Consumer Protection
My political career began as a consumer advocate when I led the successful campaign in 1969 to put freshness dates on products sold in the supermarket. I am a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, where I serve as the Chairwoman of the Consumer Protection subcommittee. On the Committee, I have continued my efforts to protect consumers from unfair business practices, unsafe products, insurance abuses, and harmful chemicals in products, and to improve the safety of children's products, vehicles, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals.
Legislation I've Introduced
Safe Cosmetics Act – The Safe Cosmetics Act would phase out the use of dangerous chemicals, including carcinogens and reproductive toxins, from use in personal care products. Visit Cosmetic Safety for more information.
More on Consumer Protection
We need commonsense gun safety legislation to address America’s gun violence epidemic. Last week, I joined Vice President Kamala Harris, Moms Demand Action, and other gun safety advocates at Everytown for Gun Safety’s annual conference to demand greater action on gun control. Gun safety laws are vital to saving lives in our community and nationwide, and I am so thankful to the advocates in my district who are helping lead the charge. The conference took place the same day that Illinois’ Supreme Court upheld our ban on the sale of assault weapons. I am proud of my home state.
When you book a flight right now, you see the full price upfront with all of the taxes and so-called junk fees added in. But that could soon change. People deserve to know the full price when they go to purchase an airline ticket. I vow to support efforts to uphold President Joe Biden's promise to end deceptive junk fees in air travel.
In an increasingly digitized world, protecting consumers must be a top priority. Last month, I spoke at the White House to help launch the U.S. Cybersecurity Labeling Program for Consumer Technology, a crucial initiative that will protect Americans from cyberattacks by creating a safety label for devices that meet government cybersecurity standards. This label, the Cyber Trust Mark, will help consumers make informed purchasing decisions and incentivize manufacturers to meet higher cybersecurity standards, thus making our country more secure.
Last week, Republican chaos resulted in an early start to the August work period, leaving 11 appropriations bills to be discussed when we get back to Washington next month. To pass the budget on time, all these bills must be signed into law by the end of September. Unfortunately, many of my Republican colleagues would rather facilitate a government shutdown than support pragmatic policies in these must-pass bills.
Last week, I voted against another ridiculous, xenophobic bill put forward by the House Republicans. The Schools Not Shelters Act is designed to bar schools and universities from giving shelter to asylum seekers, and it is a thinly veiled attempt to demonize immigrants seeking a better life in the United States. Chicago is a welcoming community, and we are working hard to house the migrants being bussed to our city by Texas Governor Greg Abbott. My colleagues claim this bill is about protecting children, but it is not, and I was glad to vote against it.
Our greatest security threats have no military solutions, and it is time our budget reflects that. Last week, I voted against the final passage of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). This bill, that originally came out of committee with pay raises for our service members and civilian federal employees, turned into a MAGA manifesto with the addition of a series of extremist Republican amendments.