WASHINGTON — It’s something Nikki Johns wishes had been around before her infant son died in a drop-side crib: a centralized federal database of people’s safety complaints about thousands of products, from baby gear to household appliances and more.
Johns, other parents and consumer advocates are awaiting March 11, the formal launch date for the government database , where people can share complaints of injury or worse from everyday products such as cribs, high chairs, space heaters and toasters.
But the database, overseen by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, isn’t universally popular. Manufacturers and some members of Congress fear such a “crowdsourced” website will be bloated with inaccurate or misleading reports. One of those lawmakers, Rep. Mike Pompeo, R-Kan., sponsored an amendment approved in the House last week to withhold additional funding for the database. The Associated Press
