Senate passes CPSC reauthorization: fate in house unknown.

CPSC observers in Washington are still reeling over the sudden voice vote passage of the CPSC reauthorization bill in the Senate and its referral to the House of Representatives.

Sen. John McCain's determination to see the agencies within his Commerce Committee's jurisdiction be reauthorized before receiving appropriations led to the passage of S. 1261, the bill to reauthorize CPSC for fiscal years 2004 through 2007. The full Senate passed the bill on Sept. 30.

What surprised many observers was that there were no objections in the Senate to the unprecedented increase in CPSC's civil penalty cap--a major change for the agency. McCain's bill increased the maximum civil penalty that can be imposed by CPSC from $1.65 million per violation to $20 million.

According to some observers, the imposition of a civil penalty of that amount would bankrupt many companies under the agency's jurisdiction.

The bill also provides authorization for CPSC to finance recalls in the event a manufacturer, retailer or distributor of a defective product has gone out of business or is otherwise financially incapable of conducting a recall. The bill authorizes CPSC to spend an additional $2 million to carry out that kind of recall.

The Senate-passed bill authorizes CPSC to have a full-time equivalent staff of 471 persons, and authorizes spending levels of $60 million for fiscal year 2004, rising to $73.6 million by fiscal year 2007. It also makes some technical changes in the section of the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA) covering the appointment of Executive Director and other officers of the agency.

The bill has been referred to the House Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, chaired by Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.). Stearns has told some in the product safety community that his committee is busy and he sees no immediate opportunity to hold a hearing. But Steams added if another member of the subcommittee wants a hearing, he would have to comply.

Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, a freshman legislator from Illinois and the ranking Minority Member, could be the one to raise a fuss.

Schakowsky, a very liberal Democrat from Illinois' 9th District, is something of a consumer advocate. She recently became involved in a controversy regarding CPSC's decision not to recall a certain toy (See story below on Yo-Yo Water Balls.)

Meanwhile, many Washington CPSC observers are still in shock at Senate Republicans' apparent lack of attention to the details of the bill.

One seasoned observer remarked that the highly paid lawyers and lobbyists who routinely inform Senators and Hill staff of major problems with such a bill were caught "asleep at the switch." There was ample opportunity for Washington's lobbying community to work on the legislation, since it was reported out of McCain's committee in June.