CPSC Showdown Next Week

In a masthead editorial today, the Washington Post comes down on the correct side of an important and pressing issue GAP has been involved with – legislation to strengthen the role and power of the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The bill allows that department, which is charged with regulating the safety of consumer products, to increase funding, introduce new and better safeguards, and make it easier and quicker for consumers to find out about potentially unsafe products.

But one crucial part of the bill is the enhanced anti-retaliation protections it would provide to workers who expose product safety concerns. The bill protects whistleblowers who work for retailers, manufacturers or distributors of a product in commerce. From the editorial:

The commission and manufacturers have also complained about new authority the legislation would give to state attorneys general to monitor and address safety hazards, as well as new protections that would be afforded whistleblowers in manufacturing. Like the consumer complaints database, however, these changes would promote transparency, oversight and general good behavior.

Two days ago, GAP signed onto a letter with 45 other good government and consumer protection organizations in support of the bill. And yesterday, GAP and Public Citizen disclosed Senate Republican Caucus “talking points” attacking the bill, with objections to whistleblower protections being the first item in the Republican Caucus broadside. The talking points were compiled by the office of Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) and constitute a wholesale attack on this legislation that protects America’s families from unsafe products. The talking points appeared to mirror objections from the National Association of Manufacturers.

-- Dylan Blaylock