Conversations with Consumers

CPSC recently held a public hearing to get input from stakeholders about its agenda and priorities for FY 2014 and FY 2015. We heard from two panels of consumer advocates and manufacturers’ associations. Many thought-provoking subjects were discussed. I found the topic of child safety in low-income households, raised by the Consumer Federation of America, to be an important challenge to address, not just at CPSC, but across the federal government. (As I have written before in this blog, some of our current policies risk pricing low-income consumers out of safety.)

Two other topics were particularly noteworthy. The Handmade Toy Alliance (HTA) said that signing up for the “small batch manufacturer” registry—exempting them from certain third-party testing requirements—did not substantially ease their burden. Even though they were technically exempt from third-party testing, HTA’s members still must meet various statutory limits and, crucially, are often unable to do adequate testing without engaging third-party testing labs. Further, HTA pointed out the requirement added by the Commission to post on its website the name of every company that received this exemption was a deterrent to companies to participate and thereby have their business data posted. It is no surprise, then, that although we expected upwards of 30,000 companies to sign up, only about 500 are have so far.

Another issue raised by HTA, as well as the Toy Industry Association (TIA) and the American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA), was the need for CPSC to dedicate resources, pursuant to Congress’s direction in Public Law 112-28, to implement measures that reduce testing burdens while still ensuring compliance with safety standards. To date, the Commission has no specific commitment to action in FY 2014 and FY2015 to reduce testing costs. The Commission previously defeated my amendment which would have allowed for more action.

I hope that we will listen to our stakeholders’ pleas—and Congress’s direction—and do the hard work to improve safety for more Americans while minimizing the burden we place on the American economy.