Sally Greenberg

Sally Greenberg, senior product safety counsel for the Consumers Union, a private con- sumer advocacy organization and the publisher of Consumer Reports magazine, testified,

Unfortunately, the system in place to protect consumers—especially children— from unsafe products has broken down. The recent avalanche of toy recalls, involving Chinese-made toys made with excessive lead levels in the paint, has exposed millions of children to a highly toxic substance and created a crisis of confidence among consumers who feel that they can trust neither the toy indus- try nor our government to keep their children safe. . . .

Never in its history has the CPSC been so challenged as an agency. . . . [W]e believe the agency’s leadership has failed to use the regulatory authority it has to fine companies that violate its rules, has refused to request more funding and resources even while admitting it cannot carry out core functions, and has opposed efforts by consumer groups to provide the commission with the funding and tools it needs to keep consumers safe. In addition, further exacerbating the CPSC’s weakened state, the current administration has instead imposed additional cuts on the already woefully underfunded and understaffed agency. . . .

[W]e recommend that Congress set a goal of funding the CPSC at least to reach 700-plus employees, [which] the agency had when its doors opened in 1974. Consumers Union commends the toy industry, including retail giants such as Toys “R” Us, for embracing the idea of third-party testing and inspecting, and for welcoming the federal regulatory involvement in making testing and inspec- tion mandatory.

Greenberg also took the opportunity to press for a proposal backed by her organization to protect consumers from unsafe Chinese-made products.

On July 18 of this year, Consumers Union . . . [proposed] eight steps that should be taken to help safeguard the health and safety of American consumers from the onslaught of unsafe Chinese-produced consumer products and foods. That list included the following steps:

1. Provide increased resources to government safety agencies to prevent unsafe prod- ucts from crossing our borders.

2. Hold suppliers, importers, distributors, as well as manufacturers accountable for bringing unsafe products to the market by requiring preshipment inspections and testing to ensure product safety.