KID joins nonprofits and industry groups calling for more funding for CPSC.

The Honorable Patrick Leahy Chairman Committee on Appropriations United States Senate; The Honorable Chris Van Hollen Chairman Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government Committee on Appropriations; United States Senate; The Honorable Rosa L. DeLauro Chair; Committee on Appropriations United States House of Representatives; The Honorable Mike Quigley Chair Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government United States House of Representatives; The Honorable Richard Shelby Vice Chairman Committee on Appropriations United States Senate; The Honorable Cindy Hyde-Smith Ranking Member Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government Committee on Appropriations United States Senate; The Honorable Kay Granger Ranking Member Committee on Appropriations United States House of Representatives; The Honorable Steve Womack Ranking Member Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government United States House of Representatives.

Dear Members of Congress,

The undersigned organizations, representing consumer organizations, environmental groups, testing laboratories and manufacturers and retailers of consumer products are strong supporters of the mission of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). We have differences of opinion as it relates to the workings of and statutory provisions relevant to the CPSC, but nonetheless strongly and uniformly agree on the need for an effective and functioning agency. There is also consensus among CPSC stakeholders that the agency is significantly underfunded and therefore short staffed compared to other federal health and safety regulatory agencies. The CPSC’s current budget is by far the smallest among federal health and safety regulatory agencies. Yet the agency has a broad mandate with jurisdiction over roughly 15,000 different types of consumer products used by 330 million American consumers in everyday life.

Based on our collective experiences interacting with the staff and leadership of the CPSC—for whom we have great respect—it is clear that a substantial increase in funding is needed for an expansion of personnel to ensure the agency can effectively and efficiently serve out its mission. This is in addition to many programmatic and technological needs that separately require a funding increase. Our organizations have supported such increases to CPSC funding for years but have not done so in a coordinated effort. In an attempt to increase the urgency behind this issue, we are hopeful that this letter, representing a large swath of the universe of CPSC stakeholders, makes clear that there should be widespread and bipartisan congressional support for a properly resourced and staffed CPSC.

Sincerely,

American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA); American Chemistry Council; American Cleaning Institute; American Home Furnishings Alliance; Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers; Breast Cancer Prevention Partners; Consumer Federation of America; Consumer Reports; Earthjustice; Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association; Kids In Danger;
Natural Resources Defense Council; National Association of Manufacturers (NAM); National Center for Health Research; National Consumers League; National Retail Federation; Parents Against Tip-overs; Public Citizen; Public Interest Research Group; Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA); Society of Glass and Ceramic Decorated Products; The Power Tool Institute TIC Council; The Toy Association