Boston, MA- MASSPIRG, a statewide public interest group that
has published annual toy safety surveys for over twenty years today applauded
U.S. Senate passage on Thursday evening of comprehensive legislation to give
the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) the money and authority it needs
to protect the public from dangerous products.
“The Senate soundly defeated several special interest
weakening amendments pushed by the manufacturers of the toys and products that
made 2007 the ‘Year of the Recall’,” said Janet Domenitz, Executive Director of
MASSPIRG. “Most Senators know their constituents want passage of safety
legislation that protects the public, not special interests.”
The bi-partisan Senate CPSC Reform Act, S. 2663, sponsored
by Sens. Mark Pryor (D-AR), Daniel Inouye (D-HI), Ted Stevens (R-AK), Susan
Collins (R-ME), Dick Durbin (D-IL) and others, now heads to a conference
committee to reconcile differences with the companion legislation, HR 4040
(Reps. Bobby Rush (D-IL), John Dingell (D-MI), Joe Barton (R-TX) and others)
passed by the House in December.
Among the highlights of the Senate bill:
- It increases the CPSC budget over 7 years from
last year’s $64 million to $155 million in 2015 and gives state attorneys
general broad authority to enforce the federal law.
- It establishes a public right-to-know database
of complaints and injury reports at the CPSC.
- It gives the CPSC broader jurisdiction over toys
not currently regulated, including the dangerous small magnets that have killed
one little boy and sent dozens of others to emergency surgery.
- It bans toxic lead in children’s products except
at trace levels.
- It protects product safety whistleblowers from
retaliation.
“While several of these provisions make the Senate bill
stronger than the House bill, which we called a good first step when it passed,
our goal is for the final law signed by the President to include the best
elements of each bill, including the House’s better definition of ‘children’s’ products’ as intended for children under 12, instead of
the Senate’s 7 years of age,” added Domenitz.
During debate on the Senate floor, a number of weakening
amendments were offered, including an amendment by Senator Jim Demint (R-SC) to
simply substitute the narrower, industry-supported House bill and one by
Senator Jon Cornyn (R-TX) to weaken authority of state attorneys general. Both
amendments were defeated.
“We are grateful for the leadership of Senators Kennedy and
Kerry in helping to move this bill,” commented Domenitz.
Among the organizations joining MASSPIRG in support of the
Senate bill are Consumers Union, Consumer Federation of America, the American Academy of Pediatrics, Public Citizen
and the Union of Concerned Scientists.
“If we are going to protect children and the public from the
growing number of shoddy, imported toys coming onto our shores and into our
stores each year, we need a bigger, better CPSC backstopped by 50 state
attorneys general,” Domenitz concluded. “It’s time for Congress and the
President to finish the job of tightening our toy safety net.”
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MASSPIRG is a non-profit, non-partisan public interest
advocacy organization. For 35 years, MASSPIRG and its sister PIRGs around the
country have produced an annual “Trouble In Toyland” report that has resulted
in over 120 recalls and other corrective actions.
WWW.MASSPIRG.ORG
