The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) prevents unsafe products from entering the U.S.; During the shutdown, only about 20 of the CPSC’s 550 employees were reportedly on duty and all 30 inspectors in CPSC’s Office of Import Surveillance were furloughed

WASHINGTON- Today, U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) sent a letter to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) inquiring about the effects the government shutdown may have had on the Commissions’ ability to prevent unsafe products from entering the U.S. In 2017, Customs and Border Protection agents, working side-by-side with CPSC inspectors who identify unsafe products, seized more than 745,000 imported toys that violated American safety standards at our ports—however, during the shutdown, only about 20 of the CPSC’s 550 employees were reportedly on duty and all 30 inspectors in CPSC’s Office of Import Surveillance charged with identifying unsafe products at our country’s largest ports were furloughed. In addition, SaferProducts.gov was not updated for the duration of the shutdown, leaving consumers unable to file reports of harm, and companies unable to rely on the CPSC’s help to notify consumers that there was a recall.

“We write to express our concern that unsafe products may have entered the U.S. during the recent government shutdown and to request information as to what measures the Consumer Product Safety Commission is taking to prevent harm to consumers by these products now that funding has been restored,” the senators wrote. “Given the CPSC’s integral role in protecting consumers, we are gravely concerned about the impact of the shutdown on its operations.”

Klobuchar and Blumenthal were joined on the letter by Senators Ed Markey (D-MA) and Tom Udall (D-NM).

The full text of the letter can be found below:

Dear Acting Chairman Buerkle: 

We write to express our concern that unsafe products may have entered the U.S. during the recent government shutdown and to request information as to what measures the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is taking to prevent harm to consumers by these products now that funding has been restored.

The CPSC has a critical role in ensuring the safety of consumers. According to the CPSC’s most recent report, more than 4,000 deaths were associated with consumer products in one year. To mitigate these risks, the CPSC undertakes a range of efforts, including inspecting imports throughout the country, working with companies to determine if products should be recalled, notifying consumers of these recalls on its website, and operating SaferProducts.gov, a public database that allows consumers, child service providers, health care professionals, and public safety entities to submit reports of harm, and to search for safety information on products they own or may be considering buying. Manufacturers also rely on the website’s Business Portal to receive reports of harm and respond to them in a timely manner.

Given the CPSC’s integral role in protecting consumers, we are gravely concerned about the impact of the shutdown on its operations. In 2017, Customs and Border Protection agents, working side-by-side with CPSC inspectors who identify unsafe products, seized more than 745,000 imported toys that violated American safety standards at our ports. As you have noted, during the shutdown, only about 20 of the CPSC’s 550 employees were reportedly on duty and all 30 inspectors in CPSC’s Office of Import Surveillance charged with identifying unsafe products at our country’s largest ports were furloughed. In addition, SaferProducts.gov was not updated for the duration of the shutdown, leaving consumers unable to file reports of harm, and companies unable to rely on the CPSC’s help to notify consumers that there was a recall. The last product recall that the CPSC published on its website was on December 20, 2018—days before the shutdown began.

While the CPSC operated an emergency hotline for consumers to report products that pose an imminent threat to health and safety during the shutdown, we fear that this measure will prove insufficient to address the threat of unsafe products that may have entered the country while the majority of CPSC inspectors were furloughed. Accordingly, we respectfully request that you provide answers to the following questions:

(1)   Given the limited employees operating the emergency hotline for reports of unsafe products during the shutdown, how will you determine whether any products should have been recalled during the shutdown, and by what date will you make that determination?

(2)   Since the CPSC did not publish product recalls on its website and SaferProducts.gov was not operational during the shutdown, what additional measures will CPSC take to make sure that consumers are properly notified about unsafe products that need to be recalled?

(3)   What will you do to retroactively identify unsafe products that may have entered the country during the shutdown?

(4)   Does the CPSC need additional resources from Congress to address the backlog of consumer reports and safety inspections that likely accrued during the shutdown?

Thank you for your attention to this important matter. We look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

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