Often, the quiet, day-to-day work of Congress is overshadowed by the War in Iraq and much-discussed issues like immigration and children’s health care. Many of the bills passed by Congress have a positive impact on significant numbers of Americans but are frequently overlooked. One example is a package of legislation that the House of Representatives passed several weeks ago to improve child safety. We see recall after recall of children’s toys and other products, and Americans might wonder what Congress is doing to combat this growing problem.
October offers a built-in reminder of the importance of child safety measures. Each year, thousands of children go trick-or-treating, which is perhaps the only time we allow our children to go out, after dark, and accept candy by the bucket-loads. Children get very excited about this unique holiday, but parents are more and more aware of the dangers, including the possibility of unsafe candy. Of course, this gives us parents a chance to sample some of the candy ourselves—and call it quality control.
Unfortunately, our worries do not stop at tainted candy from our own communities. An increasingly globalized world means that not only our candy, but other foods, toys, and just about anything else we eat or use, could come from half-way around the world.
We are constantly hearing reports of new products that have been recalled for safety hazards. Many of us used to avoid the “Made in China” label because it was considered bad for American workers; now, we avoid that label because we fear lead paint, tainted toothpaste, faulty baby cribs and contaminated pet food. It is no wonder that the most frequently searched words on the Internet by moms have been “lead paint,” “recalls,” and “China.”
As parents, we make every effort to ensure that our children grow up healthy, well-educated, and prepared to lead successful lives. Raising a family is hard work, and we shouldn’t have to wonder every time we purchase an item whether it could be contaminated or poorly designed.
To combat the mounting recalls of toys and consumer products, the House unanimously approved a package of legislation to help guarantee that the products our children use are completely safe and reliable. We pledged to support additional efforts to ban lead from toys and other children’s products, to protect consumers and to strengthen the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
I was proud to support this series of bills designed to keep our children safe. The bills include:
- The Children’s Gasoline Burn Prevention Act, which will improve the safety of gasoline containers to protect children from death or serious injury.
- The Danny Keysar Child Product Safety Notification Act, which requires consumers to be notified directly when unsafe cribs, high chairs and other durable infant and toddler products are recalled.
- The Product Safety Civil Penalties Improvement Act, which encourages companies to report safety problems with their own products.
- The Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act, which protects children from drowning by requiring the use of proper anti-entrapment drain covers in pools and spas.
Additionally, this fall, the House will consider a comprehensive bill to provide greater resources for the Consumer Product Safety Commission, to ban lead in children’s costume jewelry and other products, and to make it mandatory for a third party to test toys and children’s products for compliance with safety standards.
It seems like every day a new toy is recalled. It’s clear that we need to expand our efforts to ensure products on the market are safe for children and families. The legislation that the House of Representatives passed to address this issue is the first step in this struggle. Because our future will be in our children’s hands, we owe it to them to continue this fight for their safety and well-being.
