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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 6, 2008
CONTACT: Matt Mackowiak
Sen. Hutchison Votes for Major Improvements to Consumer Product Safety Laws
Urges ‘Fine-Tuning’ of Legislation in Conference with House
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), Texas’ senior senator, today voted to pass major improvements to U.S. consumer product safety laws. The need to strengthen the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and its regulatory jurisdiction was highlighted last fall when numerous consumer products, particularly children’s toys, were deemed unsafe and had to be recalled. In September 2007 alone, approximately 1.3 million toys were recalled for violating lead paint standards.
“This legislation will help protect American consumers from dangerous products by increasing funding for enforcement, emphasizing research and development, and imposing higher penalties on offenders,” said Sen. Hutchison.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission bill (S. 2663) would overhaul the CPSC and improve its ability to protect consumers from dangerous products by modernizing the agency’s authority to match the 21st century marketplace. This reform legislation will increase CPSC resources by $835 million – 50% above current funding levels – over the next 7 years. Another $40 million will be dedicated to refurbishing outdated lab testing facilities. In addition, the legislation will direct $1 million each year to investigating the long-term effects of new products. The bill will also expand CPSC’s workforce, raising personnel levels from 400 employees to at least 500 employees by 2013.
“I believe this measure will go a long way toward strengthening the Consumer Product Safety Commission,” said Sen. Hutchison. “This bill is far from perfect and I hope there will be further fine-tuning of the legislation when it goes to conference with the House.”
In response to last year’s rash of recalls of unsafe toys, the bill mandates third-party testing and certification of children’s products. It also requires tracking labels on merchandise. It imposes substantial changes to permissible levels of lead in products for children. The bill also bans the sale of recalled merchandise and penalizes retailers who continue to willfully stock these products. The bill creates an online product safety database, giving consumers real-time access to product safety information.
The CPSC estimates that consumer products under its jurisdiction are related to 27,100 deaths and 33.1 million injuries each year.
A conference committee will now reconcile differences between the Senate-passed Consumer Product Safety Commission Bill and similar House-passed legislation. Once each chamber of Congress approves the conference report, the measure will go to the President to be signed into law.
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