From the U.S. Government Accountability Office, www.gao.gov

Transcript for: Federal Oversight of Consumer Product Safety

Description: Audio interview by GAO staff with Alicia Puente Cackley,
Director, Financial Markets and Community Investment  

Related GAO Work: GAO-15-52: Consumer Product Safety Oversight:
Opportunities Exist to Strengthen Coordination and Increase Efficiencies
and Effectiveness

Released: November 2014

[ Background Music ]

 [Narrator:] Welcome to GAO's Watchdog Report, your source for news and
information from the U.S. Government Accountability Office. It's
November 2014. Keeping consumer products safe is a complex process
involving many federal agencies. A team led by Alicia Puente Cackley, a
director in GAO's Financial Markets and Community Investment team,
recently reviewed how federal agencies work together to oversee consumer
product safety. GAO's Jacques Arsenault sat down with Alicia to talk
about what they found.

[Jacques Arsenault:] Can you give me a sense of the scope of how many
federal agencies are involved in overseeing consumer product safety?

[Alicia Puente Cackley:] Well, we found that there are about 8 federal
agencies that have a direct regulatory oversight role for consumer
product safety, and then another 12 agencies that have an indirect role
on oversight that includes things like conducting underlying research to
support regulatory activities, or providing public health expertise, or
conducting law enforcement.

[Jacques Arsenault:] What are some examples of products where multiple
agencies are conducting oversight?

[Alicia Puente Cackley:] We found several examples. Some where products
are regulated by more than one  agency; different components of one
product are regulated by more than one agency; or different agencies
that regulate different uses of the same product; or agencies that
administer different regulatory activities for the same product. So as
an example of multiple agencies that regulate different components of
the same product, we found that for food utensils and containers and
similar products, the Food and Drug Administration regulates the
surfaces of products that come in direct contact with food, while CPSC
regulates the parts that don't come into contact with food. So you could
have a baby spoon that FDA would regulate one end of the spoon and CPSC
might regulate the rest. Another example of agencies that regulate
different uses of the same product would be the Department of
Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
regulating infant car seats while they're in the car, but the Consumer
Product Safety Commission regulating the carrier when it's taken out of
the car and used as a handheld carrier or attached to a stroller. And
finally, you can have different agencies that administer different
regulatory activities for the same product. And that could be something
like fireworks where CPSC regulates the fireworks that are used by
consumers; whereas the Department of Transportation's Pipeline and
Hazardous Material Safety Administration regulates their importation and
transport. And the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives
enforces explosive laws and licenses manufacturers in the use of
fireworks, including consumer fireworks.

[Jacques Arsenault:] Your report has suggestions for both Congress and
agencies. Can you talk first about the recommendations you're making to
federal agencies?

[Alicia Puente Cackley:] Sure. We recommend that the US Coast Guard and
the CPSC establish a formal approach to coordinating and clarifying
their roles and facilitating information sharing. And that's related to
equipment that could be used on or off a boat because the Coast Guard
regulates boats and certain boat equipment, and the CPSC regulates
equipment that is maybe associated with boats, but there's potential for
some things to fall between the cracks, and we are recommending that
they establish a formal mechanism to address that possibility.

[Jacques Arsenault:] And what about the matter for Congress?

[Alicia Puente Cackley:] Our recommendations here focus on both the
efficient oversight of consumer product safety and the need for agencies
to collaborate. So currently, the Department of Commerce's National
Institute of Standards and Technology has oversight for markings of
imitation firearms that's distinguishing them from real firearms -- even
though that's not part of that agency's mission or its area of
expertise. So we're suggesting that for greater efficiency, Congress may
want to consider transferring that oversight role to CPSC, especially
since CPSC already oversees the safety and performance of toys. We're
also suggesting to Congress that it consider establishing a formal,
comprehensive oversight mechanism for consumer product safety agencies
to address some cross-cutting issues as well as inefficiencies that are
related to fragmentation and overlap, such as communication and
coordination challenges and jurisdictional questions between agencies.

[Jacques Arsenault:] And finally, for consumers what do you see as the
bottom line of this report?

[Alicia Puente Cackley:] Our bottom is line is that given the number of
federal agencies that oversee aspects of consumer product safety, it's
important that they all work together as efficiently and effectively as
possible.

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