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.

In July, President Bush created by executive order an Interagency Working Group on Import Safety (IWG) and charged it with 1) reviewing or assessing current domestic and foreign approaches for ensuring the safety of products, 2) identifying ways that importers can enhance product safety, and 3) surveying practices of federal, state and local government agencies to identify best practices and improve agency coordination. Recommendations for improvements were to be submitted to the White House within 60 days of the order unless the chair chose to extend the deadline.

On Sept. 10, the IWG transmitted to Bush an initial report that did not make recommendations. Instead, it proposed a model for a cost-effective, risk-based approach to be followed by an action plan to be issued in mid-November. The letter of transmittal accompanying the report, addressed to Bush and signed by Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt, who chairs the IWG, dismissed a substantially increased regulatory role for agencies. Since the "federal government cannot and should not attempt to physically inspect every product entering the United States," the model the report proposes increases responsibility of U.S. importers and foreign governments to ensure product safety.

Several agency representatives testifying before Congress during the first week of October used the pending work of the IWG to deflect criticisms from Congress. Representatives from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, among others, testified before a joint subcommittee hearing of the House Ways and Means Committee Oct. 4. Each cited the work of the IWG as important to its efforts to address import safety, particularly the issuance in November of the action plan. When asked specific questions by committee members about staffing, the agency representatives avoided direct answers and spoke about the IWG recommendations and action plan to come to help them identify adequate resources. Rep. Sander Levin (D-MI) accused the witnesses of using the IWG "as cover" to avoid their responsibilities. Several members wondered why there was no sense of urgency among the agencies.

Congress, meanwhile, is sorting through legislative proposals to address product safety issues domestically and internationally. For example, the Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs, Insurance and Automotive Safety of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation held a hearing Oct. 4 on S. 2045, the CPSC Reform Act of 2007. The bill would increase funding, staffing and authority for the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), ban lead in children's products, and raise the amount of civil penalties CPSC can impose on companies for unsafe products.

According to a BNA article ($), the current CPSC commissioners took opposite positions on S. 2045 before the subcommittee. Acting Chairman Nancy Nord supported parts of the bill but opposed provisions expanding CPSC authority and increasing penalties on businesses. Commissioner Thomas H. Moore supported the bill, especially provisions increasing CPSC enforcement tools so that manufacturers and importers know they will be held accountable.

On Oct. 9, the House passed several consumer protection bills. One bill (H.R. 2474) raises the cap on civil penalties CPSC can levy to $10 million, from $1.825 million. Another, H.R. 1699, requires manufacturers of durable goods to include product registration cards that allow companies to more easily track purchases and provide recall notices. These are two more examples of the many legislative proposals Congress is considering.

While federal agencies are slow to respond and Congress tries to define workable solutions, product recalls of a range of domestic and foreign products continue. In one case, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 29 people in eight states had E. coli infections from eating contaminated hamburger, according to a Washington Post story.

The meat was produced by Topps Meat Co., and it was eighteen days after the contamination was discovered before USDA notified the public about the contamination and issued a recall of 21.7 million pounds of hamburger. USDA explained the delay as necessary for agency officials to conduct more complete tests on the hamburger that led to the hospitalization of a Florida teenager in August. USDA did not issue the recall until the contamination was confirmed by New York officials, who conducted their own tests on suspect beef. Topps Meat went out of business Oct. 6 due to the economic hardship imposed by the recall.