[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – As Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee which oversees funding for the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) announced that the appropriations bill approved last night by Congress includes $80 million for the agency -- a nearly 30 percent budget increase over last year's funding level and the largest budget increase for the agency in more than 30 years.

“Congress is giving the CPSC an early holiday present,” Durbin said. “But this gift should be greeted with a meaningful new year’s resolution: change. Congress is providing more resources but we can’t appropriate the will to change.”

The spending bill on its way to the President provides CPSC with an $80 million budget for FY08 –$17 million more than they received last year and $16.75 million than the President’s request. Currently, the CPSC is responsible for overseeing the safety of more than 15,000 consumer goods with fewer than 425 full-time staff, just one full-time toy tester and antiquated testing facilities. The increase in funding will allow the agency to hire additional inspectors and other employees, upgrade testing facilities and make critical IT improvements.

The bill also includes language that prohibits industry-paid travel for CPSC employees, bringing their statutes inline with the rest of the Federal government. Last month, the Washington Post reported that senior officials at the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) took trips paid for by the industries they are charged with regulating.

Senator Durbin is the Chairman of the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Subcommittee. His committee’s appropriation’s bill, included in the spending package passed last night. Besides the dramatic funding increase for CPSC, the bill includes:

• $12 billion funding the Treasury Department for FY08. Almost $11 billion of that money goes to fund the Internal Revenue Service.
• $410 million for court security. The bill also authorizes a pilot program to permit the US Marshals, instead of the Federal Protective Service, to provide security for seven courthouses around the country – including the Dirksen Courthouse in Chicago.
• $94 million for Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI). This represents a 72 percent increase over last year. CDFI promotes economic growth in underserved markets by providing capital directly to financial institutions, expanding lending, investment and other services.