2017 Budget Hearing: Consumer Product Safety Commission

• •The President requested a $130 million budget for the CPSC for fiscal year 2017, a $5.5 million increase over the previous year.
• •The subcommittee previously designated $1 million in funding specifically for reducing third-party testing burdens on small businesses.
• •Chairman Crenshaw stated that the CPSC has failed to provide tangible relief for small businesses regarding testing burdens despite receiving the designated funds.
• •The CPSC has shifted its nanotechnology research strategy from creating an internal center to partnering with the National Institutes of Health.
• •The subcommittee expressed concern over the CPSC's 'ad hoc and reactive' approach to stakeholder engagement.
• •The CPSC is currently working on regulatory issues regarding recreational off-highway vehicles.
• •The subcommittee chairman criticized the CPSC for pursuing regulatory changes that he claims undermine the agency's voluntary recall program.

The hearing sets the stage for the CPSC's $130 million annual budget and highlights congressional pressure to reduce regulatory testing costs for small businesses.

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.