The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced more than 300 recalls in fiscal year 2023, a 20 percent increase over the previous year. Of particular note, defect and regulatory recalls are up, with the latter at an all-time high. These strong numbers are no accident. They reflect a multi-year push to re-prioritize the agency’s core mission of enforcement and compliance. I have supported efforts to increase funding, add additional staff, and provide new case management tools for CPSC’s Office of Compliance and Field Operations (EXC). This approach is paying dividends for American consumers.

CPSC is an enforcement agency charged with protecting consumers from unsafe products. Too often over the years, the Commission has fallen short in its duties, as shown by lean years of fewer recalls, particularly the regulatory and defect recalls that EXC itself initiates. CPSC Operating Plans between 2014 and 2020 held EXC’s headquarters budget stagnant. In 2021, I successfully unfroze that funding, over strong objections at the time. Since then, I secured the largest single-year increase to EXC’s funding in agency history for both headquarters and the field, added additional staff, reinstated the Children’s Product Defect Team, and provided resources to overhaul internal systems to improve efficiency. 

Targeted investment in our core mission yields results. While more work remains, I am hopeful the Commission will build off this success in the FY 2024 Operating Plan to protect even more consumers, this year and beyond. 

By the numbers: