Personal Injury Law

Bush Administration And Congress Renew Steps In Ensuring Consumer Product Safety

By Greg Webb

With the importation of many cheap goods, along with the weakness of the nation's regulatory system, millions of products were recalled last year. In the past, the Bush administration has had little motivation in trying to make regulation industries, such as the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), up to date, ignoring the shrinking staff and out of date technology. Now, however, with the surge in tainted products, the administration and Congress are finally trying to ensure the safety of imports to consumers of all ages. For the first time, the CPSC will have full-time inspectors posted at all major U.S. ports. Congress is also close to approving a comprehensive reform of the commission, its first in almost two decades. These new port inspectors, expected to number about fifty in all, will be able to study sophisticated customs data and also be able to examine suspicious cargo. Although they will be inspecting thousands of products, inspectors would never be able to sift through the millions of products that come into the country each year. Manufacturers, individual retailers, and industries are still responsible for making sure their products are safe. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/08/opinion/08sat3.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&ref=todayspaper&pagewanted=print&oref=slogin

Full post as published by Charlottesville Personal Injury Lawyer on March 26, 2008 (boomark / email).