The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's Hotline Team has won Vice President Albert Gore's ""Hammer"" award for Reinventing Government. The award cites federal employees for significant improvements to customer service and for making the government work more efficiently.
"We are a small agency working to keep families safe in their homes," said Ann Brown, CPSC Chairman. "This award is a great honor and a well-deserved recognition for the CPSC staff which worked so hard to improve our contact with the people we serve," she added. "Most importantly, these improvements make a real contribution to consumer safety."
To speed delivery of live-saving information to the American people, CPSC transformed its outmoded telephone center into a cutting-edge interactive information system incorporating a 24-hour Hotline, Internet access, bilingual operators and fax- on-demand services. CPSC's Hotline, which now features the recorded voice of actor James Earl Jones, is the first government-sponsored 800-number to win the award.
More than 266,000 people contacted the new Hotline during its first year in operation -- an increase of 78 percent over the previous year. The increase in calls allowed CPSC to step up its product-recall efforts, which remove hazardous products from the marketplace.
CPSC projects that during the new Hotline's second year of operation, heightened public awareness will result in nearly one-half million people contacting CPSC, enabling the agency to act even more effectively.
About the U.S. CPSC
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risk of injury associated with the use of thousands of types of consumer products. Deaths, injuries, and property damage from consumer product-related incidents cost the nation more than $1 trillion annually. Since the CPSC was established more than 50 years ago, it has worked to ensure the safety of consumer products, which has contributed to a decline in injuries associated with these products.
Federal law prohibits any person from selling products subject to a Commission ordered recall or a voluntary recall undertaken in consultation with the CPSC.
For lifesaving information:
- Visit CPSC.gov.
- Sign up to receive our email alerts.
- Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, X, BlueSky, Threads, LinkedIn and Truth Social.
- Report a dangerous product or a product-related injury on www.SaferProducts.gov.
- Call CPSC’s Hotline at 800-638-2772 (TTY 800-638-8270).
- Contact a media specialist.
Please use the below phone number for all media requests.
Phone: (301) 504-7908
Spanish: (301) 504-7800