[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5172 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5172

   To direct the Consumer Product Safety Commission to declare Yo-Yo 
            Waterball toys to be a banned hazardous product.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 29, 2004

 Mr. Andrews (for himself, Mr. Portman, and Ms. Schakowsky) introduced 
 the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                                Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To direct the Consumer Product Safety Commission to declare Yo-Yo 
            Waterball toys to be a banned hazardous product.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Yo-Yo Waterballs (also known as water yo-yos) are 
        inexpensive, easily accessible toys that pose a strangulation 
        hazard and threaten the health of children.
            (2) Yo-Yo Waterballs are banned in France, the United 
        Kingdom, Luxembourg, Australia, Brazil, and Canada, and Germany 
        and New Zealand have issued warnings concerning Yo-Yo 
        Waterballs.
            (3) The New York State Consumer Protection Board has issued 
        2 warnings calling Yo-Yo Waterballs serious hazards to kids, 
        and the Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs and Business 
        Regulation calls Yo-Yo Waterballs a great risk to children.
            (4) Consumer Reports magazine rated Yo-Yo Waterballs as 
        ``not acceptable'' in the December 2003 issue.
            (5) World Against Toys Causing Harm labeled Yo-Yo 
        Waterballs as one of the 10 Worst Toys of 2003.
            (6) On July 2, 2003, a petition from New York's Empire 
        State Consumer Association reported that the fluid inside the 
        balls is toxic and flammable.
            (7) The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission 
        has reported that Yo-Yo Waterballs pose a potential risk of 
        strangulation.
            (8) According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, as 
        of September 29, 2004, Yo-Yo Waterballs were responsible for 
        394 reported health incidents, 281 of which were coded as 
        causing ``suffocation or strangulation''.
            (9) Of those 193 incidents, 52 resulted in serious 
        breathing difficulties that rendered the child unconscious and 
        lifeless after suffering from a lack of oxygen or broken blood 
        vessels.
            (10) The Consumer Product Safety Commission reported that 
        24 children reported allergic reactions to the fluid and it 
        caused some to have trouble breathing.
            (11) In spite of evidence concerning the danger to children 
        caused by Yo-Yo Waterballs, the Consumer Product Safety 
        Commission has refused repeated attempts towards banning these 
        dangerous toys.

SEC. 2. DECLARATION OF YO-YO WATERBALL TOY A BANNED HAZARDOUS PRODUCT.

    Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Consumer Product Safety Commission shall promulgate a rule pursuant to 
section 9 of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2058) declaring 
the Yo-Yo Waterball toy a banned hazardous product under such Act.

SEC. 3. DEFINITION.

    For purposes of this Act, the term ``Yo-Yo Waterball toy'' includes 
the Yo-Yo Waterball, and any similar water yo-yo that contains a rubber 
ball filled with liquid and attached to a rubber cord.
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