WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) todayled U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) in reintroducing the Consumer Advocacy and Protection (CAP) Act, legislation to bolster consumer protection by incentivizing companies to prioritize and invest in product safety. The legislation aims to protect consumers from corporate negligence and create safer products by strengthening the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s (CPSC) authority to impose financial penalties on large corporations that violate consumer protection laws. 

“Integrity and transparency are crucial to ensuring consumer protection. But right now, massive companies continue to undermine federal safety standards and evade responsibility. We need to create incentives that put consumer and product safety first,” said Senator Welch. “Our commonsense bill will hold corporations accountable when they knowingly put products on the market that endanger consumers.” 

“Our legislation will help hold corporate actors accountable when their defective products cause harm. Fundamentally faulty products like Generac portable generators and Peloton Tread+ treadmills seriously impacted consumers and more action is needed to deter manufacturers from rushing to release flawed products onto the market. By increasing penalty caps and allowing the CPSC to levee appropriate fines, the CAP Act will raise the stakes for companies and significantly bolster consumer safety,” said Senator Blumenthal. 

“It’s clear existing penalties aren’t enough to deter companies that are harming consumers in violation of the law,” said Senator Schatz. “Our bill will protect consumers by increasing fines and making sure bad actors are held accountable.” 

“Consumers deserve the confidence that the products they bring into their homes are not only effective, but safe,” said Senator Luján. “When major corporations knowingly market and sell unsafe products, they must be held accountable, but current penalties are just a little more than a slap on the wrist. I’m proud to join Senator Welch and my colleagues in reintroducing this legislation to strengthen accountability and protect consumers.” 

The CPSC utilizes various tools to deter safety regulation noncompliance, promote adherence to standards, and hold companies accountable, including the imposition of civil penalties. Under current law, manufacturers, importers, and distributors of consumer products are required to report immediately to the CPSC information that reasonably supports the conclusion that a product contains a defect that could create a substantial product hazard or an unreasonable risk of serious injury or death. If violations occur, the CPSC can administer $120,000 per violation and $17,150,000 for a series of related violations. The CPSC is allowed to adjust the maximum civil penalty amounts every five years for inflation.  

The CAP Act aims to increase consumer protection from corporate negligence by striking the maximum civil penalty cap on a series of violations and increasing the individual violation cap from $100,000 to $250,000. The legislation would also clarify under what offenses CPSC can fine manufacturers and ensure fines accurately reflect inflation by adjusting the inflation review period from every five years to every year. 

The CAP Act is endorsed by the Consumer Federation of America, Consumer Reports, National Consumers League (NCL), Public Citizen, and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG). 

“Every American, especially our children, deserve products that are safe,” said Courtney Griffin, Director of Consumer Product Safety, Consumer Federation of America. “Unfortunately,the current limits on civil penalties allow big corporations to treat them as little more than the cost of doing business. Consumer Federation of America applauds Senator Welch for introducing legislation that will close this gap and strengthen corporate accountability.” 

“People are put at risk when companies do not follow product safety laws and see civil penalties as the cost of doing business,” Oriene Shin, Manager for Safety Advocacy, Consumer Reports. “For too long, the civil penalty limits have been far too low to deter giant, multibillion-dollar companies from breaking the law. The CAP Act would change this—and protect consumers by improving corporate accountability. Consumer Reports supports this bill and urges all members of Congress to do the same.” 

“The nation’s product safety cop on the beat shouldn’t have its hands tied when holding bad actors accountable,” said Daniel Greene, Senior Director of Consumer Protection & Product Safety, National Consumers League. “Existing penalty caps only permit the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to assess $100,000 penalties per violation, not to exceed $15 million total.  That’s a slap on the wrist—merely the cost of doing business for unscrupulous actors flooding the market with dangerous, violative products.  As Americans, we place a far higher value on the lives and wellbeing of our family, friends, and fellow citizens.  So should our product safety laws. The National Consumers League applauds Senator Welch for his leadership on this important issue.” 

“Lawmakers need to do more to hold multi-billion-dollar corporations accountable when they intentionally put consumers at risk or lie to regulators. Sure, the CPSC in 2021 raised the cap to $120,000 per individual violation and $17.5 million for a series of safety violations, but a future CPSC could ratchet those back. Congress hasn’t increased the cap in nearly two decades. Companies need to face meaningful penalties for putting consumers at risk,” said Teresa Murray, Consumer Watchdog Director, U.S. PIRG. 

Learn more about the CAP Act. 

Read and download the full text of the bill. 

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