NEWS RELEASE

Committee on Energy and Commerce
Rep. John D. Dingell, Chairman

House Passes Energy and Commerce Committee’s Consumer Protection Legislation

Legislation Requires Registration for Child Product Recalls, Raises Fine for Safety Violations

Washington, D.C. – The House of Representatives today passed four bills designed to improve product safety and consumer protection. The set of bills, which originated in the Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection, were approved by the full committee in a markup on September 27, 2007.

“A country’s highest responsibility is to protect its children and by passing this legislation tonight we have taken an important step that begins to fulfill that responsibility,” said Rep. John D. Dingell (D-MI), Chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce. “These four bills will serve as a prelude to more comprehensive legislation to improve product safety and strengthen the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).”

“The combined effect of these bills, if adopted in the Senate and signed by the President, will go a very long way toward restoring consumer confidence in our government,” said Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection. “It says, loudly and clearly, that their elected representatives place the highest priority on child safety and ensuring that businesses fully comply with the standards set by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. These bills represent a major step in the right direction, but there is more work to do to ensure that the products used by our children, and grandchildren, are as safe as their parents expect.”

The consumer protection legislation passed today includes:

• H.R. 814, the “Children’s Gasoline Burn Prevention Act,” to require childproof caps on all gasoline cans.
• H.R. 1699, the "Danny Keysar Child Product Safety Notification Act," to require that durable products for babies and children include registration materials for quick notification of parents in the event of a product recall.
• H.R. 2474, “To provide for an increased maximum civil penalty for violations under the Consumer Product Safety Act,” to raise the maximum penalty for product safety violations from the current cap of $1.25 million to $10 million.
• H.R. 1721, the "Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act," to increase the safety of pools and spas by requiring the use of proper anti-entrapment drain covers and increasing consumer education.

Today’s House vote follows hearings and markups on the legislation earlier this year conducted by the full committee and the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection. The Committee is conducting an investigation into the recent widespread findings of lead in children’s products imported from China. In August 2007, the Committee sent letters to 19 retailers and importers requesting information on their findings of lead. On September 19 and 20, the Committee held a hearing on lead in children’s products and the resulting recalls. During the hearing, Chairman Dingell, Ranking Member Barton, Chairman Rush, and Ranking Member Stearns expressed their intent to work together in the coming weeks on bipartisan comprehensive legislation to make further improvements to ensure the safety of children’s products, including toys, and to reform the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

For more information, please visit the Committee on Energy and Commerce website at http://energycommerce.house.gov.

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