CQ TODAY PRINT EDITION
– REGULATORY POLICY
July 30, 2008 – 6:52 p.m.
Product Safety Law Overhaul on Track to Clear Senate After Passing House
By Aliya Sternstein, CQ Staff
The Senate is expected to clear legislation Thursday intended to safeguard children from dangerous toys, protect whistleblowers and revamp U.S. product safety laws.
The House voted 424-1on Wednesdayto adopt the conference report on the bill (
A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid , D-Nev., said leadership hopes to take up the report Thursday. Since conference reports are privileged, Senate Republicans cannot employ the blocking tactics they have used to stall other legislation to dramatize their demand for votes on proposals to expand offshore oil and gas drilling.
White House spokesman Scott Stanzel said President Bush is expected to sign the bill.
The conference report “represents the most significant overhaul . . . since the creation of the Consumer Product Safety Act some 40 years ago,” House Energy and Commerce Chairman John D. Dingell , Da?`Mich., said on the floor.
The panel’s ranking Republican, Joe L. Barton of Texas, said the bipartisan agreement “represents the Congress at its best.”
“This is not a perfect bill,” Barton said, “but it is a very, very good bill. It’s a strong bill and it will protect America’s children.”
Phthalate Debate Resolved
The conference agreement reached earlier this week was a hybrid of bills that had already passed the House and Senate. Disagreement over several provisions had stalled the legislation for months.
A breakthrough last week on restricting the use of phthalates cleared the way for a deal. The Senate bill would have banned certain phthalates in children’s products, while the House bill was silent on the issue.
Barton said on the House floor that Dingell had persuaded him to re-evaluate his initial opposition to any restrictions on phthalates. Barton said he studied the issue, consulting with leading scientists in the field, and concluded that there were questions about some of the substances.
“Since I am an engineer, if the facts say something, you’ve got to look at the facts,” Barton said.
Conferees ultimately agreed to permanently outlaw three of the phthalates, which, critics allege, can damage reproductive development. They also agreed to temporarily ban three others in children’s products, pending further study and rulemaking.
Product Safety Law Overhaul on Track to Clear Senate After Passing House
The bill would authorize an increase in funding for the Consumer Product Safety Commission and creation of an online database to search consumer-submitted reports of product-related injuries and deaths, as well as reports from public authorities. The total authorization would be $626 million over five years.
The cap on civil penalties in product safety cases would increase from the current $1.25 million to $15 million for repeat offenders. State attorneys general would be able to use their state protocols to take enforcement action, and states would be allowed to continue to enforce some existing product safety standards.
In 2007, a string of product recalls, including those of Chinese-manufactured toys with high lead contents, spurred lawmakers into action. The House passed its bill by a vote of 407-0 on Dec. 19, and the Senate passed its version, 79-13, on March 6.
The floor debate on the bill marked the emotional return to the House of sponsor Bobby L. Rush , D-Ill., from extended treatment for cancer.
“I can stand here and announce to my colleagues, my constituents and the nation that I no longer have cancer in my body,” said Rush, the chairman of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi , D-Calif., hailed Rush’s return: “We are all family, and to have a family member return to us in good health is something really special. He worked so hard to pass this bill the end of last year, before Christmas, so that families across America could know that Congress cared about our children.”
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