CQ TODAY MIDDAY UPDATE
July 28, 2008 – 1:31 p.m.
Deal Reached on Consumer Product Safety Legislation
House and Senate conferees said Monday they have reached a deal on pivotal product safety legislation that could reach the floor in both chambers this week.
Conferees on the measure said they have resolved the last outstanding issues that had mired negotiation, including a partial ban on certain plastic softeners.
Details about the final provisions should be available after Senate negotiators can “check off on the new provisions and the entire conference report,” an aide for a key conferee, Sen. Mark Pryor , D-Ark., said Friday.
If the deal is formalized and a conference report is filed, the legislation could be on the House floor as early as Wednesday, according to lobbyists. Once the House acts, the Senate could follow suit swiftly. Conference reports are privileged, and would not be subject to the blocking tactics GOP senators have been using against other legislation to dramatize their demand for floor votes on an array of energy-related proposals.
While the final provisions have not been released, advocates and lobbyists say there will be language to protect whistleblowers, make toy safety standards mandatory, regulate manufacturing of all-terrain vehicles and give state attorneys general certain decision-making powers.
The legislation was introduced in November following a recalls of toys from China that were found to have lead paint, as well as other hazardous products. The House passed the bill by 407-0 on Dec. 19, and the Senate followed March 6 by 79-13 after substituting the text of its own version, sponsored by Pryor.
One of the most controversial provisions in the Senate’s bill, a restriction on phthalates — a plastic softener some believe can damage reproductive development — made it into the agreement in modified form. According to lobbyists, the deal would ban only three of the six suspect phthalates, requiring further study and rulemaking on the other three. The phthalates provision would apply to products intended for children up to age 12 that could potentially be put in a child’s mouth.




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