BUSH ADMINISTRATION TO PUT FORWARD CONSUMER SAFETY PROPOSALS

From The New York Times:

The Bush administration on Tuesday will propose a significant expansion of the authority of the federal drug and consumer product safety agencies to inspect and certify imports, White House and other administration officials said Monday.

A White House official said a major part of the plan would entail stationing inspectors in foreign countries to examine drugs, food and other potentially dangerous products before they were shipped to American shores. The official said that with $2 trillion in imports annually, inspections at the ports had become ineffective.

The official said the plan would give the agencies the authority to certify the safety of products and to list certified products on a Web site that could be viewed by consumers.

Officials said that the plan would require significant budget increases for the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Food and Drug Administration.

In Congress last Tuesday, the Senate Commerce Committee approved without objection legislation that would increase penalties, let the product safety agency publicly disclose reports of defective products and increase the maximum penalty on violations to $100 million, from $1.8 million.

Senior Democrats in both houses called for the resignation of Nancy A. Nord, the acting head of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, after she sent letters to Congress vigorously opposing the legislation. Ms. Nord’s letters closely resembled complaints raised by a coalition of manufacturing associations.

At the urging of industry groups, the White House has objected to a provision that would reward industry whistle-blowers for reporting defective products and another that would give state prosecutors the authority to enforce federal safety laws.

Consumer groups and Democratic lawmakers say those provisions are vital in restoring the credibility of federal safety efforts, while White House officials say the measures would encourage frivolous litigation.