Whether you’ve heard of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) before, or know what it does, consumer advocates say the independent bipartisan agency has had a big impact on the lives of everyday Americans.
Consumer advocates say that safety is threatened because of a proposal by the administration of President Donald Trump to eliminate the agency and put the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in charge of overseeing the safety of more than 15,000 types of consumer products.
That move would take an independent commission created by Congress and put it under a government agency, which the advocates say is not legal and would allow short-term political pressures and influences from corporations to get in the way of safeguards, representatives of the consumer groups said during a media briefing on Wednesday and in an interview with USA TODAY.
“This dangerously misguided proposal would leave American families at greater risk in their own homes. It would take critical data-driven safety rules that protect babies, children, and adults nationwide, and immediately expose them to political whims,” said William Wallace, Consumer Report’s director of safety advocacy.
“The mission and the independence of the CPSC is under dire threat right now,” Wallace told USA TODAY.
What is the U.S Consumer Product Safety Commission?
The CPSC is an independent commission created by Congress in the 1970s to ensure products sold in the U.S are safe, said Wallace. The five commissioners are appointed by the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate, but no more than three commissioners can be affiliated with the same party.
“Folks in their daily lives encounter the benefits of CPSC standards all the time,” said Wallace.
The CPSC ensures the safety of products, both made within the U.S. and imported from other countries, from lawn mowers to appliances to baby cribs, said Wallace.
For parents, especially, the CPSC has been instrumental in ensuring that many of the products that children use, such as cribs, strollers and toys, are safe “because of the strong mandatory standards,” Wallace said.
“Everybody should care about this and this is especially serious for parents because the Consumer Product Safety Commission, whether you know it or not, plays an enormous role in keeping kids safe,” he said.
What was the media briefing about?
Several consumer groups – Consumer Reports, Consumer Federation of America and the National Consumers League –held a media briefing on April 30 with House Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Illinois), ranking member of the commerce, manufacturing and trade subcommittee and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) to denounce the potential elimination of the agency.
A draft budget proposal for the HHS from the Office of Management and Budget, which reports directly to the President, has surfaced. That budget shows the elimination of the CPSC and its duties moving to a new division with the HHS.
While the proposal is still in draft form, the consumer advocates say they are worried and have seen other budget items get approved quickly.
The budget is a request to Congress, said Wallace, “but we’ve seen moves by this administration that pretend Congress doesn’t exist,” he told USA TODAY.
Rachel Cauley, communications director for the White House Office of Management and Budget, told USA TODAY: “No funding decisions have been finalized.”
Children are safer because of CPSC, advocates say
Brett Horn founded Charlie’s House in Kansas City, Missouri, after his 2-year-old son was killed when he attempted to climb a dresser in his home. The work of the CPSC has improved the safety of furniture since Charlie’s death, Horn said during the media briefing.
“Your children are safer because of the CPSC,” Horn said. “They provide an essential service to U.S. citizens, ensuring the products in our home are safe, in particular in today’s market, where consumers are purchasing a high number of unregulated products online and from overseas.”
Blumenthal said he was writing to Russel Vought, the head of the Office of Management and Budget to tell him “there’s no way that they could responsibly abolish this agency or merge it.” Blumenthal encouraged other members of Congress to similarly stand up for product safety.
“There’s no such thing as a red or blue defective or unsafe product,” he said.
Advocates during the media briefing also encouraged consumers to call their members of Congress.
“The Trump administration’s proposal would eradicate, not reorganize, eradicate our nation’s governance of household product safety,” said Daniel Greene, senior director of consumer protection and product safety policy for the National Consumers League.”
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“That doesn’t improve government efficiency. It doesn’t improve government effectiveness. It would just lead to more unnecessary deaths and more unnecessary injuries,” he said.
Greene said the Trump administration “must abandon this dangerous proposal and ensure that the CPSC has the appropriate tools, resources and personnel necessary to carry out its life-saving mission.”
Betty Lin-Fisher is a consumer reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at blinfisher@USATODAY.com or follow her on X, Facebook or Instagram @blinfisher and @blinfisher.bsky.social on Bluesky. Sign up for our free The Daily Money newsletter, which will include consumer news on Fridays, here.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump proposal threatens Americans’ safety, advocates say
