In May, President Donald Trump removed all three Democratic commissioners of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. In June, a federal judge ordered the agency to reinstate Mary Boyle, Alexander Hoehn-Saric and Richard Trumka Jr., ruling that commissioners can only be removed for cause and none had been cited.

Also in May, a leaked draft budget suggested eliminating the CPSC and rolling its functions into the Department of Health and Human Services. On June 13, a federal judge reinstated the three commissioners, declaring their firings unlawful.

  • The CPSC is an independent, bipartisan agency created by Congress in 1972 to protect consumers from defective or harmful products, whereas HHS is a Cabinet-level agency controlled by the executive branch.
  • Congress established the CPSC and granted its authority, so the proposed change would require congressional action.

On June 26, the Commission – again with all five commissioners – submitted a budget request to Congress assuming the continued the independence of the agency and asking for an increased in funding to boost staffing.

“When they established the CPSC 53 years ago, Congress and then-President Nixon recognized the need for product safety to be the singular focus of an independent agency that is not subject to the whims or biases of a single party,” Trumka said in a statement. “What was true five decades ago is even more relevant today. CPSC is a science-based agency that is driven by facts and dedicated to preventing product safety hazards. Burying its mission within the much larger HHS, which has broad jurisdiction over the American health care system, would be a disservice to the public and the goal of improving product safety.”

PPAI Supports Product Safety

PPAI and our members take product safety very seriously, and the Association supports robust product safety practices. PPAI has a long history of working with the CPSC to share best practices, regulatory updates and practical standards with our members. This includes hosting commissioners and other CPSC experts at our annual Responsibility Summit, as well as an array of product safety courses offered through our online learning platform.

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Branded items sourced through our members can be found in every American household, and it’s critical for our industry to not only make and sell compliant products but provide products that are truly safe for end users.

Early in June, PPAI sent a letter to the leaders of the House and Senate commerce committees and the acting director of the CPSC. In the letter, we emphasized the promotional products industry’s commitment to product safety and noted that the CPSC provides important services to our members, including:

  • The Regulatory Robot is an online tool that helps users identify what product safety requirements may apply to their products.
  • The Small Business Ombudsman serves as the agency’s primary point of contact for small businesses seeking information, guidance and technical assistance to help bring their products into compliance and to resolve procedural issues with the agency.

Letters like this are an important tool to keep the industry’s interests and priorities in front of lawmakers. The Association’s letter asked recipients to consider the value these services provide to American businesses – and by extension, consumers and end users – as they evaluate federal agency priorities.

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No More Small Business Ombudsman?

Later in June, a member notified PPAI staff that she had reached out to a friendly contact in the CPSC’s Small Business Ombudsman’s Office only to be told that not only was he no longer in that department, but to the best of his knowledge, the SBO is no longer staffed.

We found no updates to suggest the dissolution of the SBO on the CPSC’s Small Business Resources page, but there’s also no listing for that division on the agency’s “Contact Specific Offices and Public Information” page. The general understanding now is that if you need help with a product safety regulation or CPSC process, you can still use the contact information on the CPSC page, but those queries will go to a general mailbox and it may take longer to receive an answer.

These changes highlight the importance of ongoing vigilance and advocacy, and PPAI will continue to monitor this and other developments and provide updates.

For questions or suggestions on regulatory or government affairs issues, please contact Rachel Zoch. PPAI’s public affairs manager, at RachelZ@ppai.org.