On behalf of Consumer Reports (CR), the independent, non-profit member organization,1 thank you for the opportunity to testify about the CPSC’s agenda and priorities at the public hearing scheduled for May 1, 2019. We appreciate the chance to present our views to you on the Commission’s agenda and priorities for the next two fiscal years.
Throughout CR’s history, identifying marketplace hazards and improving product safety has always been a core part of our purpose, and it remains just as important today. In carrying out our work, we assess safety risks, investigate their impact on consumers, and inform the public and the CPSC when we find unsafe products—all on a data-driven basis. We push for safety standards to protect consumers from the risk of injury, including both mandatory consumer product safety standards and voluntary industry standards that should be reached through an open, consensus-based process. We support and defend the critical role of the CPSC, not just for consumers, but also for the sake of a fair marketplace in which companies benefit if they meet their responsibilities for their products to be safe.
With these broader objectives in mind, we highlight topic areas in the following comments that we hope the agency will emphasize in fiscal years 2020 and 2021. These topics are divided into two categories: (1) the CPSC’s role and its capabilities; and (2) hazards around the home, including those associated with furniture tip-overs.
For the full comments, click here.