WASHINGTON D.C. – The United States Senate today passed bipartisan legislation sponsored by Senator Mark Pryor (D-AR), Senate Commerce Committee Vice Chairman Ted Stevens (R-AK), Senate Commerce Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-HI) and Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) to protect children and consumers from dangerous toys and products.  Senator Pryor and Vice Chairman Stevens worked together to craft a bipartisan compromise to strengthen the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and better protect American consumers. The legislation also contains a key provision sponsored by Vice Chairman Stevens to require all companies and manufacturers that market and sell all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) in the United States to meet the same basic product safety standards.

 

“The CPSC is crippled under budget restraints, mounting imports and thousands of new products entering the marketplace. As a result, we’ve seen endless recalls and unnecessary deaths and injuries,” Pryor said. “My legislation allows parents and the CPSC to fight back against the tide of dangerous toys and products. It provides new safety safeguards that emphasize resources, accountability, disclosure and testing -- from the factory floor to the store shelves. I appreciate the broad, bipartisan support behind this bill and will work toward swift conference action in order to produce a solid, aggressive bill for President Bush to sign.”  

 

 

 “I thank Senator Pryor and Senator Stevens for their leadership in negotiating this bipartisan compromise bill. S. 2663 authorizes the appropriate level of resources and provides the new authorities necessary for the agency to do the job it was created to do: protect consumers,” Inouye said. “Children are dying and suffering grievous injuries because of unsafe products. This legislation directly addresses the weaknesses of our nation’s product safety system and is a good step forward in our effort to keep harmful products off of store shelves.”

 

“Toy safety has made a giant leap forward with the Senate’s approval of this bipartisan bill to strengthen the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission.  This bill will help the federal government better detect and prevent threats to our children before, not after, toys reach store shelves,” said Collins.

 

“The Homeland Security Committee’s investigation into product safety identified serious gaps in our protections that this bill will fix.  It includes provisions I authored giving Customs and Border Protection agents the power to seize and destroy hazardous toys and other unsafe products when they arrive at our ports,” Collins said.  “I commend my colleagues, Senators Pryor, Stevens, and Inouye, for their hard work on this important consumer bill.”

 

Last summer, the CPSC issued a warning to American consumers about ATVs manufactured in China that do not meet strict United States safety requirements. The CPSC’s warning centered around several specific safety features that are missing from the imported Chinese ATVs, including no front brakes, no parking brake, and the ability of the vehicle to be started in gear.  Senator Stevens’ provision would directly address imported ATVs like the ones receiving warnings by the CPSC and will protect consumers by requiring all ATV companies to comply with the same basic safety standards and sales practices.

 

Key elements of this legislation emphasize resources, product testing, disclosure and accountability.

Highlights include: