The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) CPSC Product Safety Coalition today urged the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee to continue to work on a bipartisan basis on H.R. 4040, the Consumer Product Safety Modernization Act, and reject provisions that would generate increased litigation rather than increased safety. The NAM Product Safety Coalition comprises leading manufacturers, importers and distributors of consumer products.
In a letter to Committee Chairman John Dingell (D-MI) and Ranking Member Joe Barton (R-TX) signed by 21 organizations, the NAM coalition wrote that it “supports the important mission of the CPSC and has advocated for increasing its budget and resources.” However, the group cautioned committee members regarding “critical modifications” essential to passage of effective product safety legislation.
Specifically, the Coalition expressed concern about a proposed 180-day implementation window for new product safety laws, instead urging adaptation of a one-year timeframe: “Retailers are currently placing orders for products today that will be on the store shelves in late 2008. These products are being manufactured to specifications that meet the current standards set by the CPSC or existing state law intended to assure product safety.”
The letter also urges lawmakers to maintain “consistent national product safety standards” rather than accepting a provision that would essentially create 50 mini-CPSCs by allowing State Attorneys General the authority to sue manufacturers and distributors according to individual interpretations of violations. The provision would cause “inconsistent enforcement actions against companies in different states and would be especially harmful for small companies, requiring them to shift major resources toward litigation instead of product safety. It would also cause massive consumer confusion by leading to the recall of a product in one state but not others, or recalls of the same product with different corrective actions in different states.”
The Coalition letter also calls on committee members to oppose the elimination of protections from disclosure of confidential business information, and questions the basis for inclusion of new ‘whistleblower’ provisions. “There is no evidence of unfair terminations of employees in the consumer products industry,” wrote the Coalition.
The Coalition also encouraged Congress to adhere to the Consumer Product Safety Act by creating a Chronic Hazard Advisory Panel to consider issues such as lead and toxicity in order to ensure that restrictions on any material are grounded in sound science.