What's behind GOP attack on product-safety database?

By David Lazarus
July 5, 2011

. . .the Republican-controlled House Appropriations Committee has approved a spending bill that not only slashes the budget of the Consumer Product Safety Commission but also cuts off all funding for a recently launched database of product-safety complaints.

The online database is one of the most important consumer tools to emerge from Washington in years. It enables people to report potentially faulty or harmful products, as well as to research goods before making a purchase.

So why is Emerson so opposed to the database? Perhaps the answer lies in her close ties with the business world. She raised more than $2 million in contributions in the 2009-10 election cycle, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Koch Industries — run by billionaires Charles and David Koch, who are active in conservative causes — also reported spending more than $200,000 lobbying against creation of the database.

You've got to wonder why businesses are fighting so hard to keep this resource away from consumers. . . is it because the last thing they want is a consuming public armed with the latest and most thorough information on the safety of their goods?

And if it's the latter, you might now ask, what are they trying to hide?

What's behind GOP attack on product-safety database?