[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2038 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2038

    To prohibit the introduction or delivery for introduction into 
 interstate commerce of children's products that contain lead, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 11, 2007

 Ms. Klobuchar introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To prohibit the introduction or delivery for introduction into 
 interstate commerce of children's products that contain lead, and for 
                            other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. BAN ON CHILDREN'S PRODUCTS THAT CONTAIN LEAD.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) Young children are exposed to lead in consumer products 
        by swallowing or directly mouthing objects containing lead or 
        from handling such objects and subsequently putting their hands 
        in their mouths.
            (2) The adverse health effects of lead poisoning in 
        children are well-documented and may have long-lasting or 
        permanent consequences, including neurological damage, delayed 
        mental and physical development, attention and learning 
        deficiencies, hearing problems, and in extreme and rare cases, 
        death.
            (3) Children are particularly susceptible to the effects of 
        lead poisoning, and, because lead accumulates in the body, even 
        exposures to small amounts of lead contribute to the overall 
        level of lead in the blood and to the risk of adverse health 
        effects.
            (4) Eliminating or reducing the exposure of children to 
        lead will prevent or limit the harmful effects of lead on 
        children.
            (5) In January of 1998, the Consumer Product Safety 
        Commission, which has jurisdiction over consumer products, 
        issued a guidance for lead in consumer products, urging 
        manufacturers to eliminate lead in consumer products.
            (6) Since January of 1998, the Consumer Product Safety 
        Commission has recalled over 50 different children's products 
        that contain lead.
    (b) Ban on Children's Products That Contain Lead.--
            (1) In general.--Beginning on the date that is 180 days 
        after the date of the enactment of this Act, any children's 
        product that contains lead shall be treated as a banned 
        hazardous substance under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act 
        (15 U.S.C. 1261 et seq.) and the prohibitions contained in 
        section 4 of such Act shall apply without regard to whether the 
        lead contained in such children's product is accessible to 
        children.
            (2) Definitions.--In this section:
                    (A) Children's product defined.--The term 
                ``children's product'' means any consumer product 
                marketed for use by children under the age of 7, or any 
                product the substantial use of which by children under 
                the age of 7 is foreseeable.
                    (B) Children's product that contains lead.--The 
                term ``children's product that contains lead'' means--
                            (i) in the case of a children's product 
                        that is jewelry, a product any part of which 
                        contains lead or lead compounds and the lead 
                        content of such part (calculated as lead metal) 
                        is greater than 0.02 percent by weight of the 
                        total weight of such part; and
                            (ii) in the case of a children's product 
                        that is not jewelry, a product any part of 
                        which contains lead or lead compounds and the 
                        lead content of such part (calculated as lead 
                        metal) is greater than 0.04 percent by weight 
                        of the total weight of such part.
            (3) Regulations.--
                    (A) In general.--Not later than 2 years after the 
                date of the enactment of this Act, the Consumer Product 
                Safety Commission shall determine whether thresholds 
                lower than those described in clauses (i) and (ii) of 
                paragraph (2)(B) should be prescribed for children's 
                products. If the Commission makes such a determination, 
                the Commission shall prescribe regulations establishing 
                lower thresholds in lieu of the thresholds established 
                in such clauses.
                    (B) Successor regulations.--If, after a 
                determination has been made in accordance with 
                subparagraph (A), the Consumer Product Safety 
                Commission makes a subsequent determination that 
                thresholds lower than those described in clauses (i) 
                and (ii) of paragraph (2)(B) or prescribed in 
                accordance with subparagraph (A) should be prescribed 
                for children's products, the Commission may prescribe 
                regulations establishing lower thresholds in lieu of 
                the thresholds established in such clauses or in 
                accordance with such subparagrpah.
    (c) Construction.--Subsection (b) shall not be construed to alter 
or amend the provisions of part 1303 of title 16, Code of Federal 
Regulations (relating to the ban of lead-containing paint and certain 
consumer products bearing lead-containing paint) or any successor 
regulation.
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