I 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7096 
To amend the Consumer Product Safety Act to strike provisions relating 
to the maximum civil penalties for violations of product safety standards. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 25, 2024 
Ms. SCHAKOWSKY (for herself and Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To amend the Consumer Product Safety Act to strike provi-
sions relating to the maximum civil penalties for viola-
tions of product safety standards. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Consumer Advocacy 
and Protection Act’’ or the ‘‘CAP Act’’. 
SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFE-
TY ACT. 
(a) CIVIL PENALTY CAP.—Section 20(a)(1) of the 
Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2069(a)(1)) is 
amended— 
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(1) 
in 
the 
first 
sentence, 
by 
striking 
‘‘$100,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$250,000’’; 
(2) in the second sentence— 
(A) by striking ‘‘or (11)’’ and inserting 
‘‘(11), (12), (15), or (16)’’; and 
(B) by striking ‘‘, except that the max-
imum civil penalty shall not exceed $15,000,000 
for any related series of violations’’; and 
(3) in the third sentence by striking ‘‘, except 
that the maximum civil penalty shall not exceed 
$15,000,000 for any related series of violations’’. 
(b) ADJUSTMENT FOR INFLATION.—Section 20(a)(3) 
of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 
2069(a)(3)) is amended— 
(1) by striking subparagraph (B) and inserting 
the following: 
‘‘(B) Not later than one year after the date of enact-
ment of this subparagraph, and not later than January 
15 of every year thereafter, the Commission shall— 
‘‘(i) in accordance with subparagraph (C), de-
termine the inflation adjusted maximum civil penalty 
for an individual violation; and 
‘‘(ii) publish each such inflation adjusted max-
imum civil penalty for an individual violation in the 
Federal Register.’’; 
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(2) by striking subparagraph (C) and inserting 
the following: 
‘‘(C)(i) The Commission shall adjust civil penalties 
in accordance with this subparagraph and shall make such 
adjustment notwithstanding section 553 of title 5, United 
States Code. 
‘‘(ii) The inflation adjusted maximum civil penalty for 
the purposes of subparagraph (B) shall be determined by 
increasing the prior year maximum civil monetary penalty 
by the cost-of-living adjustment. Any increase determined 
under this subparagraph shall be rounded to the nearest 
multiple of $1. 
‘‘(iii) For purposes of this subparagraph— 
‘‘(I) the term ‘cost-of-living adjustment’ means 
the percentage (if any) by which— 
‘‘(aa) the Consumer Price Index for the 
month of October preceding the date of the ad-
justment; exceeds 
‘‘(bb) the Consumer Price Index for the 
month of October 1 one year before the month 
of October referred to in item (aa); and 
‘‘(II) the term ‘Consumer Price Index’ means 
the Consumer Price Index for all-urban consumers 
published by the Department of Labor. 
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‘‘(iv) If the civil penalty subject to a cost-of-living ad-
justment is, during the 12 months preceding a required 
cost-of-living adjustment, increased by law by an amount 
greater than the amount of the adjustment required under 
subparagraph (B), the Commission is not required to 
make the cost-of-living adjustment otherwise required for 
that year.’’; and 
(3) by striking subparagraph (D). 
(c) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 20(c) of the 
Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2069(c)) is 
amended, in the second sentence, by striking ‘‘including, 
the’’ and inserting ‘‘including the’’. 
(d) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 20(d) of the 
Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2069(d)) is 
amended, in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘man’’ and in-
serting ‘‘person’’. 
Æ 
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