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U.S. Plans Tougher Inspection Of Imports
President Bush talks about the government's plan to improve the safety of imports. Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt listens.
(By Aude Guerrucci -- Bloomberg News)
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Some members of Congress and consumer groups were skeptical about the administration proposals.
"Their proposals were so vague it would be hard to put a price tag on them," said Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.). "As an actual road map, it is pretty rudimentary."
More money will be required, though some resources can be reallocated, said Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt, who was chairman of the import-safety panel. "Now that doesn't mean inspection isn't a very important part of the process," he said. "We have to screen everything and inspect the things that have the most risk."
Consumer advocates criticized the emphasis on risk-based testing over random testing and the reliance on a largely voluntary certification process to weed out suspect importers.
"My big question is, how do you determine risk? How do you decide this one product is riskier than the other?" said Chris Waldrop, director of Food Policy Institute of the Consumer Federation of America.
The White House plan overlaps with two product-safety bills pending in Congress. The House Energy and Commerce Committee yesterday held a hearing on a House bill that would also increase the maximum fine for companies that fail to report safety problems to $10 million.
But lawmakers are looking to make more changes to the nation's product-safety system. The House bill, and a Senate measure sponsored by Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.), would require independent testing and certification of children's products, ban children's products with trace amounts of lead, and make it easier for the Consumer Product Safety Commission to disclose information about product hazards. Both bills would significantly increase funding for the CPSC, including $20 million to update its antiquated testing facility in Gaithersburg.
Edmund Mierzwinski, consumer program director for U.S. PIRG, said the White House's preference for voluntary certification may conflict with Congress's efforts.
"The administration's squishy language on certification suggests it will not back and may even oppose a clear requirement that all imported children's products be certified as meeting truly independent and mandatory third-party safety testing based on law," Mierzwinski said.
