Consumer Product Safety Commission CPSC

The Consumer Product Safety Act, signed on October 27, 1972, created the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which began operating in May 1973, after a national commission found that tens of thousands of Americans died each year in accidents involving household products. The statute provides for five commissioners appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate to seven-year terms, removable only for neglect of duty or malfeasance. Cars, food, drugs, guns, and boats are regulated by other agencies.

The CPSC covers thousands of products, from cribs, toys, and furniture to appliances, power tools, and electric bikes. It sets mandatory safety standards, works with industry on voluntary ones, tests products, monitors injury data from hospital emergency rooms, and negotiates or orders recalls, of which there are hundreds each year. After the 2007 recalls of lead-painted toys made in China, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 imposed strict lead limits and testing requirements for children's products.

The commission's rulemaking has drawn partisan fights, as when a 2023 comment about possibly regulating gas stoves set off a national controversy. In May 2025 President Trump fired the three Democratic commissioners, and on July 23, 2025, in Trump v. Boyle, the Supreme Court allowed the removals to stand while litigation continued. The administration also proposed folding the CPSC into the Department of Health and Human Services. Supporters said the moves brought an unaccountable agency under presidential control, while consumer advocates warned they would weaken product safety oversight.