Senator Mark Pryor Press Releases

Senator Mark Pryor (D-AR) made the following statement regarding passage of the omnibus appropriations act. The legislation includes $80 million for the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), which is $16.75 million more than the President’s request and $17.3 million over this year’s levels.

This year’s budget increase for the CPSC reverses the years of layoffs and diminished capacity that has led to the flood of dangerous toys and products entering our marketplace today. It provides a sigh of relief to moms, dads and grandparents around the country who are concerned about lead-laden toys and other harmful children products that slip through the cracks and end up in our homes. I appreciate the exceptional leadership demonstrated by Assistant Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) who stood up for children’s safety throughout the appropriations process and made sure the CPSC received this infusion of funding this year.

While we have stopped the bleeding for now, we must also empower the CPSC with adequate staff and authority, increase public disclosure, improve testing capacity at the agency and along the supply chain, increase penalties for bad actors and ban lead in all children products. The Consumer Product Safety Commission Reform Act of 2007 strengthens the agency’s ability to meet the challenges of today’s economy, and I am 100 percent committed to passing this legislation in the New Year.

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		December 19, 2007 Press Release Statement by Senator Mark Pryor On Increased Funding for the CPSC Senator Mark Pryor (D-AR) made the following statement regarding passage of the omnibus appropriations act. The legislation includes $80 million for the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), which is $16.75 million more than the President’s request and $17.3 million over this year’s levels. This year’s budget increase for the CPSC reverses the years of layoffs and diminished capacity that has led to the flood of dangerous toys and products entering our marketplace today. It provides a sigh of relief to moms, dads and grandparents around the country who are concerned about lead-laden toys and other harmful children products that slip through the cracks and end up in our homes. I appreciate the exceptional leadership demonstrated by Assistant Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) who stood up for children’s safety throughout the appropriations process and made sure the CPSC received this infusion of funding this year. While we have stopped the bleeding for now, we must also empower the CPSC with adequate staff and authority, increase public disclosure, improve testing capacity at the agency and along the supply chain, increase penalties for bad actors and ban lead in all children products. The Consumer Product Safety Commission Reform Act of 2007 strengthens the agency’s ability to meet the challenges of today’s economy, and I am 100 percent committed to passing this legislation in the New Year. ###