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Consumer Involvement And The Consumer Product Safety Act, Joseph A. Page

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The notion that consumers should actively participate in the administration and enforcement of a federal statute designed to protect them from unreasonable risks of harm is a distinguishing feature of the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA). History suggests that when Congress entrusts to a federal agency authority to intrude into the market place on behalf of the general public (or a segment thereof), in a matter of time the agency becomes overly responsive to, or even captive of, the corporate interests subject to regulation. The absence of public-interest pressures- a very raison d'etre for the setting up of the regulatory …