Bernice Friedlander, acting director of the U.S. Office of Consumer Affairs, had spent a busy morning on the Hill when we talked last week.
These are tense times for the consumer agency. Not only was it among the third of government whose funding was set to run out last Friday, it is on the chopping block in both House and Senate funding bills. The issue now goes to House-Senate committee, she says, where they will have to "duke it out on money for such things as environmental protection, funding for NASA - and our tiny agency."The good news is that they seem to have a lot of friends on the Hill, she says. And some of the representatives have heard from a lot of their constituents. "Trickle-up democracy seems to be working so far," she says. And she hopes it will continue. Because if the USOCA goes, not only does the president lose a policy office, but consumers loose an important voice in Washington.
"We've done focus groups - with both corporate leaders and a cross-section of consumers. And the thing that knocked me over was how many said they don't want to give up consumer protection. They want less government, but not at the expense of consumer protection. They all say the government has an important role in health, safety, fraud prevention and other areas."
The problem is, says Friedlander, "a couple of generations of people have grown up thinking consumer protection is automatic. But it's not. We can't just go back to the days of `Let the buyer beware.' "
In an opinion article for The Christian Science Monitor, Esther Peterson and Virginia Knauer, two former directors of the agency, point out, "In 30 years of existence, USOCA has played a pivotal role in piloting the federal government and the private sector into an era marked by concern for service and responsiveness to consumers. It has focused the nation's attention on such crucial consumer issues as fraud, the erosion of personal privacy, and the particular problems of the frail, the elderly and the disabled."
To eliminate the office, they say, is a perfect example of being "penny wise and pound foolish." The agency costs less than 3/4 of a penny per year for each of the 260 million consumers in America. "Put another way USOCA costs each of the 97 million U.S. households less than two cents annually."
And to make elimination of the office a big issue in the reduction of the federal deficit is not all that reasonable. "If maintained at the 1995 level, the entire outlay for USOCA in 2002 would represent less than four ten-thousandths of one percent of the deficit."
What's more, this "magnificent savings" would come at a time when state and local consumer agencies are shrinking or disappearing entirely, and many federal protection programs are having to get by on less.
For example, according to an article in the March 1996 Money magazine, "At least 25 of the state and local consumer agencies Money examined are investigating a smaller portion of complaints than they did in the late 1980s, cutting telephone hotline hours or otherwise curtailing services because their budgets or otherwise curtailing services because their budgets have been slashed. Thirty agencies or their branch offices have shut their doors altogether."
At the same time, the magazine points out areas where consumer protection has been eroded. They include:
- Last year Congress made it easier for white-collar criminals to get away with lying to investors. (See "How to Protect Yourself Against Getting Hurt by Congress' Securities Reform," Money, February, 1996.) They also made it tougher for homeowners to back out of mortgage contracts if they discover they've been cheated.
- Pending legislation would wipe out the section of the 1991 Truth in Savings Act that helps savers compare the interest rates offered by competing banks.
- Although the number of people participating in HMOs has more than quadrupled since the 1980s, at least 11 states still lack adequate safeguards for people enrolled in them.
- Our food inspection system, introduced in 1906, relies on inspectors who use sight, touch and smell to detect trichinosis, anthrax and other diseases that infect animals, but is ill-equipped to detect invisible bacterial threats like E. coli and salmonella.
These are challenging times for consumers, says Friedlander. "One of the biggest challenges is in the area of consumer education. Consumers have to know where the problems are and what they can do. And new problems come along all the time. Technology is opening a new world, but it is also bringing some difficult problems. Telemarketing fraud is one of the few growth industries in the country. Privacy issues are another big concern."
And consumer education is one of the agency's top priorities. The office grew out of the President's Committee on Consumer Interests established by John F. Kennedy in 1962 after he issued the famous "Consumer Bill of Rights." It grew into the first formal Office of Consumer Affairs under Lyndon Johnson. And, point out Peterson and Knauer, "every president since has used the office to further the consumer's interest."
Today, the USOCA is charged with advising the president on consumer issues and coordinating the consumer-related activities of other federal agencies to ensure that the views and concerns of American consumers are represented in the development of public policy. The office has no regulatory or enforcement authority.
Its top priorities of service/advocacy, says Friedlander, include: fraud, telecommunications and telemarketing, the underserved (the elderly, frail, poor, young and disabled), rapid response to consumer complaints, and privacy issues.
In addition to coordinating National Consumer Week each year, the agency publishes the Consumer's Resource Handbook (see sidebar), a quarterly newsletter and other consumer education materials. It sponsors a yearly conference for members of Congress and their staffs who handle constituent inquiries and participates with 26 other nations in determining international health and safety and marketing issues and policies.
And one of the most important things they do, says Friedlander, is maintain the "Helpline," a toll-free number consumers can call for help and information. "So many consumers have questions but just don't know whom to call. The help line is manned by specialists from 8 a.m. to noon (MST) and is designed to provide a rapid-response for information and referrals." (At other times, you can leave a message, and your call will be returned.)
The number to call is 1-800-664-4435.
And if you don't get an answer, the next number you might want to call is that of your senator or representative.
"Americans need to speak out now if we are to avoid losing this important and cost-effective voice for America's consumers," say Peterso nand Knauer.
"This is not a partisan issue," says Friedlander. "We are just looking to serve." She hopes her office will be doing that for years to come.