Excerpts from Senator Mondale's Speeches on Consumer Protection

"Our goal must be to place the consumer in a bargaining position which will give him a fair opportunity to choose to buy in a rational manner. There is room, in our economy, in any free society, for successful capital venture and business profit as well as true value for the consumer's dollar. . . .

Thus our primary objective is to make the free enterprise system work so that the prize goes to the best competitor, not to the best conniver."

89th Cong., 1st sess., Congressional Record 111 (July 16, 1965) at 17121.

"It may be that the driver is to blame for most traffic accidents. But situations such as this and other evidence accumulated in recent months indicate that safety defects may play a much larger role in the accident rate than heretofore estimated. But even if only 1 percent of all accidents is caused by such defects, I think the drivers of these defective cars have a right to know they are riding around in booby traps. And to fail to warn them is to force them to play Russian roulette without their knowing so."

89th Cong., 2nd sess., Congressional Record 112 (April 18, 1966) at 8216.

"Who should bear the risks of safety defects—the manufacturer, who has economic considerations at stake, or the motorist, who has his life at stake? I don't think there is much room for argument. Human life is more important than corporate profits."

89th Cong., 2nd sess., Congressional Record 112 (July 18, 1966) at 16004.

"Swampland, arid desert, and pipedreams can still be sold to the public without informing a buyer of the facts which he needs to know in order to make a wise investment. . . The promoter paints a glowing picture of the future development and prospects of the tract. He will not reveal the unfavorable characteristics of the land or development. He confines himself to predictions based on artists' conceptions of how it might look or pictures of a few houses built solely for the promotional purposes without sewer, water, telephone, or electricity. Thousands of citizens, both elderly and younger, have invested savings—not current earnings, but the money saved a dollar or two at a time—in worthless properties."

U.S. Congress. Senate. Committee on Banking and Currency. Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act: Hearings Before the Subcommittee on Securities. June 21 and 22; August 18, 1966.

"I am a person who believes in state rights. I have spent more time in state government than I have in federal government, but I believe in state responsibility, too, and I think that there can be no compromise on the objective of clean and wholesome meat, and the federal government and the state government have to assume total responsibility on this.
. . . the worst thing that we could do here is to pass nominal legislation. We have got to deal with this problem fully and completely, so that the American consumer can be safe and secure in the purchase and consumption of meat."

U.S. Congress. Senate. Committee on Agriculture and Forestry. Meat Inspection: Hearings Before the Subcommittee on Agricultural Research and General Legislation. 90th Cong., 1st sess., November 9, 10, 14, and 15, 1967.

"Consumers of America: If you are not a majority, then who is? Make yourselves heard. Inflation has cost you far too much already. A responsible trade policy needs your voice in Washington now."

91st Cong., 2nd sess., Congressional Record 116 (December 7, 1970) at 40042.