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Earlier this year, President Obama called for a thorough government-wide review of existing regulations to remove those that
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Download Audio as MP3 are out of date, unnecessary, or excessively burdensome--regulations that can negatively affect job creation and economic recovery. Representative Mary Bono Mack (R-CA) recently introduced a bill that gives the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) greater authority and flexibility to regulate based on risk. At this session, CPSC commissioner Anne M. Northup will speak about these and other recent steps taken to reduce the burden of over-regulation. Reflecting on her experience in Congress and at the CPSC, she will explain ways to move forward in creating jobs while also ensuring safety. Her presentation will be followed by a panel discussion and a question-and-answer session.
Registration
10:00 AM
Introduction:
CHRISTOPHER DEMUTH, AEI
Presentation:
ANNE M. NORTHUP, Consumer Product Safety Commission
10:30
Discussants:
KENNETH P. GREEN, AEI
STEVEN F. HAYWARD, AEI
10:50
Question and Answer
11:30
Adjournment
WASHINGTON, JULY 19, 2011--Regulation based on risk and cost-benefit analyses could save enormous costs to the public and private sectors, the commissioner of the Consumer Product Safety Commission said Tuesday at AEI. Anne M. Northup reflected on how her nine years as a representative from Kentucky gave her a different perspective on agency rulemaking. Northup criticized the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, which reduced the amount of lead allowed in every part of children's toys--even the parts that cannot be swallowed and absorbed into a child's bloodstream. The public-sector costs of regulation are high--evident in the growing budgets and staff of regulatory agencies--but Northup said costs to the private sector are even higher. Mandatory third-party testing introduces massive paperwork costs. Small businesses, which buy their raw materials off the shelf, cannot be certain that these materials comply with required lead levels, and they have little ability to absorb the loss of raw materials that fail third-party tests. Introducing flexibility or allowing for re-testing could help small businesses. Northup said regulatory agencies do not have the resources to determine the costs of regulations and called for a fair and impartial department to determine the true costs and benefits of regulations. AEI's Kenneth P. Green discussed how the precautionary principle has been enshrined in small regulatory agencies outside Congress. AEI's Steven F. Hayward reflected on how greater political accountability prevents over-regulation.
--KERIANN HOPKINS
Christopher DeMuth is the D. C. Searle Senior Fellow at AEI, where he served as president from 1986 to 2008. He was the administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in the US Office of Management and Budget and the executive director of the Presidential Task Force on Regulatory Relief during President Ronald Reagan's first term. From 1977 to 1981, he taught at the Kennedy School of Government and directed the Harvard Faculty Project on Regulation.
Anne M. Northup is a commissioner at the Consumer Product Safety Commission--a position she has held since 2009. From 1997 to 2006, she represented the third congressional district of Kentucky in the House of Representatives, where she served on the House Committee on Appropriations. Throughout her tenure in Congress, Commissioner Northup was recognized for her straightforward, honest style in taking on tough issues. She is a pro-trade, pro-economic expansion Republican focused on issues that create a better environment for competition, growth, and worldwide commerce. She is also a proponent of permanent tax relief for all American taxpayers, expanding affordable health insurance, cutting red tape, and making sure government programs are measured based on results. Before her tenure in Congress, Ms. Northup served in the Kentucky House of Representatives from 1987 to 1996.
Kenneth P. Green is a resident scholar at AEI, where he studies energy and environmental policy. For more than sixteen years, he has studied public policy involving risk, regulation, and the environment at public policy research institutions across North America. He has twice served as an expert reviewer for the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and is a frequent contributor to AEI's Energy and Environment Outlook series.
Steven F. Hayward is the F. K. Weyerhaeuser Fellow in environmental studies at AEI and a senior fellow at the Pacific Research Institute. He is also an adjunct fellow at the John Ashbrook Center and a former Bradley Fellow at the Heritage Foundation. He is the coauthor of the annual Index of Leading Environmental Indicators and a frequent contributor to AEI's Energy and Environment Outlook series.
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