At long last, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is getting the injection of new blood that it has needed for years. President Obama announced today that he will nominate a new Chairwoman and a new Commissioner for the agency.
This is great news. CPSC has been operating with just two commissioners for several years. As originally designed, CPSC is supposed to have five commissioners and needs a quorum of three to undertake any meaningful regulatory action, such as create new safety standards or issue mandatory recalls. When President Bush was unable to nominate a suitable third commissioner, Congress let CPSC operate temporarily with two commissioners, but only on a limited budget.
That leads to the second reason President Obama’s announcement is such great news. His budget request of $107 million for the agency – a substantial increase over last year’s $80 million – will likely be looked upon more favorably by Congress now that CPSC’s important consumer protection work will be augmented by two more commissioners. (Or maybe just one office, if Acting Chairwoman Nancy Nord, a Bush appointee, decides to pursue other endeavors.)
In any case, a beefed-up CPSC is something our country needs. The agency has struggled to keep up with new mandates from Congress and inspections of products imported from countries with weak consumer protection regulations. New commissioners and a larger budget are the first steps toward transforming CPSC from its paper tiger status.
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Matt Shudtz | May 5, 2009
At long last, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is getting the injection of new blood that it has needed for years. President Obama announced today that he will nominate a new Chairwoman and a new Commissioner for the agency. This is great news. CPSC has been operating with just two commissioners for several years. […]
Alejandro Camacho | May 5, 2009
On Thursday, Rep. Raul Grijalva introduced HR 2192, a bill on adapting to the impacts of climate change. The law would establish a “Natural Resources Climate Change Adaptation Panel” that would create a plan for several federal agencies to anticipate and seek to mitigate the effects of a changed planet. The bill is very similar […]
James Goodwin | May 4, 2009
Last week I discussed how the institution of judicial review has been used to amplify the deregulatory nature of cost-benefit analysis. This week, I'll talk about some possible remedies. An unusual synergy exists between the institutions of cost-benefit analysis and judicial review. Under most circumstances, the institution of judicial review is arguably neutral with regard to […]
James Goodwin | May 1, 2009
For the last few years now, CPR’s Member Scholars have made the case that cost-benefit analysis is, by itself, fundamentally deregulatory in nature. Unfortunately, other institutions in our federal government tend to exacerbate the deregulatory nature of cost-benefit analysis. Whether by design or dumb luck, cost-benefit analysis allows regulatory opponents to use those institutions—most notably […]
Matthew Freeman | April 30, 2009
This morning, the Center for Progressive Reform’s Rena Steinzor testifies before the House Science and Technology Committee’s Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight. In her remarks, she calls on the White House to reshape the role of the director of OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs — the so-called regulatory czar. All too frequently OIRA […]
David Driesen | April 29, 2009
A coalition of conservative and moderate Democrats has recommended deleting section 336 of the Waxman-Markey climate change bill because of “concern among industry about potential new liability for any emitter” under that provision (see the proposed amendments). Some polluters’ objective, apparently, is to avoid liability for violating the law, and they recommend this deletion as […]
Matthew Freeman | April 29, 2009
This morning, the Center for Progressive Reform’s Rena Steinzor testifies before the House Science and Technology Committee’s Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight. In her remarks, she calls on the White House to reshape the role of the director of OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs — the so-called regulatory czar. All too frequently OIRA […]
A. Dan Tarlock | April 29, 2009
This post is written by CPR Member Scholars Dan Tarlock and Holly Doremus How has the Department of Interior fared during the first 100 days? If history is any guide, the issue may be more important than many people assume. With one major and one minor exception, Secretaries of the Interior stay put in Democratic […]
William Funk | April 28, 2009
There are few areas where the difference between the Republican and Democratic parties is more stark than that of the Freedom of Information Act. The FOIA, of course, requires agencies to provide copies of their records to any person upon request unless the record fits within one of nine specific exemptions. Among the most important […]