National Journal's CongressDaily reported today that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the supposed bastion of anti-regulation free market economic beliefs, today said a federal regulatory agency should deal with the tainted China imports problem. The key section:

Congress should respond to a string of recalls of Chinese imports by increasing funding for the Consumer Product Safety Commission and avoid legislation that levies fees on U.S. importers to pay for beefed-up safety regimes, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Vice President Myron Brilliant said today. Brilliant spoke at the release of an annual report to Congress on the U.S.-China relationship, which includes the group's most detailed discussion on food and product safety issues. He said efforts by China, the United States, and the private sector to improve safety and inspection regimens should continue, including the U.S.-China Strategic Economic Dialogue. "The discovery of tainted products has to be addressed by appropriate actions in both governments," he said. "What we don't want to see is an excessive tax placed on American companies, which would have an unfortunate impact on our economy."

Shouldn't "the market" deal with this? Shouldn't those companies that buy tainted goods from China be left alone so they can be punished by consumers who chose not to buy them while other companies that don't buy from China are allowed to use that fact as a reason consumers should think of them kindly?

What's next, a Republican president approving the biggest increase in federal spending since Lyndon Johnson? Oh yeah...we already have that don't we?