US PIRG Report,
CA Lawsuit Filed as Congress Works on CPSC Reform
WASHINGTON,
D.C. – On the eve of the holiday shopping season,
Representative Edward J. Markey (D-MA), responded today to an annual toy safety
report released by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (US PIRG). Rep.
Markey, a consumer advocate and member of the House Energy and Commerce
Committee which oversees the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), has been
involved in crafting legislation to reform the product safety
agency.
“Parents shopping for toys this holiday season
should not have to play ‘toy box roulette,’ unsure of whether the toys they
choose could harm their children. As U.S. PIRG’s report makes clear, toy
shopping is still fraught with concern because the Bush administration has
shortchanged the CPSC. California shouldn’t have to sue toy companies to ensure
that the toys on store shelves are safe. Instead, the CPSC should be a robust
watchdog safeguarding the safety of American consumers, not an industry
lapdog,” said Rep. Markey.
“Congress is on the
job, drafting legislation to reform the CPSC, and I look forward to sending the
president a strong bill that will strengthen product safety testing and improve
the public’s awareness of potential hazards.”
U.S. PIRG’s report,
“Trouble in Toyland”, notes that the CPSC is the nation’s smallest safety
agency, yet it is responsible for 15,000 different products— from chain saws to
escalators and from kitchen appliances to toys. The report is available here
<https://www.uspirg.org/home/reports/report-archives/product-safety/product-safety-reports/trouble-in-toyland-the-22nd-annual-survey-of-toy-safety2>
Meanwhile, the state of California filed a lawsuit yesterday against
20 companies, including Mattel Inc. and Toys R Us, alleging that the companies
violated state law by failing to notify customers of toys in the marketplace
that contained high concentrations of lead.
As Congress considers
legislation to overhaul the CPSC, Rep. Markey has proposed specific reforms for
inclusion in the bill, including a requirement that the CPSC create an online
publicly-available database containing reports of safety incidents involving
toys so that consumers can make informed purchasing decisions when shopping for
toys, and a provision to provide the CPSC with authority to investigate
accidents at so-called fixed-site rides at amusement parks. Under current law,
the CPSC is prevented from investigating such accidents due to a loophole
inserted in a budget law more than 20 years ago.
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