II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3667 

To amend the Consumer Product Safety Act to strike provisions relating 

to the maximum civil penalties for violations of product safety standards. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 25, 2024 

Mr. WELCH (for himself, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. SCHATZ, and 

Mr. LUJA ́N) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To amend the Consumer Product Safety Act to strike provisions relating to the maximum civil penalties for violations of product safety standards. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Consumer Advocacy 

5 and Protection Act of 2024’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFE2 TY ACT. 

3 (a) CIVIL PENALTY CAP.—Section 20(a)(1) of the 

4 Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2069(a)(1)) is 

5 amended— 

6 (1) in the first sentence, by striking 

7 ‘‘$100,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$250,000’’; 

8 (2) in the second sentence— 

9 (A) by striking ‘‘or (11)’’ and inserting 

10 ‘‘(11), (12), (15), or (16)’’; and 

11 (B) by striking ‘‘, except that the max12 imum civil penalty shall not exceed $15,000,000 

13 for any related series of violations’’; and 

14 (3) in the third sentence by striking ‘‘, except 

15 that the maximum civil penalty shall not exceed 

16 $15,000,000 for any related series of violations’’. 

17 (b) ADJUSTMENT FOR INFLATION.—Section 20(a)(3) 

18 of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 

19 2069(a)(3)) is amended— 

20 (1) by striking subparagraph (B) and inserting 

21 the following: 

22 ‘‘(B) Not later than one year after the date of enact23 ment of this subparagraph, and not later than January 

24 15 of every year thereafter, the Commission shall— 


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1 ‘‘(i) in accordance with subparagraph (C), de2 termine the inflation adjusted maximum civil penalty 

3 for an individual violation; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) publish each such inflation adjusted max5 imum civil penalty for an individual violation in the 

6 Federal Register.’’; 

7 (2) by striking subparagraph (C) and inserting 

8 the following: 

9 ‘‘(C)(i) The Commission shall adjust civil penalties 

10 in accordance with this subparagraph and shall make such 

11 adjustment notwithstanding section 553 of title 5, United 

12 States Code. 

13 ‘‘(ii) The inflation adjusted maximum civil penalty for 

14 the purposes of subparagraph (B) shall be determined by 

15 increasing the prior year maximum civil monetary penalty 

16 by the cost-of-living adjustment. Any increase determined 

17 under this subparagraph shall be rounded to the nearest 

18 multiple of $1. 

19 ‘‘(iii) For purposes of this subparagraph— 

20 ‘‘(I) the term ‘cost-of-living adjustment’ means 

21 the percentage (if any) by which— 

22 ‘‘(aa) the Consumer Price Index for the 

23 month of October preceding the date of the ad24 justment; exceeds 


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1 ‘‘(bb) the Consumer Price Index for the 

2 month of October 1 one year before the month 

3 of October referred to in item (aa); and 

4 ‘‘(II) the term ‘Consumer Price Index’ means 

5 the Consumer Price Index for all-urban consumers 

6 published by the Department of Labor. 

7 ‘‘(iv) If the civil penalty subject to a cost-of-living ad8 justment is, during the 12 months preceding a required 

9 cost-of-living adjustment, increased by law by an amount 

10 greater than the amount of the adjustment required under 

11 subparagraph (B), the Commission is not required to 

12 make the cost-of-living adjustment otherwise required for 

13 that year.’’; and 

14 (3) by striking subparagraph (D). 

15 (c) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 20(c) of the 

16 Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2069(c)) is 

17 amended, in the second sentence, by striking ‘‘including, 

18 the’’ and inserting ‘‘including the’’. 

19 (d) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 20(d) of the 

20 Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2069(d)) is 

21 amended, in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘man’’ and in22 serting ‘‘person’’. 

Æ 


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