WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Roger Williams (TX-25), Chairman of the House Committee on Small Business wrote to Chairman Alexander Hoehn-Saric of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) regarding actions taken by CPSC Commissioner Richard Trumka that potentially violate the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA). Chairman Williams issued the following statement.

“It appears that CPSC Commissioner Trumka is taking advantage of his position to influence companies based off his personal beliefs,” said Chairman Williams. “The CPSC has a process in place to decide if products should be removed from the marketplace. No single Commissioner should wield their power to subvert this process and pressure the private sector to do their personal bidding. The CPSC is structured as a commission for a reason, and this practice must end.”

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Read the story here.

Read the full letter here.

Read key excerpts from the letter below:

“The House Committee on Small Business (Committee) is investigating CPSC Commissioner Richard Trumka’s unilateral actions that have damaged small businesses and could be in violation of the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA). The actions taken by Commissioner Trumka, have had and will continue to have a significant impact on small businesses.

“Commissioner Trumka’s actions have caused immense harm to small businesses by publicly encouraging retailers to stop selling the businesses’ products. Since his appointment by President Biden in 2021, not only has he pushed forward unnecessary burdensome regulations, but he has also acted unilaterally noting that ‘we do not have to wait for a federal rule’ to take certain actions against businesses and products he thinks are harmful. This statement came after Commissioner Trumka’s proposed rule to make weighted infant sleep products standards unnecessarily burdensome was rejected by the CPSC by a 3-1 vote. At the time, you, the Chairman of the CPSC, noted the CPSC had not conducted enough research to pursue rulemaking on the issue in 2024. However, despite losing the vote and the lack of research, Commissioner Trumka continued his pursuit to ban certain sleep weight products. On April 15, 2024, he issued a solo public statement: ‘Beware: Weighted Infant Swaddles and Blankets are Unsafe for Sleep; Retailers Should Consider Stopping Sales,’ condemning the weighted sleep products. This statement was published on CPSC’s official website and Commissioner Trumka signed the statement as ‘Your consumer advocate at the Consumer Product Safety Commission.’

“That same day, Commissioner Trumka sent letters to Target, Walmart, Nordstrom, and Babylist to urge them to stop selling weighted infant products. Within days, these retailers stopped selling the products. Making matters even worse, after these letters, Commissioner Trumka issued another public statement describing how he made Target, Walmart, Nordstrom, and Babylist to stop selling weighted blankets and reminding the public not to use the ‘dangerous’ weighted sleep products. Commissioner Trumka used the CPSC’s official letterhead—giving an appearance of presenting the CPSC’s views—and signed the letters himself.

“Commissioner Trumka failed to take ‘reasonable steps’ to meet the requirements of the statute before he disclosed the identities of the manufacturers of the weighted blankets. First, he failed to assure that the information is accurate. Next, he made allegations without the information being backed up by scientific research. For example, in the letters to the retailers, Commissioner Trumka stated, ‘I am aware of multiple infant deaths involving weighted infant.’ However, there is no citation to prove this very serious claim. Third, his assertions go directly against the CPSC’s decision and thus ‘disclosure of the information is’ not ‘reasonably related to effectuating the purposes of the CPSA.’ Furthermore, Commissioner Trumka admitted that he ‘tried to amend CPSC’s operating plan to start work on a rule to protect babies from weighted products but was unable to garner the necessary support at that time.’ Without support from the CPSC, the information can hardly be reasonably related to effectuate the purposes of the CPSA. Overall, it seems Commissioner Trumka did not establish ‘procedures designed to ensure that such information is accurate and not misleading.

“The Committee is concerned that a single CPSC Commissioner is exerting undue pressure on entities and forcing them to improperly remove small business’ products from their shelves to the detriment of those small businesses. Small businesses deserve a chance to fairly compete in the marketplace without undue influence from the federal government—whether that be through rulemaking or letters from a rogue CPSC Commissioner. America’s small businesses deserve to have their voices heard and considered.”

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