Blumenthal Statement on the CPSC and Samsung Recall of the Galaxy Note7

[WASHINGTON, DC] – U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Ranking Member of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, Insurance, and Data Security, released the following statement today after Samsung – in coordination with the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) – expanded its recall of the Galaxy Note7. The lithium-battery in both the original Note7 and the replacement has presented as a fire hazard. Today, the CPSC urged consumers to protect themselves and others by taking advantage of the remedies offered, including a full refund.

“The recall of Samsung’s Galaxy Note7 is a dramatic example of the shortcomings of existing federal law that constrain and constrict the ability of the CPSC to do its job to protect consumers from harmful products,” Blumenthal said. “There is no question that Congress needs to give CPSC greater authority to take dangerous products off of shelves as soon as it identifies a hazard, and to exercise greater control over the recall process. ‎Without that authority, nothing about CPSC’s response here is suspect or surprising – especially considering the strict restrictions under the current law on what CPSC can even disclose regarding a company it is cooperating on a recall with. If the agency’s actions do not meet Congress’s standards it is only because Congress itself has tied its hands behind its back‎.”

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