Consumer Product Safety Commission Reform
In a tremendous and precedent-setting victory for whistleblower protection and government openness, in the summer of 2008, Congress overwhelmingly passed and the president signed the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Reform Act. Thanks to several months of UCS supporters' phone calls to Congress and meetings with congressional staff, the final legislation includes many important measures to improve scientific integrity at the CPSC and better protect our communities from unsafe toys and other products.
The new law directs the CPSC to report to Congress on its efforts to encourage staff scientists to publish in peer-reviewed journals. The CPSC will also be required to offer employees a website where they can submit anonymous complaints and to report annually on those complaints to Congress. In addition, the bill gives protection to whistleblowers both in government and in the private sector who report product defects or violations of consumer safety laws. These protections will not only cover many corporate scientists and engineers, but they will also set a strong precedent that will help us build a case for extending these protections to federal scientists in the future.
The new law also requires the CPSC to establish a publicly accessible database for tracking consumer complaints. A more open and transparent commission will help loosen the bonds of secrecy that have up until now made it difficult for CPSC staff to raise important concerns about product safety.
