The Honorable Alexander Hoehn-Saric, Chairman, Consumer Product Safety Commission (November 9, 2023)

Summary

A letter dated November 9, 2023, from the House Committee on Small Business to Chairman Alexander Hoehn-Saric of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, inquiring about the recent proposed rule that would create new product safety standards for residential furnaces and boilers. The letter says the standards could cost each small business up to $13.8 million and that it appears the Commission may not have properly considered small entities. It asks for information no later than November 24, 2023, including the conversion cost to revenue rate for each of the five small businesses the Commission identified. The signature block names Roger Williams, Blaine Luetkemeyer and Aaron Bean.

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Full text

                                              November 9, 2023

The Honorable Alexander Hoehn-Saric
Chairman
Consumer Product Safety Commission
4330 East-West Highway
Bethesda, MD 20814

Dear Chairman Hoehn-Saric:

       The House Committee on Small Business writes to inquire about the recent proposed rule
that would create new product safety standards for residential furnaces and boilers.1 These new
standards would require the small businesses that manufacture residential furnaces and boilers to
abandon or redesign many of their product lines—an endeavor which could cost each small
business up to $13.8 million.2 It appears that the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)
may not have properly considered small entities during this rulemaking process.

       It is important for agencies to examine small business interests—which make up 99.9
percent of all businesses in the United States—when passing any new rule. America’s small
businesses deserve to have their voices heard and considered. We therefore request the following
information as soon as possible but no later than November 24, 2023:

    1. What is the estimated conversion cost to revenue rate for each of the five small
       businesses that the CPSC identified as being impacted by the updated standards?

             a. Does the CPSC believe the estimated $13.8 million conversion cost per small
                entity is a reasonable cost for entities to absorb based on each business's annual
                revenue?3

    2. What additional costs would a small business, such as a furnace repair service, incur for
       staff training or new tools related to new equipment that complies with the updated
       standards?

    3. Does the CPSC anticipate the projected increase in consumer costs for residential
       furnaces and boilers will prevent homeowners from purchasing equipment that complies

1
  Safety Standard for Residential Gas Furnaces and Boilers, 88 F.R. 73272, 73286 (to be codified at 16 C.F.R. §
1408).
2
  Id. at 73285-6.
3
  Id. at 73286.
The Honorable Hoehn-Saric
November 9, 2023
Page 2 of 2

           with these updated standards, thus negatively impacting the five identified small
           businesses?4

       4. What is the CPSC doing to notify the five small businesses identified as being impacted
          by the proposed standards so that they can submit comments regarding the regulation?

       To schedule the delivery of your response or ask any related follow-up questions, please
contact the Committee on Small Business Majority Staff at (202) 225-5821. The Committee on
Small Business has broad authority to investigate “problems of all types of small business” under
House Rule X. Thank you in advance for your cooperation with this inquiry.

                                           In God We Trust,




_________________________                               _________________________
Roger Williams                                          Blaine Luetkemeyer
Chairman                                                Vice Chairman
Committee on Small Business                             Committee on Small Business



________________________
Aaron Bean
Member
Committee on Small Business


cc:        The Honorable Nydia M. Velasquez, Ranking Member
           Committee on Small Business




4
    Id. at 73285.


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