Monday October 14, 2024

Draft FY25 Operating Plan Looks at Requested and Stagnant CPSC Funds

CPSC staffers October 4 repeated recent years' approach to the Operating Plan, giving two funding scenarios to consider for FY2025. The optimistic one was that Congress gives the full $183.05 million requested (PSL, 3/18/24). The other was that there will be no increase, and the agency would stay at its current level of $150.98 million.

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The former assumed ability to increase staffers to 607 while the latter would lower them to 534 due to the cost of pay increases, a situation described as "understaffed, under-resourced, and unable to fully address either established or emerging safety threats from consumer products."

A cover memo to the draft plan explained (bit.ly/3BNeM8I):

"For both scenarios, staff attempted to prioritize Stop Hazardous Products at our Borders, Vigorously Enforce Product Safety Laws, Investigate New, Existing, and Hidden Hazards, Build Diversity and Seek Product Safety Equity Communicate More Effectively to a Broader Range of Consumers, and Accelerate Necessary Modernization of Mission-Critical Technology."

The plan compared non-pay funding at the two levels (current | requested) (rounded by PSL):

Commissioners: $85,000 | $95,000.

Communications: $1.6 million | $4.2 million.

Compliance: $1.2 million | $2.1 million.

EEO, Diversity, Inclusion: $25,000 | $34,000.

Executive Director: $32,000 | $50,000.

Hazard Identification: $6.1 million | $12.7 million.

Facilities Services: $1.9 million | $2.0 million.

Financial Management: $2.7 million | 3.1 million.

General Counsel: $301,000 | $354,000.

Human Resources: $359,000 | $528,000.

Import Surveillance: $615,000 | $3.2 million.

Information Tech: $14.7 million | $18.0 million.

Inspector General: $445,000 | $557,000.

International Programs: $290,000 | $352,000.

Legislative Affairs: $14,000 | $14,000.

FY2025 began October 1, but Congress has not passed a budget, only a continuing resolution. Last year (PSL, 10/16/23), the two scenarios both were lower than the request while the year before (PSL, 10/3/22), staffers gave the requested and then-current amounts.