Outdoor Industry Association urged members Tuesday to contact their U.S. Representative to head off changes that could greatly increase the costs and risks of voluntarily recalling products.



OIA said the U.S. House of Representatives was scheduled to vote as early as Tuesday night on the Financial Services and General Government appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2015 (H.R. 5016), which contains funding for the U.S.

 

 

Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). While Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) strongly supports the work of the CPSC to keep consumers safe, it opposes several changes to the voluntary product recall process proposed by the Commission.

 

OIA was among several trade organizations in February that protested the CPSC’s proposals to make voluntary correction action plans legally binding and restrict a company’s ability to recall a product without disclaimers against admission of a product defect or potential hazard.

 


The CPSC also seeks the authority to consult on a company’s voluntary internal compliance program without expertise in the operations or products of that company and the proposal would potentially expose a company’s trade secrets, including a list of suppliers, manufacturers and U.S. importer, and asks for the identification of significant retailers.
On Tuesday, OIA urged its members to contact their members of Congress to urge them to support an amendment to H.R. 5016 that would stop the CPSC from proceeding with its proposed rule on voluntary recalls. The amendment is being offered by Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-KS, 4th).

 

“Please call your U.S. Representative and encourage them to support Mr. Pompeo’s CPSC amendment to H.R. 5016,” OIA's Senior Director of Government Relations Alex Boian wrote in an email alert to OIA members. “Please then reply to this email and confirm your contact with your Representative and any notes you might have.”
 
 
Boian suggested members focus on the arguments OIA used in its February comments on the proposal, namely that: 
   



  • The CPSC proposed changes to voluntary recalls are highly problematic for outdoor industry businesses and will more than likely slow the product recall process.

  • The current voluntary recall process works well – it is fast and efficient. The CPSC proposed changes will force what is currently a cooperative process to be contentious and potentially litigious. 

  • The CPSC proposed changes will likely stifle the product innovation that is the lifeblood of the outdoor industry
     


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