the safety of these products. What Americans have found is a 
CPSC restrained by the combination of a far-reaching mandate, a 
shrinking staff, and the smallest budget of any federal health and 
safety agency.
  This is why I rise today to cosponsor the CPSC Reform Act of 2007, 
introduced by Senator Mark Pryor. This act is a comprehensive and 
aggressive reauthorization bill designed to revitalize the Commission 
and improve consumer safety through stronger consumer protection laws, 
increased authority, and increased authorization levels necessary for 
the CPSC to do its job well.
  To say a CPSC budget and staffing increase is long overdue is a gross 
understatement. The last time the CPSC was reauthorized was in 1990. In 
order for the CPSC to complete its mission, it needs steady funding. 
This is why the CPSC Reform Act officially reauthorizes the Commission 
for the next 7 years. Beginning with an authorization of $80 million 
for fiscal year 2009, the funding levels would increase by 10 percent 
per year, culminating at approximately $141.7 million for fiscal year 
2015.
  Furthermore, to improve CPSC's ability to test consumer products, the 
bill authorizes an additional $20 million for fiscal year 2009 and 
fiscal year 2010 for much needed repair, re-equipping, and upgrading of 
the CPSC's research, development, and testing facility.
  The CPSC Reform Act also directs the Commission to increase its 
number of full-time employees to at least 500 within the first 5 years, 
returning the CPSC to staffing levels comparable to those maintained by 
the Clinton administration. When the CPSC was established in 1973, it 
had 786 full-time employees responsible for the safety of 10,000 
consumer products. Today, the CPSC is responsible for more than 15,000 
consumer products--many of which are manufactured overseas. Yet today, 
the CPSC functions with only 420 full-time employees. This bill takes 
great strides in restoring these staffing levels.
  Additionally, although the CPSC is authorized to have five 
Commissioners, the agency has been operating with only two 
Commissioners since July 2006. The CPSC Reform Act eliminates a 1992 
limitation on the use of funds for more than three Commissioners and 
urges the President to appoint a full complement of five Commissioners.
  Adequate funding and staffing are only the beginning. The CPSC Reform 
Act also strengthens consumer products safety laws.
  First, the Act increases the maximum per violation civil penalty from 
$8000 to $250,000 and the maximum civil penalty for a related series of 
violations from $1.825 million to $100 million.
  Second, the Act strikes the requirement that violators of the 
Consumer Product Safety Act, CPSA, may only be criminally prosecuted 
after repeated warnings. It also makes a knowing violation of the CPSA 
punishable by up to a 1-year imprisonment and a knowing and willful 
violation punishable by up to a 5-year imprisonment.
  The act also goes to the heart of the recent consumer product 
recalls. It bans the use of lead in children's products and establishes 
a maximum level trace amount of lead allowed in such products. It 
directs manufacturers to label children's products with marks that can 
be used to identify the source, production date, and other information 
useful to facilitate a recall.
  Additionally, the act directs the CPSC to establish a protocol for 
manufacturers and importers to have independent third party compliance 
certification for children's consumer products under CPSC jurisdiction. 
Further, the measure authorizes the CPSC to refer importers found to 
have committed multiple violations of the CPSA to U.S. Customs and 
Border Protection with the recommendation that the importer's license 
be revoked.
  The CPSC is tasked with keeping unsafe and harmful products off our 
store shelves and out of our homes and the hands of our children. This 
line of defense has grown thin because of a lack of resources, 
staffing, and authorities. Although the dedicated career staff has 
continued to work diligently under trying circumstances and limited 
resources, Congress must act quickly to give them the tools to do their 
job better, so that consumer confidence can be restored.
  I look forward to working with my colleagues on this comprehensive 
CPSC reauthorization legislation.
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