Protecting Consumers

Feb 8, 2016

Top 400 Taxpayers See Tax Rates Rise, But There’s More to the Story

As Americans were gathering party supplies to greet the New Year, the Internal Revenue Service released their annual report of cumulative tax data reported on the 400 tax r...

read in full

Feb 4, 2016

Chlorine Bleach Plants Needlessly Endanger 63 Million Americans

Chlorine bleach plants across the U.S. put millions of Americans in danger of a chlorine gas release, a substance so toxic it has been used as a chemical weapon. Greenpeace’s new repo...

read in full

Jan 25, 2016

U.S. Industrial Facilities Reported Fewer Toxic Releases in 2014

The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data for 2014 is now available. The good news: total toxic releases by reporting facilities decreased by nearly six percent from 2013 levels. Howe...

read in full

Jan 22, 2016

Methane Causes Climate Change. Here's How the President Plans to Cut Emissions by 40-45 Percent.

UPDATE (Jan. 22, 2016): Today, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released its proposed rule to reduce methane emissions...

read in full

more news

Congress Told of FDA's Lax Inspection of Foreign Drug Makers -- Again

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently told Congress that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspects an estimated seven percent of foreign drug manufacturing facilities. GAO can only provide an estimate because FDA doesn't know how many foreign facilities are subject to inspection due to inaccurate and uncoordinated databases that have vastly different estimates of the number of drug makers subject to the foreign drug inspection program. At this inspection rate, it would take FDA more than 13 years to inspect all existing facilities one time, assuming no additional facilities were added to the list.

read in full

CPSC Reform Efforts Progress as Agency Woes Continue

Congress is working toward passage of legislation that would expand the resources and regulatory authority of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). The bill would also address the continuing problem of lead-contaminated children's products by effectively banning the heavy metal's presence in toys and other goods. Senior administration officials are working to derail the legislation.

read in full

Information Gaps Hinder FDA's Ability to Monitor Imported Drugs

Nov 1, 2007 by Matthew Madia

Today, the House Energy and Commerce Committee held an oversight hearing on FDA's Foreign Drug Inspection Program. While unsafe imported pharmaceuticals have not garnered the same level of attention as unsafe imported foods and toys, the future does not look bright: FDA's drug inspection program is plagued by a lack of basic information. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a new report in conjunction with the hearing. Among other things, GAO found:

read in full

Regulatory Proposals from Industry Don't Address Underlying Problems

By Gary D. Bass and Rick Melberth, OMB Watch
Published on ombwatch.org
October 31, 2007
In light of stories of tainted lettuce, lead paint on toys, disease-causing flavorings in microwave popcorn, safety concerns with cough medicine, and other hazards, many industries and business associations are proposing new regulations they hope will restore consumer confidence. Many of these proposals call for new quality assurance programs and stronger regulation of foreign imports. Some of the approaches even call for strengthening federal agencies' regulatory powers or increasing their budgets, many of which have been cut to the bone during the Bush administration's business-friendly flurry of dismantling public protections. But most of these industry-led efforts are palliatives and do not solve the underlying problems.

read in full

Senate Panel Moves CPSC Reform Act; Focus Should Remain on Solving Problems

Oct 31, 2007 by Matthew Madia

Yesterday, Reg•Watch blogged about how Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats are calling for the resignation of the acting-chair of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, Nancy Nord. Without Nord, CPSC would be unable to conduct formal business likely making consumer product problems worse for Americans, at least in the short term.

read in full

Politicking between Democrats and Nord Threatens CPSC

Oct 30, 2007 by Matthew Madia

As Reg•Watch blogged this morning, CPSC Commissioner Nancy Nord is lobbying against a CPSC reform bill that would strengthen the agency's authority and increase its budget. In light of Nord's lobbying, congressional Democrats, including Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, are calling for Nord's resignation, according to the Associated Press.

read in full

CPSC's Nord Bites the Hand That Feeds

Oct 30, 2007 by Matthew Madia

The current head of the CPSC is lobbying against legislation that would strengthen her agency, The New York Times reports: On the eve of an important Senate committee meeting to consider the legislation, Nancy A. Nord, the acting chairwoman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, has asked lawmakers in two letters not to approve the bulk of legislation that would increase the agency's authority, double its budget and sharply increase its dwindling staff.

read in full

Latest Watcher

Oct 11, 2007 by Matthew Madia

Be sure to check out the latest issue of our biweekly newsletter, The Watcher. Regulatory policy articles this time: Bush Administration Delays Import Safety Changes While Congress Debates Solutions States Sue Bush Administration over New Children's Health Insurance Requirements

read in full

What Happens to All Those Recalled Products?

Oct 10, 2007 by Matthew Madia

Numerous product recalls in 2007, often involving items regulated by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, have been well-publicized. But as the Los Angeles Times reports today, the announcement of a recall is not the end of the story. In a recent Senate hearing, Toys 'R' Us CEO Jerry Storch discussed his company's system for ensuring recalled products are not sold to consumers. The company uses bar codes to prevent potentially dangerous products from leaving its warehouses or from being purchased at registers.

read in full

Bush Administration Delays Import Safety Changes While Congress Debates Solutions

The Bush administration and several of its regulatory agencies have been reluctant to address the safety of consumer goods as more recalls of harmful toys and contaminated foods occur. They seem content to delay substantive changes that could improve product safety. Congress, meanwhile, is trying to sort through the many legislative proposals to restore regulatory capacity to agencies and fix the fragmented U.S. import system.

read in full