    [Senate Hearing 117-721]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

                                                            S. Hrg. 117-721

        HIDDEN HOLIDAY HAZARDS: PRODUCT SAFETY DURING THE HOLIDAY SEASON

    =======================================================================

                                    HEARING

                                   BEFORE THE

     SUBCOMMITTEE ON CONSUMER PROTECTION, PRODUCT SAFETY, AND DATA SECURITY

                                     OF THE

                             COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE,
                          SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION
                              UNITED STATES SENATE

                        ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS

                                 FIRST SESSION
                                   __________

                               NOVEMBER 30, 2021
                                   __________

        Printed for the use of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
                                 Transportation

                      [GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

                    Available online: http://www.govinfo.gov

                                   __________

                        U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

    53-127 PDF                 WASHINGTON : 2023

           SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION

                        ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS

                                 FIRST SESSION

                       MARIA CANTWELL, Washington, Chair
    AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota             ROGER WICKER, Mississippi, Ranking
    RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut      JOHN THUNE, South Dakota
    BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii                 ROY BLUNT, Missouri
    EDWARD MARKEY, Massachusetts         TED CRUZ, Texas
    GARY PETERS, Michigan                DEB FISCHER, Nebraska
    TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin             JERRY MORAN, Kansas
    TAMMY DUCKWORTH, Illinois            DAN SULLIVAN, Alaska
    JON TESTER, Montana                  MARSHA BLACKBURN, Tennessee
    KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona              TODD YOUNG, Indiana
    JACKY ROSEN, Nevada                  MIKE LEE, Utah
    BEN RAY LUJAN, New Mexico            RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin
    JOHN HICKENLOOPER, Colorado          SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West
    RAPHAEL WARNOCK, Georgia                 Virginia
                                         RICK SCOTT, Florida
                                         CYNTHIA LUMMIS, Wyoming
                        David Strickland, Staff Director
                     Melissa Porter, Deputy Staff Director
           George Greenwell, Policy Coordinator and Security Manager
                     John Keast, Republican Staff Director
                Crystal Tully, Republican Deputy Staff Director
                          Steven Wall, General Counsel

                                     ------

             SUBCOMMITTEE ON CONSUMER PROTECTION, PRODUCT SAFETY,
                               AND DATA SECURITY

    RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut,     MARSHA BLACKBURN, Tennessee,
        Chair                                Ranking
    AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota             JOHN THUNE, South Dakota
    BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii                 ROY BLUNT, Missouri
    EDWARD MARKEY, Massachusetts         JERRY MORAN, Kansas
    TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin             MIKE LEE, Utah
    BEN RAY LUJAN, New Mexico            TODD YOUNG, Indiana

                                C O N T E N T S

                                  ----------
                                                                       Page
    Hearing held on November 30, 2021................................     1
    Statement of Senator Blumenthal..................................     1
    Statement of Senator Blackburn...................................     3
    Statement of Senator Cantwell....................................    86
    Statement of Senator Lujan.......................................    93
    Statement of Senator Markey......................................    95

                                   Witnesses

    Trista Hamsmith, Mother, Parent Advocate, and Founder, Reese's
      Purpose........................................................     5
        Prepared statement...........................................     8
    Hannah Rhodes, Consumer Watchdog Associate, U.S. Public Interest
      Research Group.................................................    12
        Prepared statement...........................................    14
    Ben Hoffman, MD, FAAP, CPST-I, Chair, AAP Council on Injury,
      Violence and Poison Prevention Executive Committee, on Behalf
      of the American Academy of Pediatrics..........................    51
        Prepared statement...........................................    52
    Joan Lawrence, Senior Vice President, Standards and Regulatory
      Affairs, The Toy Association...................................    55
        Prepared statement...........................................    57

                                    Appendix

    Letter dated December 14, 2021 to Hon. Richard Blumenthal and
      Hon. Marsha Blackburn from Peter A. Feldman, Commissioner,
      United States Consumer Product Safety Commission...............   101
    Response to written question submitted to Hannah Rhodes by:
        Hon. Amy Klobuchar...........................................   107
        Hon. Ben Ray Lujan...........................................   107
    Response to written question submitted to Dr. Ben Hoffman by:
        Hon. Amy Klobuchar...........................................   107
    Response to written question submitted to Joan Lawrence by:
        Hon. Richard Blumenthal......................................   108
        Hon. Amy Klobuchar...........................................   109
        Hon. Ben Ray Lujan...........................................   109

        HIDDEN HOLIDAY HAZARDS: PRODUCT SAFETY DURING THE HOLIDAY SEASON

                                  ----------

                           TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2021

                                   U.S. Senate,
          Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product
                             Safety, and Data Security,
            Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation,
                                                        Washington, DC.
        The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:09 a.m., in
    room SR-253, Russell Senate Office Building, Hon. Richard
    Blumenthal, Chairman of the Subcommittee, presiding.
        Present: Senators Blumenthal [presiding], Cantwell, Markey,
    Lujan, and Blackburn.

             OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL,
                     U.S. SENATOR FROM CONNECTICUT

        Senator Blumenthal. Thank you to my colleagues for joining
    us this morning and most especially to Senator Blackburn, who
    has been a tremendous ally in this work and a partner. We have
    worked in a very collegial way on a number of hearings so far,
    including this one on Hidden Holiday Hazards.
        And we have really an extraordinarily distinguished and
    able panel joining us this morning, beginning with Trista
    Hamsmith, who will tell us her personal story of tragedy that
    she has turned into a positive. And I really want to thank you,
    Trista, for being here today, in the memory of your daughter
    Reese. And as we will announce today--Senator Blackburn and I--
    we are introducing a bill that, in fact, will seek to protect
    against exactly the kind of tragedy that you experienced. And I
    want to welcome you and I understand your mom is here, as well.
    Thank you for joining us today.
        This issue is an extraordinarily serious one. And I want to
    thank the United States Public Interest Research Group for the
    constant work that you have done over so many years. I have
    worked in cooperation with the Connecticut PIR now, for
    probably 25 years or more every year, to publicize the dangers
    that come from toys. And the report that you do every year,
    ``Trouble in Toyland'', is really a model of public service and
    public education. And yet, year after year, we find, again and
    again, that these tragedies are repeated, unfortunately, and so
    grievously for the families affected.
        The holidays ought to be a time of really unsurpassed joy
    and celebration. But all too often, they culminate in trips to
    emergency rooms, because of dangers that result from toys and
    decor that is involved in the holidays. And we all, if we think
    about it, have some experience with these kinds of mishaps,
    accidents, whatever they may be called. They are principally
    the result of either carelessness or bad manufacturing or lack
    of standards in those toys that children use. And they are
    joyful about receiving them, until those tragedies result.
        We are going to talk today about some of the most common
    culprits. If we were to rename this hearing, it might be called
    ``Swallowing Bad Stuff''. Swallowing bad stuff--it results in
    choking or digestive failure or poisoning. What we know is that
    the repeated culprits are magnets, button cell batteries, small
    parts in ordinary toys, balloons. And we are going to go
    through them in this hearing, but I have examples. For example,
    the button cell batteries that are found in these kinds of
    lights come out easily, can be swallowed--they are very small--
    by an 18-month-old child, as happened in your case, Trista,
    with Reese, or by pets or older people.
        These button cell batteries are a--button cell batteries
    are a menace and every year--literally, every year thousands
    cause emergency room visits. In 2020 alone, there were 3500
    reported button battery ingestions. That number is likely an
    undercount. The estimate is that only about 11 percent of these
    kinds of ingestions are actually reported. In Connecticut,
    since 2016, there have been 70 reported battery ingestions, 24
    of them resulted in hospital admissions.
        And very alarmingly, button batteries have become more
    common and between March and September 2020 alone--March and
    September 2020, there were an increase of 93 percent in
    injuries among children, resulting from them. We are going to
    explore a little bit about what the reasons might have been.
    Perhaps they were, in fact, the fact that the pandemic caused
    people to be at home with toys; they were used more often. We
    can speculate, but the main point is, these kinds of injuries
    are preventable and that is the reason that we have
    introduced--Senator Blackburn and I are introducing Reese's
    Law, in honor of Reese Hamsmith and her loss of life. I think
    it is going to inspire us to do more and do it better.
        The other major culprit, magnets, which obviously can be
    pulled apart, can be swallowed. They are small, easily
    ingested, but they have a magnetic force that can pull together
    different sections of the digestive tract, blocking,
    perforating, damaging intestines, stomachs, especially in the
    smallest of children. And each of these little magnets can be
    pulled apart, can be found on the floor, can be ingested, and
    they have resulted, also, in thousands, over the last 10 years,
    of injuries and trips to the emergency room.
        In total--here is the statistic that I hope folks will
    remember, 150,000 toy related injuries were reported in 2020
    alone, and nine deaths. One hundred fifty thousand injuries
    resulting from toys, like the ones that I have shown, and nine
    deaths. And some of them result from counterfeit, where lesser
    materials or poor workmanship were involved. Counterfeiters
    can, with relative ease, sell knock off toys, or other goods,
    at a cheap price to unwitting holiday shoppers.
        Counterfeit toys may be dangerous because of their use of
    cheap materials and lack of compliance with product safety
    standards. But they also may fail to display accurate warning
    labels, which could mislead or confuse consumers.
        And I want to mention, in the category of choking,
    balloons, which are, once again, very innocent looking and, in
    fact, are wonderful playthings, as long as they remain
    inflated. If they are broken, the bits and pieces, or
    uninflated balloons can be swallowed by children. And again,
    one of the most common causes of choking and asphyxiation are
    balloons, which are left on the floor where small children,
    crawling around or running around, can ingest them.
        And holiday decor, Christmas trees, this kind of automatic
    light for the Christmas tree--you can press this if it is
    linked to a plug, can overheat, or the tree itself can ignite
    if candles are used. Different materials, unsafe materials in
    menorahs, as well as Christmas trees, can cause fires. And in
    fact, from 2016 to 2018, there were about 100 Christmas tree
    fires and about 1,100 candle fires resulting in 30 deaths and
    180 injuries.
        There is a lot of work to do in educating the public. But
    in addition to education, enforcement is also important--
    enforcement by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which
    needs more resources. It has been, unfortunately, underfunded
    and it faces roadblocks in conducting recalls, leaving
    consumers in the dark about what products may be dangerous to
    their families.
        The CPSC is required to go through an extraordinarily
    burdensome rulemaking process that slows down many needed
    product standards, preventing action from being taken on well
    established dangers. So, we need to fortify the CPSC with
    additional resources, sufficient to do enforcement, and also,
    more adapted resources, so they can do their job more
    effectively. They are the main watchdog and warning system for
    consumers, so that these kinds of tragedies can be prevented.
        And that is the key word, prevented. These kinds of
    accidents, injuries, deaths can be prevented if we take action
    to stop the hidden problems in many of these toys. Hidden in
    plain sight, warnings will help caregivers and parents before
    they buy or after someone provides a gift, to make sure that
    holidays are really a time of joy, not tragedy.
        With that, I will turn to the Ranking Member.

                  STATEMENT OF HON. MARSHA BLACKBURN,
                      U.S. SENATOR FROM TENNESSEE

        Senator Blackburn. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I want to
    say welcome to our witnesses, and we also have two witnesses
    that are joining us remotely today. So, we thank you all for
    being here. And we thank our staffs, who have worked to bring
    this hearing together and to have this happen for us today.
        We have had some really insightful hearings this year on
    consumer products. Now, we have spent a lot of time looking at
    the online space. And we have had TikTok and Snapchat and
    Facebook and Instagram and all of your platforms that,
    unfortunately, are adversely impacting children and families.
    And so, it is appropriate that, today, we look at the physical
    space and how important it is that, at this time of year, we
    look at what is happening in that space of toys and the
    excitement that comes with holiday decor and making certain
    that the supply chain is a safe one for products that are going
    to be put on the shelves. And we are hearing a lot about supply
    chains these days. So, what is getting through, let us make
    certain that it is safe.
        Now, as a mom and a grandmother, I am especially attuned to
    all of this. And the issue about the button batteries, which we
    have discussed, is one that I have looked at and have firsthand
    experience with. My little 15-month-old granddaughter has a
    dancing, light up, singing octopus that she absolutely loves.
    And she taps it on something and it, you know, springs into
    action. And it has--she ran the batteries out on it. So, my
    husband had to change the batteries. So, he opens the back, and
    it is the button battery. I sent him to the garage, to the
    trash can, to empty the batteries, and then, to get the
    replacement batteries, so that it would work. But that is the
    kind of thing that becomes a hazard and you do not expect that
    to be a hazard. But we know that it does. So, we thank you, Ms.
    Hamsmith, for being here, for sharing your story, and for the
    awareness that you bring to the issue.
        And today, we are also going to hear about the voluntary
    steps that retailers can and should be taking, as they look at
    product safety. A big part of this is standards development.
    And many times, people will say, ``Well, why do you think it is
    so important that we keep standard setting in the U.S. and not
    let China get into the business of standard setting?'' And one
    of the reasons that this is so important is because, when you
    look at the supply chain, you look at innovation, you look at
    the products that are getting in there, we have a certain set
    of guidelines that are vitally important to us, in order to
    protect what, eventually, gets through that supply chain and
    makes it to the shelves in our stores and, thereby, what people
    have access to and what they are taking into their homes.
        We are very concerned about what we see happening with some
    of the infiltration of counterfeit products, things that are
    infringed on copyrights and are sold online and people end up
    with this in their home. We--a few years ago, when I was in the
    House, we had a Tennessee family who had purchased a hoverboard
    online. And this is when hoverboards were the big gift item
    that year, and they found one online. And, of course, it caught
    on fire and their house burned.
        So, these are the things that we watch out for, to make
    certain that the supply chain is going to be safe. And as more
    consumers are buying from third-party platforms, that they are
    going to have the insight into where these products are coming
    from and why these products might be unsafe. And this is an
    area that the Chairman and I have discussed, where section 230
    comes into play with needed reforms that would make certain
    that products that are on these third-party platforms are going
    to be as advertised.
        Now, we know that the CPSC, as the Chairman said, has a
    role to play in all of this. They have a new Chairman that has
    just taken the role over there, and we are looking forward to
    what they are going to bring forward, as far as doing their due
    diligence. But to all of our witnesses today, the Toy
    Association, looking at the health of children, looking at
    these supply chains, it is important that everyone do their due
    diligence to make certain that products that are placed, in the
    marketplace, are safe.
        So, Mr. Chairman, thank you for this. Thank you, again, to
    our witnesses, and look forward to today's hearing.
        Senator Blumenthal. Thank you, Senator Blackburn, and
    again, thanks for your cooperation.
        Our witnesses today are a really great panel. Trista
    Hamsmith is a parent advocate and founder of Reese's Purpose.
    Ms. Hamsmith's daughter, Reese, passed away at 18 months old
    from injuries that she suffered after ingesting a button
    battery in December 2020. Since then, Ms. Hamsmith has
    testified before the Consumer Product Safety Commission. She
    has created a National Button Battery Awareness Day. She
    founded a non-profit, Reese's Purpose, which advocates for
    legislation that would create national standards for consumer
    products with button batteries.
        Hannah Rhodes, Consumer Watchdog Associate, United States
    PIRG. Hannah is the author of a recent United States Public
    Interest Group report entitled, as it has been for 36 years,
    ``Trouble in Toyland''. Before her work at U.S. PIRG, she
    worked for Kids in Danger, also known as KID, as a product
    safety intern. She is a graduate, B.A. summa cum laude in
    Political Science and German, from DePaul University.
        Joining us remotely, Ben Hoffman, who is Chairman of the
    American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Injury, Violence,
    Poison Prevention, Executive Committee. Dr. Hoffman is a
    pediatrician and nationally recognized expert in child injury
    prevention and education. He currently serves as Director of
    the Tom Sargent Safety Center at Doernbecher Children's
    Hospital and as Director of the Oregon Center of Children and
    Youth with Special Needs.
        And we are joined remotely, as well, by Joan Lawrence,
    Senior Vice President for Standards and Regulatory Affairs at
    the Toy Association--Toy Industry Association. Ms. Lawrence
    manages the Toy Industry Association's product safety programs,
    encompassing the development of safety standards and consumer
    and industry safety education. Ms. Lawrence chairs the ASTM
    Subcommittee on Toy Safety, which is responsible for the
    continuing development of toy safety standard ASTM F963.
        So, we will hear first from Ms. Hamsmith and then from Ms.
    Rhodes, Dr. Hoffman, and Ms. Lawrence, separately. Ms.
    Hamsmith, the floor is yours.
        Ms. Hamsmith. Can we start the video please?
        Senator Blumenthal. And I understand you have a video. OK.
    Apparently we do not have the audio part of--we will make sure
    it is in the record though.
        [The information referred to can be found on the following
    website: https://vimeo.com/522470572?ref=em-share]

      STATEMENT OF TRISTA HAMSMITH, MOTHER, PARENT ADVOCATE, AND
                        FOUNDER, REESE'S PURPOSE

        Ms. Hamsmith. Good morning. My name is Trista Hamsmith, and
    I am here to share why enacting legislation to make consumer
    products that use button batteries safer is so important and
    impress on you why time is of the essence, especially now as
    families prepare for another holiday gift-giving season. Button
    batteries are a hidden hazard every day, but the risk
    exponentially rises during the holiday season given how many
    toys, decorative items, and gifts require the use of button
    batteries.
        Reese Elizabeth Hamsmith, known affectionately to those
    closest to her as ReRe, was born into this world a spunky,
    sassy, full-of-life little girl on June 13, 2019. At only 16
    months old, Reese took the attention of an entire room the
    moment she walked in with her spirited demeanor, inquisitive
    attitude. She lived life in a way that most will never know.
    She loved hard, she played hard, and she fought harder.
        One morning, we noticed that Reese was snotty, stuffy, and
    not her usual self. So, we took her to the doctor. She was
    diagnosed with croup and given a steroid shot. We were sent on
    our way. The following day, we noticed a button battery missing
    in our home. We rushed to the hospital and a quick x-ray
    confirmed that she had, in fact, swallowed that battery. Reese
    had emergency surgery to remove it and spent a few days in ICU.
        I remember being so scared when we were finally able to go
    home, as we were no longer allowed to give her solid foods. The
    plan was liquid foods only for four to six weeks and then, we
    would rescope. I took a deep breath and went to the store to
    stock up on every possible thing that might satisfy her.
        It was such a great few days back home with Reese. One of
    those days we went to Target, where she saw this little
    dinosaur. She looked at it and bravely roared for all of Target
    to hear. It is probably one of my favorite, and one of my last
    good memories of her.
        Reese was still very raspy, so that Friday I decided to err
    on the side of caution, and we went back to the doctor. They
    were worried that a hole might have been created. Once these
    batteries are removed from emergency surgery, they actually can
    continue to burn, and hers did. A hole was burned through her
    esophagus and through her trachea, creating a fistula, which
    acts as a tunnel connecting the two. We now had our liquid food
    going where it did not need to be, and we had air going where
    it did not need to be. The following morning, they took her
    back to surgery. She came back sedated and on a vent, and she
    also got a tube button so that we could administer nutrition
    straight to her tummy.
        This was the start of our last 40 days. Over those 40 days,
    Reese endured dozens of scopes, x-rays, multiple collapsed
    lungs, a 12 1/2-hour surgery, withdrawal from being addicted to
    the medications, and multiple codes. She was going to be put on
    a trach, which was going to put us on the road to recovery and
    the path back home, and we were just about a week away from
    that. I was almost numb, at this point, to the many procedures
    that they asked us to do.
        This morning, they asked for a scope--a bedside scope. We
    had done it plenty of times. They said it needed to be done,
    and so we did. This one was different, though. The entire team
    was bedside, doing their thing, and the nightmare began. The
    beeping, the yelling, the flashing lights, no pulse, no pulse,
    again and again.
        I paced. I pressed my hands on the glass and I cried, yet I
    was in shock, at the same time. This time, she did not come
    back. That is right. I watched my baby die more than once. I
    got to hold her that day, but it was a week too soon and she
    was blue, and she was lifeless. And it seemed like the life had
    ben taken out of me, too.
        Unfortunately, I am not the first, nor will I be the last
    parent to have to live this nightmare. Early on, when Reese was
    still fighting her battle, I knew I wanted to spread awareness.
    At the time, I imagined it would be with Reese by my side. But
    I guess my plan was not the plan.
        Her earthly battle may be over, but her true battle, her
    true plan, and her true purpose has just begun. Button battery
    ingestion is a growing threat to children. There were 3,500
    button battery ingestions reported in 2020. However, it is
    estimated, from the American Academy of Pediatrics, that only
    11 percent of cases are reported, meaning this is happening to
    over 30,000 annually, in the U.S. alone. There was a 93 percent
    increase in ER-related button battery ingestions in 2020.
        Once ingested, these batteries can cause severe tissue
    burns in as little as 2 hours, and as I said before, will
    continue to burn even after removed. 61.8 percent of ingestions
    come from the product. They are not coming from our trash can.
    They are not coming from our junk drawers. They are coming from
    products that are failing to securely close these batteries in.
        I am asking for your support to mandate guidelines to make
    all consumer products safer. Button batteries are the fastest
    growing and highest margin segment in the battery market. With
    double digit industry growth projected for production of and
    products using button batteries, these incidents will only
    continue to rise and pose a bigger threat for children.
        It has been estimated that a child swallows a button
    battery every 3 hours. Think about that. In the time this
    committee meets today, at least one child, possibly more will
    have swallowed an unsecured battery and face a lifetime of
    health issues, or worse, end up dying. Children often obtain
    loose or unsecured batteries and ingestions usually go unseen,
    making the critical window for survival absent, by the time
    they are discovered.
        Last Christmas, our family gathered but it was not to
    exchange gifts and sing carols. It was to celebrate Reese's
    life. With the holidays upon us again, who knows how many
    unsecure and unsafe items will be given as a gift with the best
    intentions and love, and to make it into unsuspecting families'
    homes.
        We never knew about the dangers of battery ingestion. I
    hear from families all over the country, on a daily basis, that
    they did not either. They share with me their story, their
    heartache, sometimes their near miss, and their long roads to
    recovery. It is a club that I never wanted to be in, and I wish
    I was not standing here alone, because that would mean Reese
    would be by my side.
        Please do not let the death of my daughter, Reese, and her
    purpose be in vain. Children's safety is a non-partisan issue.
    We all have children that we love, and we want to protect,
    whether it is our own children or other children in our lives.
    Help me protect all children of the United States, so that we
    never have to hear a story like Reese's again. Thank you for
    your time.
        [The prepared statement of Ms. Hamsmith follows:]

        Prepared Statement of Trista Hamsmith, Mother, Parent Advocate,
                         and Founder of Reese's Purpose
        Good morning Chairwoman Cantwell, Subcommittee Chair Blumenthal,
    Ranking Member Blackburn, and members of the committee, thank you for
    inviting me here today. My name is Trista Hamsmith and I am here to
    share why enacting legislation to make consumer products that use
    button batteries safer is so important and impress upon you why time is
    of the essence, especially now as families prepare for another holiday
    and gift-giving season. Button batteries are a hidden hazard to young
    children, the elderly and pets every day but the risk exponentially
    rises during the holiday season given how many toys, decorative items
    and gifts require the use of button batteries. I'm here today to
    implore you to protect families from what mine suffered through just a
    year ago.
        My daughter, Reese Elizabeth Hamsmith, known affectionately to
    those closest to her as ReRe, was born into this world as a spunky,
    sassy, full-of-life little girl on June 13, 2019. At an early age,
    Reese took the attention of an entire room the moment she walked in
    with her spirited demeanor and inquisitive attitude. She lived life in
    a way that most will never know. She loved hard, played hard, and
    fought harder. Reese swallowed a button battery in October 2020 and
    lost her fight on December 17, 2020, at just over eighteen months old.
    Reese was an example for us all. This is her story.
        Reese seemed sick. Not her spunky self. We took her to the
    pediatrician, and she was diagnosed with croup. Croup is a common
    misdiagnosis for button battery ingestion, as the early symptoms can be
    similar. After returning home we noticed a button battery missing from
    a device. We tore the house apart but couldn't find it. A quick Google
    search had us rushing to the emergency room. An x-ray confirmed that
    she had ingested the battery and doctors performed emergency surgery to
    remove the battery. We stayed in the PICU a few days, and doctors
    released Reese on a liquid-only diet.
        At her next visit, the pediatrician diagnosed her with stridor and
    Reese was readmitted. A scan revealed a hole in both her esophagus and
    her trachea. The two holes created a passage, known as a fistula. The
    fistula acted like a tunnel between the esophagus and trachea, allowing
    air into her stomach and food and liquid into her lungs.
        We learned that the fistula was only one centimeter above the
    carina, a ridge of cartilage where the trachea divides and heads toward
    the lungs. This location made it extremely difficult to place a
    breathing tube. Any movement she made could cause the tube to move too
    high and send air to her stomach through the fistula or too low and
    collapse a lung. The plan was to keep her sedated and let her rest for
    a week, that was the last time we saw our daughter as herself. Monday
    evening, Reese went into respiratory code and the decision was made to
    move Reese to Texas Children's Hospital given their expertise and
    equipment to treat Reese. For us, it was lots of waiting. Reese spent
    her time showing her spunky self by fighting the sedation. I think
    every doctor and nurse there learned her personality through her
    sedation battles.
        On December 1, 2020, a few weeks after Reese swallowed the button
    battery, surgeons would attempt to close the holes in her esophagus and
    trachea. The surgery was an all-day event, and the doctors successfully
    repaired the fistula. A week passed, and they took Reese off the
    ventilator. I left the room to grab dinner, and when I returned, I
    walked into a nightmare. I remember hearing someone say, ``Starting
    compressions!'' I was then looking at my lifeless child as the nurses
    and doctors tried to save her. I had never prayed that hard in my life.
    Fortunately, we were able to get her back.
        Reese was reintubated, the doctors wanted to give her some more
    time to heal before again removing the breathing tube. On December 14,
    we tried again. It was shortly after removing the breathing tube that
    the doctors and I decided she wasn't strong enough. The look in her
    eyes and face was heartbreaking, telling me without words, ``Mommy, do
    something.'' We reintubated her again. Doctors began to discuss more
    seriously performing a tracheostomy.
        I had been so terrified of the tracheostomy. However, after two
    unsuccessful attempts by Reese to breathe without intubation, I was
    welcoming it. Our path was getting harder, but she was still with us.
    Two long days went by before they performed the procedure. Around 6:30
    pm, doctors inserted the tracheostomy tube. She would need another week
    on sedation for healing.
        We were ready to move on to our new normal, and we were excited
    Reese hit that next mark in getting closer to going home. I went to
    sleep that night, excited that in one week I would see her awake again.
    Around 2:30 am I woke up to a full room. Our head ENT was there among
    the crowd, and I knew this was a bad sign. Reese's numbers on the vent
    didn't look right. They wanted to take her back to surgery to place a
    different tracheostomy tube that would be a better fit. After a couple
    of hours, Reese got back to the room with yet another surgery complete.
        At 8:30 am, the room was full of noise again. Her numbers were not
    looking right. Doctors started a bedside scope to determine what was
    going on. My real nightmare began here. Shortly after beginning, the
    beeping started. I looked up at the screen and watched all of Reese's
    numbers drop. The last number I saw was ``six'' before my head fell,
    and I began to pray. When I looked back up, I saw ``zero''. They
    immediately started compressions. There I was again, watching them try
    to bring life back to my baby. It went on for thirty or forty minutes.
    They couldn't get her back.
        Early on, when Reese was still fighting her battle, I knew that I
    wanted to spread awareness about the danger of button batteries. At the
    time, I imagined it would be with Reese by my side. I guess my plan
    wasn't the plan. In Reese's hospital room sat a plaque that read, ``He
    has a plan, and I have a purpose.'' We always knew Reese would do big
    things in this world. Her Earthly battle may be over, but her true
    battle, her true plan, and her true purpose had just begun.
        Button Battery ingestion is a growing threat to children:

       There were 4000 button battery ingestions reported in 2020
            \1\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ Texas Poison Control

       However, it is estimated that only 11 percent of all cases
            are reported, meaning this is happening to 36,000 children
            annually and any one of these incidences could prove deadly \2\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \2\ Estimate from Dr. Kris R. Jatana, MD, FACS, FAAP, Director of
    Pediatric Otolaryngology Quality Improvement at Nationwide Children's
    Hospital. Member of National Button Battery Task Force

       The CPSC released data on injuries during COVID that shows a
            93 percent increase in ER-treated injuries related to button
            batteries during the study period \3\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \3\ Effect of Novel Coronavirus Pandemic on Preliminary NEISS
    Estimates, Consumer Products Safety Commission Report

       61.8 percent of ingestions under the age of 6 are coming
            from the product. Not the trash can or junk drawer but from
            products that are not properly securing the closure of these
            batteries \4\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \4\ Litovitz T, Whitaker N, Clark L. Preventing battery ingestions:
    an analysis of 8648 cases. Pediatrics. 2010 Jun;125(6):1178-83. doi:
    10.1542/peds.2009-3038. Epub 2010 May 24. PMID: 20498172.

       Once ingested, button batteries can cause severe tissue
            burns in as little as 2 hours and can cause lifelong injuries
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
            and death

        From 1977, when the U.S. began tracking button battery ingestion
    deaths, through mid-2018, 59 children had lost their lives. That
    doesn't even begin to count the near misses and injuries, both minor
    and severe. In December 2020 alone, we know of two toddlers who were
    lost after accidental button battery ingestion--my Reese and another
    little boy from North Carolina. How many more children and families
    have to needlessly suffer before we do better to protect our children?
    Australia recently passed mandatory industry standards after three
    children died and numerous others were consistently injured from
    accidental button battery ingestion. The United States needs to do
    better. I am asking for your support to mandate guidelines to make all
    consumer products safer.
        Button batteries are the fastest growing and highest margin segment
    in the battery market. With double-digit industry growth projected for
    production of and products using button batteries, these incidents will
    only continue to rise and pose a bigger threat for children. Everyday
    items that use button batteries include watches, scales, and key fobs.
    Items attracting children and pets, such as LED light remotes, flashing
    jewelry, clothing and shoes, and musical cards and ornaments are part
    of a very long list that pose increased danger during the holiday
    season.
        On September 21, 2021, Congresswoman Robin Kelly (D) from IL, my
    Congressman Jodie Arrington (R) from Texas and Ted Liu (D) from CA,
    introduced Reese's Law--H.R. 5313 \5\ to the House of Representatives.
    In the wake of this rising threat I ask this committee and governing
    body to prioritize protecting our children from the danger of button
    batteries by passing a companion bill to Reese's Law, H.R. 5313 and
    getting this made into a law immediately.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \5\ https://www.congress.gov/117/bills/hr5313/BILLS-117hr5313ih.xml
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        It has been estimated a child swallows a button battery every 3
    hours. Think about that. In the time this committee meets today, at
    least one child (possibly more) will have swallowed an unsecured
    battery and face a lifetime of health issues or worse, end up dying.
    Children often obtain loose or unsecured batteries and ingestions
    usually go unseen, making the critical window for survival absent by
    the time they are discovered.
        Last Christmas our family gathered, but it wasn't to exchange gifts
    and sing carols, it was to celebrate Reese's life. With the holidays
    upon us again, who knows how many unsafe items will be given as a gift
    with the best intentions and love and make it into unsuspecting
    families' homes. We never knew about the dangers of battery ingestion.
    I hear from families all over the country on a daily basis that they
    did not either. They share with me their story, their heartache, their
    near miss, and long road to recovery. It is a club that I never wanted
    to be in. I wish I wasn't standing here in front of you alone because
    that would mean my baby girl would still be here.
        Please don't let the death of my daughter Reese--and her purpose--
    be in vain. Children's safety is a nonpartisan issue. We all have
    children that we love and want to protect, whether it's our own
    children or children in our lives. Help me protect all children of the
    United States so we never have to hear a story like Reese's again.
    Thank you for your time.
        For an extended overview of Reese's story please watch this linked
    video.
        https://vimeo.com/522470572?ref=em-share

    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        Senator Blumenthal. Thank you so much, Ms. Hamsmith. We
    will not have questions for you, as I mentioned to you when we
    spoke before your testimony. Your story is so compelling I do
    not think there is a need for questions. But in a certain
    sense, because a picture is worth a thousand words, that
    photograph of Reese, I think, says it all. And this tiny
    battery which, as you say, causes 30,000 injuries every year,
    we have no precise or accurate measurements because they do not
    need to be reported. There is no requirement that they be
    recorded or reported.
        And so, you are also right that the cause of child safety
    ought to be bipartisan and the best example of it is what
    Senator Blackburn and I are doing, in Reese's memory, Reese's
    Law, which will require warnings and it will require a
    sufficient compartment fastening of this battery within this
    kind of device, wherever it is. And these devices are very
    common. They are found throughout homes in all kinds of common
    items, but they need to be screwed in. They need to be fastened
    so that they do not pop out. And that is also a standard that
    will be imposed by Reese's Law.
        So, my hope is that we will find bipartisan support
    throughout the Senate and the Congress for this law, and we
    could not be more grateful to you for being here today. Thank
    you so much.
        We will go now to Ms. Rhodes who is with us here.

     STATEMENT OF HANNAH RHODES, CONSUMER WATCHDOG ASSOCIATE, U.S.
                     PUBLIC INTEREST RESEARCH GROUP

        Ms. Rhodes. Good morning Chairman Blumenthal, Ranking
    Member Blackburn and members of the subcommittee. My name is
    Hannah Rhodes, and I am a Consumer Watchdog Associate with the
    U.S. Public Interest Research Group. I appreciate the
    opportunity to participate in this important hearing on holiday
    hazards.
        U.S. PIRG is an independent, non-partisan group that works
    for consumers and the public interest. For 36 years, U.S. PIRG
    has released the ``Trouble in Toyland'' report, looking at
    trends to determine the potential dangers facing our children
    each holiday season. Our annual report has led to 150 recalls
    of unsafe toys and other important regulatory action.
        For our report this year, our primary focuses were
    counterfeit, knockoff, and mislabeled toys. Toys have strict
    safety standards, including tests for toxic chemicals, small
    parts, and what happens when they are used and abused, as kids
    do. It is alarming that a child could get their hands on a toy
    that has not been tested for safety.
        In October, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials in
    Baltimore said they seized a shipment of toys from China that
    contained toxic chemicals. Lab tests conducted by the CPSC
    showed the coatings of the toys exceeded safe levels of lead,
    cadmium, and barium. Toxic chemicals in toys are just one
    example of the dangers counterfeit toys can pose to children.
    Toxic chemicals are especially dangerous because while an adult
    may be able to detect other quality issues, consumers cannot
    see toxic chemicals.
        Potentially unsafe counterfeits are not unique to toys.
    Earlier this month, CBP officials at the Los Angeles/Long Beach
    Seaport said they identified and seized a record-breaking
    number of counterfeit and other prohibited merchandise during
    Fiscal Year 2021. The products were appraised at more than $760
    million. Given how common this problem is, this holiday season,
    consumers should be on the lookout for counterfeits when
    shopping for any product, especially if they are opting to shop
    online. When purchasing an artificial tree, it is important to
    identify that it has a label saying it is fire resistant. When
    purchasing decorative lights, consumers need to look for a
    label from an independent test laboratory to confirm they have
    been tested for safety.
        Our advice for consumers on how to identify counterfeit
    products online includes reading through each entire product
    listing to identify mislabelings and misspellings, researching
    the seller, being wary of reviews, and being skeptical of very
    low prices.
        In offering consumers advice about how to protect
    themselves this holiday season, we also highlight the problems
    that we are confronted with as consumers. Unfortunately, the
    burden is on the consumers to identify counterfeit, knockoff
    and mislabeled products ? which can be difficult for those who
    are unfamiliar with lab testing certification, age warning
    labels and what the manufacturer's brand logo looks like.
        Small metal objects are among the most dangerous small
    parts. They can harm both children and adults. High-powered
    magnets, button cell and coin cell batteries have different
    components, but share the same risk. If someone swallows them
    they can cause serious injury that requires invasive procedures
    to fix, and they can even kill the person who swallows them. In
    October, new data released showed that from 2010 to 2020,
    hospitals reported to the CPSC 1,072 cases of ingested magnets.
    Not every hospital reports to the CPSC, so those numbers may be
    much higher.
        For our annual report, we purchased from Amazon this G-WACK
    magnet set that I have here with me today. Advertised as a
    magnet set with non-magnetic steel balls and a magnetic base,
    we found that the smallest steel balls in the set were
    magnetic. Whether that is an error in the manufacturer's
    distribution or what was listed on Amazon does not really
    matter. What matters is a child could swallow the magnets,
    especially if the parents do not believe that the balls in the
    set are not magnetic.
        The National Capital Poison Center reported that children 5
    years old or younger ingested 1,843 button cell batteries in
    2019, with 1,502 of those cases requiring medical treatment.
    Another children's accessory I brought with me today also
    exemplifies the risk of coin cell batteries in consumer
    products. K & M International recalled 42 models of the Wild
    Republic Slap Watches in May. This slap watch was purchased
    through eBay last week, 6 months later. The Wild Republic Slap
    Watches were recalled because the coin cell battery could fall
    out and be ingested by children.
        What the slap watches also exemplify is another issue
    confronting consumers this holiday season--the ability to
    purchase recalled products online. Consumers are able to learn
    about recalled products on Saferproducts.gov. But the burden is
    still on the consumer, who may not be aware that it is illegal
    for any resale seller to sell a product that they know, or
    should know, has been recalled. It is important that host sites
    monitor listings for dangerous products and remove them. For
    recalling companies, they should promote the recall to the same
    extent as they do for promoting and marketing the product to
    begin with.
        U.S. PIRG supports the INFORM Act to help prevent
    counterfeit and other dangerous items from ending up in
    Americans' homes. We support Reese's law and the CPS rules to
    require child-resistant closures on consumer products that use
    button cell and coin cell batteries. We support the CPSC using
    strong enforcement action to prevent high-powered magnets from
    continuing to be sold and we encourage the CPSC to consider a
    more protective small parts test.
        As a leader in protecting children from dangerous toys
    since the mid-1980s, we are happy to work with the committee.
    We all want to keep our youngest Americans safe. Thank you
    again for the opportunity to appear before you today. I look
    forward to answering your questions.
        [The prepared statement of Ms. Rhodes follows:]

       Prepared Statement of Hannah Rhodes, Consumer Watchdog Associate,
                      U.S. Public Interest Research Group
        Good morning Chairman Blumenthal, Ranking Member Blackburn and
    members of the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and
    Data Security. My name is Hannah Rhodes and I am a Consumer Watchdog
    Associate with the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG). I
    appreciate the opportunity to participate in this important hearing on
    holiday hazards that Americans may experience in these upcoming weeks.
        U.S. PIRG is an independent, non-partisan group that works for
    consumers and the public interest. Through research, public education
    and outreach, we serve as counterweights to the influence of powerful
    special interests that threaten our health, safety or well-being.
        For 36 years, U.S. PIRG has released the Trouble in Toyland report,
    looking at trends to determine the potential dangers facing our
    children each holiday season.\1\ Our annual report has led to more than
    150 recalls of unsafe toys and other important regulatory action.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ U.S. PIRG, ``Trouble in Toyland: 36th Annual Toy Safety
    Report'' (Nov. 11, 2021) (online at: https://uspirg.org/sites/pirg/
    files/reports/Trouble-In-Toyland_2021/PIRG_Trouble-In-
    Toyland_2021.pdf).
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    1. Counterfeits, Knockoffs and Mislabeled Products
        For our report this year, one of our primary focuses was
    counterfeit, knockoff and mislabeled toys. Toys have strict safety
    standards, including tests for toxic chemicals, small parts, and what
    happens when they are used and abused, as kids do.\2\ It is alarming
    that a child could get their hands on a toy that has not been tested
    for safety given the hard work done by elected officials, consumer
    advocates and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), all
    of whom have helped create and enforce modern safety standards.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \2\ CPSC, ``Toy Safety Business Guidance & Small Entity Compliance
    Guide'' (online at: https://www.cpsc.gov/Business--Manufacturing/
    Business-Education/Toy-Safety-Business-Guidance-and-Small-Entity-
    Compliance-Guide).
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        In October, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials in
    Baltimore announced that they seized a shipment of toys from China that
    contained toxic chemicals.\3\ A shipment of seven boxes that had been
    detained for investigation included 295 packages of Lagori 7 Stones, a
    children's game. Lab tests conducted by the CPSC showed the coatings of
    the toys exceeded safe levels of lead, cadmium and barium.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \3\ CBP, ``Baltimore CBP, CPSC Seizes Children's Toys Excessively
    Coated in Dangerous Chemicals'' (Oct. 21, 2021) (online at: https://
    www.cbp.gov/newsroom/local-media-release/baltimore-cbp-cpsc-seizes-
    children-s-toys-excessively-coated-dangerous).
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Toxic chemicals in toys are just one example of the dangers
    counterfeit toys can pose to children. They are especially dangerous
    because while an adult may be able to detect other quality issues,
    consumers can't see toxic chemicals, so they can go undetected unless
    subjected to lab testing.
        Counterfeits are not unique to the toy industry. Earlier this
    month, CBP officials at the Los Angeles/Long Beach Seaport said they
    identified and seized a record-breaking number of high-value
    contraband, counterfeit goods and other prohibited merchandise during
    Fiscal Year 2021.\4\ The products were appraised at more than $760
    million using Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price (MSRP).
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \4\ CBP, ``CBP at the LA/Long Beach Seaport Reports Record-Breaking
    Year for Seizures of Counterfeit and Prohibited Merchandise'' (Nov. 12,
    2021) (online at: https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/local-media-release/cbp-
    lalong-beach-seaport-reports-record-breaking-year-seizures).
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Given how common this problem is, this holiday season, consumers
    should be on the lookout for counterfeits when shopping for any
    product, especially if they are opting to shop online. When purchasing
    an artificial tree, it's important to identify that it has a label
    saying it is ``fire resistant.'' \5\ When shopping for decorative
    lights, consumers need to look for a label from an independent test
    laboratory to confirm they've been tested for safety.\6\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \5\ CPSC, ``Making a List, Checking it Twice: Tips for Celebrating
    Safely this Holiday Season'' (Nov. 18, 2021) (online at: https://
    www.cpsc.gov/Newsroom/News-Releases/2022/Making-a-List-Checking-it-
    Twice-Tips-for-Celebrating-Safely-this-Holiday-Season).
        \6\ CPSC, ``Holiday Decoration Safety Tips'' (online at: https://
    www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/611.pdf).
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        In addition to our Toyland Report, we posted a guide for consumers
    on how to identify counterfeit products when shopping online.\7\ Our
    advice for consumers includes:
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \7\ U.S. PIRG, ``Tips to Spot Counterfeit Toys Before You Buy
    Them'' (Nov. 11, 2021) (online at: https://uspirg.org/feature/usf/tips-
    spot-counterfeit-toys-you-buy-them).

       reading through each entire product listing to identify
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
            mislabeling and misspelling

       researching the seller

       being wary of reviews

       and being skeptical of very low prices when shopping online.

        In offering consumers advice about how to protect themselves this
    holiday season, we also highlight the problems that we are confronted
    with as consumers. Unfortunately, the burden is on the consumers to
    identify counterfeit, knockoff and mislabeled products--which can be
    difficult for those who are not familiar with lab testing
    certification, age warning labels and what the manufacturer's brand
    logo looks like.
    2. Small Metal Objects
        Small metal objects are among the most dangerous small parts. They
    can harm both children and adults. High-powered magnets, button cell
    and coin cell batteries all have different components, but share the
    same risk--if someone swallows them they can cause serious injury that
    requires invasive procedures to fix, or they can even kill the person
    who swallows them.\8\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \8\ AAP, ``Children's Ingestion of Tiny Magnets, Button Batteries
    Increased Significantly During Pandemic, New Research Shows'' (Oct. 7,
    2021) (online at: https://www.aap.org/en/news-room/news-releases/aap/
    2021/childrens-ingestion-of-tiny-magnets-button-batteries-increased-
    significantly-during-pandemic-new-research-shows/).
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        In October, new data released showed that from 2010 to 2020,
    hospitals reported to the CPSC 1,072 cases of ingested magnets.\9\ Not
    every hospital reports to the CPSC, so the numbers may be much higher.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \9\ CPSC, ``Proposed Rule: Safety Standards for Magnet'' (Oct. 6,
    2021) (online at: https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/Proposed-Rule-
    Safety-Standard-for-Magnets.pdf?VersionId=2Xizl5izY
    1OvQRVazWpkqdJHXg5vzRY_).
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        When conducting our annual report, we purchased from Amazon this G-
    WACK magnet set that I have here with me today.\10\ Advertised as a
    magnet set with non-magnetic steel balls and a magnetic base, upon
    purchasing one, we found that the smallest steel balls in the set were
    magnetic. There is no information on the strength of these small
    magnets on the toy listing or the packaging. Whether that's an error in
    the manufacturer's distribution or what was listed on Amazon doesn't
    really matter. What matters is a child could swallow the magnets,
    especially if the parents are lax because they believe the balls in the
    set are not magnetic.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \10\ U.S. PIRG, ``Trouble in Toyland: 36th Annual Toy Safety
    Report'' (Nov. 11, 2021) (online at: https://uspirg.org/sites/pirg/
    files/reports/Trouble-In-Toyland_2021/PIRG_Trouble-In-
    Toyland_2021.pdf).
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        The National Capital Poison Center (NCPC) reported that children 5
    years old or younger ingested 1,843 button cell batteries in 2019, with
    1,502 of those cases requiring medical treatment.\11\ And it's not just
    a problem for children too young for elementary school. When comparing
    the estimated injuries related to batteries for March through September
    of 2019 and 2020 the CPSC found injuries rose 93 percent for children
    aged 5 to 9 years old.\12\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \11\ NCPC, ``Button Battery Ingestion Statistics'' (online at:
    https://www.poison.org/battery/stats#table2).
        \12\ CPSC, ``Effects of Novel Coronavirus Pandemic on 2020
    Preliminary NEISS Estimates (March-September 2020)'' (Jan. 11, 2021)
    (online at: https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/Effect
    %20of%20Novel%20Coronavirus%20Pandemic%20on%202020%20Preliminary%20NEISS
    %20Es
    timates%20%28March%20%E2%80%93%20September%202020%29.pdf?eBqDdRMGIEQOtp.
    VG
    _9IdBCjlFk262hu).
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Another children's accessory I brought with me also exemplifies the
    risk of coin cell batteries in consumer products. K & M International
    recalled 42 models of the Wild Republic Slap Watches on May 12,
    2021.\13\ This Wild Republic Slap Watch was purchased through eBay on
    Monday, Nov. 22, 2021.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \13\ CPSC, ``K & M International Recalls Slap Watches Due to Coin
    Cell Battery Ingestion and Choking Hazards'' (May 12, 2021) (online at:
    https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2021/K-M-International-Recalls-Slap-
    Watches-Due-to-Coin-Cell-Battery-Ingestion-and-Choking-Hazards).
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        The Wild Republic Slap Watches were recalled because the coin cell
    battery could fall out and be ingested by children.\14\ The ability for
    the coin cell battery to ``slip out'' reinforces the need for mandatory
    child-resistant closures on consumer products that use button cell or
    coin cell batteries, given the potentially fatal dangers that these
    batteries can cause when ingested.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \14\ CPSC, ``K & M International Recalls Slap Watches Due to Coin
    Cell Battery Ingestion and Choking Hazards'' (May 12, 2021) (online at:
    https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2021/K-M-International-Recalls-Slap-
    Watches-Due-to-Coin-Cell-Battery-Ingestion-and-Choking-Hazards).
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    3. Recalled Products
        The Wild Republic Slap Watches also exemplify another issue
    confronting consumers this holiday season: the ability to purchase
    recalled products online.
        While it is illegal for any resale seller to sell a product they
    know or should know has been recalled--unless the safety issue has been
    fixed--these products are still being sold.\15\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \15\ CPSC, ``Resellers Guide to Selling Safer Products'' (online
    at: https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/ResellersGuide.pdf).
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Consumers are able to learn about recalled products on
    Saferproducts.gov. But the burden is still on the consumer, who may not
    be aware of resale regulations.
        It is important that host sites monitor listings for dangerous
    products and remove them. For recalling companies, they should promote
    the recall to the same extent as they do for promoting and marketing
    the product to begin with.
    4. Recommendations
        U.S. PIRG is in support of The Integrity, Notification, and
    Fairness in Online Retail Marketplaces (INFORM) Act to help prevent
    counterfeit and other dangerous items from ending up in Americans'
    homes.
        We support Reese's law and the CPSC using the rulemaking process to
    require child-resistant closures on consumer products that use button
    cell and coin cell batteries.
        We support the CPSC using strong enforcement action to prevent
    high-powered magnets from continuing to be sold on the market and
    encourage the CPSC to consider a more protective small parts test.
        And as a leader in protecting children from dangerous toys since
    the mid-1980s, we're happy to work with the committee. We all want to
    keep our youngest Americans safe.
        Thank you again for the opportunity to appear before you today. I
    look forward to answering your questions.
                                     ______

    Appendix 1: ``Trouble in Toyland: 36th Annual Toy Safety Report''

    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        Senator Blumenthal. Thank you very, very much, Ms. Rhodes.
    And now, Dr. Ben Hoffman.

    STATEMENT OF BEN HOFFMAN, MD, FAAP, CPST-I, CHAIR, AAP COUNCIL
    ON INJURY, VIOLENCE AND POISON PREVENTION EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE,
            ON BEHALF OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS

        Dr. Hoffman. Good Morning Chair Blumenthal, Ranking Member
    Blackburn, Chair Cantwell, Ranking Member Wicker, and
    distinguished members of the Subcommittee. My name is Dr. Ben
    Hoffman, and I am here today on behalf of the American Academy
    of Pediatrics, where I serve as Chair of the Council on Injury,
    Violence, and Poison Prevention Executive Committee.
        I want to specifically thank Ms. Hamsmith for her very
    stirring testimony, extend my condolences for her loss, and
    just say that part of the greatest opportunity I have had in
    the last several years is to partner with families as a
    pediatrician and as an injury prevention advocate to work
    together on causes like this.
        As Senator Blumenthal mentioned, the holiday season is a
    special time for kids and for families, with the thrill of new
    toys and festive decorations. I myself, as a father, I have
    long treasured the joy of seeing my now grown children enjoying
    the holiday season. But as a pediatrician and expert on injury
    prevention, I know that our annual celebrations can place
    children at risk, which necessitates thoughtful policy to
    prevent injuries from toys, decorations, and other hazards in
    the home.
        Pediatricians routinely counsel families on the best ways
    to stay safe over the holidays. The AAP's parent-facing website
    healthychildren.org has helpful tips for parents on how to buy
    safe toys, how to decorate for the holidays in a safe way, and
    it included some key recommendations that pediatricians often
    give, in my written testimony.
        We also know that the holidays can be a very busy and
    overwhelming time for parents and our safety messages are not
    sufficient to protect children. Parents and caregivers often
    incorrectly assume that toys and products that they have seen
    on store shelves or websites, have been tested and proven to be
    safe for their kids. But many hazardous products make it to
    market with no demonstration of safety for children. The U.S.
    Consumer Product Safety Commission and Congress both have
    critical roles in protecting children from these risks.
        The AAP thanks Senators Blumenthal and Blackburn for your
    bipartisan leadership in co-sponsoring Reese's Law. Button
    batteries are ubiquitous, as we have heard, found in common
    products including remote controls, watches, cameras, toys. The
    batteries are tremendously dangerous if swallowed, as we heard,
    and contact with the child's airway or esophagus immediately
    causes the battery to discharge electricity, which results in
    burns which are immediate, and a life-threatening emergency. I
    have seen children who have suffered life-altering burns to
    their esophagus, or a food tube, after ingesting a button
    battery that was undetected by parents for less than an hour.
    The AAP has strongly endorsed Reese's Law and urges its
    expeditious enactment.
        Another ingesting hazard we expect to see over the holidays
    come from these high-powered magnets that Ms. Rhodes mentioned.
    When two or more magnets are swallowed, the attractive force
    allows them to find each other across different sections of the
    digestive tract, which leads to intestinal injury, rupture, or
    even death.
        During a three-week period in 2019, after the previous ban
    had been vacated, my institutions had three kids admitted in a
    3-week period--sorry, in a 3-week period, where surgeons
    removed a total of 36 tiny magnets from their intestines. I
    personally worked with a 5-year-old boy who swallowed five of
    these magnets and narrowly averted requiring a colostomy, as
    the magnets found each other across multiple loops of bowel and
    cutoff the blood supply. The AAP has endorsed the Magnet Injury
    Prevention Act and we also support the CPSC's efforts to
    address this hazard through a recent mandatory recall and
    through a new safety standard.
        In this season of giving, it is crucial for parents and
    policymakers to be aware of other products that can pose
    hazards for children. The AAP continues to urge Congress and
    the CPSC to protect children from inclined infant sleep
    products, crib bumpers, and other sleep products that can lead
    to suffocation and other infant sleep-related deaths. Holiday
    parties with children running around the house also highlight
    the risk of furniture tip overs and the importance of passing
    the bipartisan STURDY Act, which we urge the full committee to
    markup and advance.
        In closing, I want to note that a strong and fully
    functioning CPSC is critical to keep children safe over the
    holidays and throughout the year. Congress should ensure the
    Agency has the funding, personnel, and statutory authorities
    necessary to proactively address risk to children, before they
    lead to significant injuries and fatalities and to effectively
    recall dangerous products.
        The AAP is grateful to the subcommittee for its focus on
    children's product safety during the holiday season and we look
    forward to continuing to work with you, so that families can
    safely celebrate the holidays and purchase, with greater
    confidence, products that are safe for their children.
        Thank you and I look forward to your questions.
        [The prepared statement of Dr. Hoffman follows:]

    Prepared Statement of Ben Hoffman, MD, FAAP, CPST-I, Chair, AAP Council
        on Injury, Violence and Poison Prevention Executive Committee,
                on Behalf of the American Academy of Pediatrics
        Good Morning Chair Blumenthal, Ranking Member Blackburn, Chair
    Cantwell, Ranking Member Wicker, and distinguished members of the
    Subcommittee:

        My name is Dr. Ben Hoffman. I'm here today on behalf of the
    American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), a non-profit professional
    organization of 67,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical
    subspecialists, and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the
    health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents, and
    young adults. I currently serve as Chair of the AAP Council on Injury,
    Violence, and Poison Prevention Executive Committee, leading the
    Academy's work developing our evidence-based policy statements on
    issues related to product safety, our education of pediatricians and
    parents about injury risks, and our advocacy at every level of
    government for policies to keep children safe from injuries.
        In addition to my role with the AAP, I am also a Professor of
    Pediatrics at Oregon Health and Science University and OHSU Doernbecher
    Children's Hospital. I also serve as the Vice-Chair for Community
    Health and Advocacy, as Director of the Oregon Center for Children and
    Youth with Special Heath Care Needs, and as Medical Director of the
    Doernbecher Child Injury Prevention Program.
        I would like to extend our gratitude to the Subcommittee for
    holding this critical hearing. Children's product safety is a vital
    child health priority, and I am grateful for the opportunity to testify
    today about holiday hazards.
        The holiday season is a special time of year for children, and
    often comes with the thrill of new toys and the splendor of festive
    decorations. As a father myself, I have long treasured the joy of
    seeing my now grown children enjoying the holiday season. And as a
    pediatrician and expert on injury prevention, I also know that our
    annual celebrations can place children at risk, necessitating
    thoughtful policy to prevent injuries from toys, decorations, and other
    hazards around the home.
        Pediatricians always counsel families on the best ways to stay
    safe, and the holidays are no different. The AAP's parent-facing
    website healthychildren.org has helpful tips for parents and caregivers
    on how to select and buy safe toys and how to decorate for the holidays
    in a way that enlivens a family's celebration while keeping everyone
    safe.
    Pediatrician Recommendations for Holiday Safety
        Holiday decorations can help children feel connected to family
    traditions and be a fun family activity. To help make sure these
    decorations are safe the AAP offers parents and caregivers the
    following recommendations:

       When purchasing a live tree, check for freshness. The
            needles should be hard to pull off, and should not break when
            you bend them.

       If you have an artificial tree, make sure it's labeled
            ``Fire Resistant.''

       When setting up a tree at home, place it away from
            fireplaces, radiators or portable heaters. Place the tree out
            of the way of traffic and do not block doorways.

       Check all lights before hanging them on a tree or in your
            home, even if you have just purchased them. Make sure all the
            bulbs work and that there are no frayed wires, broken sockets
            or loose connections.

       Remove all wrapping papers, bags, paper, ribbons and bows
            from tree and fireplace areas after gifts are opened. These
            items can pose suffocation and choking hazards to a small
            child, or can cause a fire if near flame.

        Every year, thousands of children are injured by toys. While most
    of these injuries are minor, toys that are hazardous can cause serious
    injury or even death. The CPSC reports that last year, there were
    nearly 150,000 toy-related, emergency department-treated injuries and
    nine deaths among children ages 14 and younger.i The AAP
    offers the following advice to help families and loved ones choose safe
    and appropriate toys for children:
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \i\ Qin A. Toy-Related Deaths and Injuries Calendar Year 2020. U.S.
    Consumer Product Safety Commission, 2021. Accessed at https://
    www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/Toy-Related-Deaths-and-Injuries-2020.pdf.

       Read all warning labels. Warning labels give important
            information about how to use a toy and what ages the toy is
            considered safe for. However, every child is different, so
            parents should consider their unique circumstances. Be sure to
            show children how to use the toy the right way and provide
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
            appropriate supervision.

       Make sure all toys and parts are larger than your child's
            mouth to prevent choking.

       Follow age recommendations on toys, which offer guidelines
            on the safety of the toy and the ability of a child to play
            with and enjoy the toy.

       Be careful when buying crib toys. Soft objects, loose
            bedding, or any objects that could increase the risk of
            entrapment, suffocation, or strangulation should never be in a
            crib. Any hanging crib toy (mobiles, crib gyms) should be out
            of your baby's reach and must be removed when your baby first
            begins to push up on their hands and knees or when the baby is
            5 months old, whichever occurs first. These toys can strangle a
            baby.

       Track recalls from the CPSC and remove any recalled toys
            immediately.

       Avoid counterfeit products by purchasing from stores and
            online retailers you know and trust.

        While pediatricians offer these recommendations in our public
    education and clinical messaging, we also know that this can be a very
    busy and overwhelming time for parents, and our safety messages are not
    enough to protect children. Parents often assume that the toys and
    products they see on store shelves or online have been tested and
    proven to be safe for their kids, but this is sadly not the case.
    Product-related hazards cause far too many injuries and deaths that
    could be prevented through strong safety standards.
        The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Congress have
    critical roles in protecting children from these risks. This
    Subcommittee has a tremendous opportunity to ensure the holiday season
    is safer for children, both through its oversight of CPSC to ensure its
    work is maximally protective of children, and through consideration and
    enactment of strong and child-protective bipartisan legislation that is
    currently before Congress.
    Button Batteries
        Button batteries are ubiquitous and useful; powering many toys,
    tools, and consumer products that we all use on a daily basis. Children
    face potentially deadly ingestion hazards from button batteries when
    they come out of common household products, such as small remote
    controls, garage door openers, bathroom scales, cell phones, flameless
    candles, watches, cameras, and digital thermometers. These batteries
    can be tremendously dangerous if swallowed, as the contact with a
    child's airway or esophagus immediately causes the battery to
    immediately discharge electricity, resulting in burns which are an
    immediate, life-threatening emergency. I have seen children who
    suffered life altering burns to their esophagus, or food tube, after
    ingesting a button battery that was undetected by parents for less than
    an hour.
        A recent report from the CPSC showed an alarming 93 percent
    increase in emergency-room treated injuries related to button batteries
    among children ages 5-9 from March through September 2020. Education
    alone cannot protect children from button battery ingestion; Federal
    action is necessary. The AAP supports a mandatory safety standard that
    would require manufacturers to securely enclose all button cell
    batteries and to sell such batteries in child-resistant packaging.
    Manufacturers should also work in support of design changes that would
    eliminate this serious health hazard, even if batteries are ingested.
        The AAP supports Reese's Law, which would protect children against
    the hazardous ingestion of button cell or coin batteries. This
    bipartisan bill would require the CPSC to promulgate a safety standard
    for consumer products containing button cell or coin battery
    compartments. This standard would require these products to secure the
    batteries in a manner that prevents children from accessing the
    hazardous batteries. The bill would also improve warning label
    requirements to communicate the hazard of ingestion and require button
    cell or coin batteries to be sold using child-resistant packaging.
    These measures would help prevent children from accessing button
    batteries in the first place, which would save lives.
    High-Powered Magnet Sets
        Another ingestion hazard that we expect to effect children over the
    holidays comes from dangerous high-powered magnets that are marketed as
    toys. When two or more high-powered magnets are swallowed, their
    attractive force (flux) allows them to find each other, even if it is
    across or between different segments of the digestive system. For
    example, a magnet in the stomach will be pulled to a magnet in the
    small intestine, as it will to another in colon, or across loops of
    bowel. These magnet connections can lead to necrosis of the intestinal
    tissue, which can lead to intestinal injury, rupture, and even death.
        Recognizing these serious risks, the CPSC took action to eliminate
    dangerous high-powered magnets from the marketplace. And these steps
    were initially successful; research shows that the CPSC and Health
    Canada efforts to ban high-powered magnet sets were working to protect
    children. Researchers studied the impact of Canada's recall by
    comparing data on magnet ingestion at Toronto's Hospital for Sick
    Children during the two years before the recall (2011 and 2012) and two
    years after the recall (2014 and 2015).ii In the initial two
    years, there were 22 multiple magnet ingestions, six operations and
    nine endoscopic procedures. In the two years after the recall, there
    were five ingestions, one operation and four endoscopic procedures.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \ii\ Rosenfield D, Strickland M, Hepburn CM. After the Recall:
    Reexamining Multiple Magnet Ingestion at a Large Pediatric Hospital. J
    Pediatr. 2017 Jul;186:78-81. doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2017.02.002. Epub
    2017 Mar 10. PMID: 28291530.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Unfortunately, the courts vacated the CPSC standard and recall in
    2015, putting children at risk again from these dangerous products. And
    we have seen the problem return, both in the data and what we are
    seeing in the emergency room. New Federal protections are urgently
    needed. During a 3 week period in 2019, we had 3 children admitted for
    magnet ingestions, and surgeons removed a total of 36 tiny magnets from
    their intestines. I personally met a 5-year-old boy who swallowed 5
    magnets, and narrowly averted requiring a colostomy as the magnets
    found each other across multiple loops of bowel and cut off blood
    supply.
        The AAP has endorsed the Magnet Injury Prevention Act, which would
    create strong safety standards again so that dangerous magnet sets are
    no longer on the marketplace. AAP also supports the CPSC's latest
    efforts to address this hazard through a recent mandatory recall and
    through a new proposed safety standard. Families need clear protections
    so that they don't have to worry that the well-intentioned toy in their
    child's stocking could pose a risk to them or a younger sibling.
    Other Product Hazards
        In this season of giving, it is important for parents and
    policymakers to be aware of other products that can pose hazards for
    children. The AAP continues to call attention to the importance of safe
    sleep environments for infants and urges Congress and the CPSC to
    protect children from inclined infant sleep products, crib bumpers, and
    other sleep products that can lead to suffocation and other infant
    sleep-related deaths. The AAP thanks the Commerce Committee for
    advancing the bipartisan Safe Cribs Act (S. 1259), which would ban
    padded crib bumpers. We also strongly support the Safe Sleep Act, which
    would protect children from infant inclined sleep products like the
    now-recalled Fisher-Price Rock `n Play Sleeper. Both of these policies
    passed the U.S. House in June, and we urge the Senate to pass them
    expeditiously. Enactment of these policies, and continued progress on
    CPSC's proposals to remove inclined sleepers and padded crib bumpers
    from the marketplace, would be a welcome improvement and ensure that
    any sleep-related gifts from well-meaning friends and relatives are
    safe.
        Holiday gatherings and parties often mean children running around
    and exploring the house, including climbing on furniture. This
    highlights the risk of furniture tip-overs and the importance of
    passing the bipartisan STURDY Act, which would create a stronger safety
    standard to prevent furniture from tipping over on and crushing young
    children. We urge the full Committee to mark up and advance this bill.
    CPSC Effectiveness
        In closing, I want to note that a strong and fully-functioning CPSC
    is critical to keep children safe over the holidays and throughout the
    year. Congress should ensure the agency has the funding, staff, and
    statutory authorities needed to carry out its mission. This includes
    the ability to transparently and proactively address risks to children
    before they lead to significant injuries and fatalities. The AAP
    supports the Sunshine in Product Safety Act, which would repeal Section
    6(b) of the Consumer Product Safety Act, an outdated provision creating
    unnecessary barriers to disclosing information about a consumer product
    that identifies a manufacturer. Section 6(b) delays the release of
    specific and critical safety information, putting children at risk of
    injury and death. For example, there could be a deadly hazard
    associated with a product being given as a gift this holiday season
    that the agency is not allowed to transparently warn consumers about.
    Strengthening CPSC's authorities and increasing its funding would help
    the agency better protect children and save lives.
    Conclusion
        The AAP is grateful to the Subcommittee for its focus on children's
    product safety during this holiday season, and we look forward to
    continuing to work with you so that families can safely celebrate the
    holidays. Thank you for the opportunity to testify, and I look forward
    to you questions.

        Senator Blumenthal. Thanks a lot, Dr. Hoffman. And now,
    Joan Lawrence.

           STATEMENT OF JOAN LAWRENCE, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT,

                   STANDARDS AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS,

                          THE TOY ASSOCIATION

        Ms. Lawrence. I just want to make sure you can hear me.
    Good morning, my name is Joan Lawrence, and I am the Senior
    Vice President, Standards and Regulatory Affairs for The Toy
    Association. Thank you for the opportunity to testify today on
    this important topic, Chairman Blumenthal and Ranking Member
    Blackburn.
        Product safety is the top priority for the toy industry
    and, in fact, my role at the Toy Association includes promoting
    toy safety and safe play year-round. Accordingly, I also serve
    as the Chairperson of the Multi-Stakeholder Expert Subcommittee
    on Toy Safety under ASTM International, responsible for the
    ASTM F963 Toy Safety Standard.
        The Toy Association is a not-for-profit trade association
    whose members includes more than 950 businesses, all involved
    in bringing safe, fun toys and games to children. The Toy
    Association and its members have served as leaders in globally
    toy safety efforts. In the 1970s, we helped create the world's
    first comprehensive toy safety standard. The ASTM F963 Toy
    Safety Standard, as it is now known, has been recognized as a
    gold standard for toy safety, and its subcommittee of experts,
    including government, medical and child development experts,
    industry, engineers and inventors, toy safety testing labs, and
    consumer representatives continually reviews the standard to
    keep pace with product innovation, incorporating the latest
    intelligence on product safety and children's behavior and has
    led the world in this regard. In fact, in 2008, the U.S.
    Congress passed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act
    which, among its other provisions, made ASTM F963 a mandatory
    Consumer Product Safety rule for all toys sold in the U.S. And
    it requires testing and certification of compliance to the
    standard.
        In effect, Congress also endorsed the work of the ASTM
    Expert Toy Safety Subcommittee and its process for continual
    review. In all, there are over 100 different safety standards
    and tests for toy safety required of all toys sold in this
    country and these standards have been used as a model for other
    jurisdictions. Among the requirements are strict standards for
    the use of magnets and batteries in children's toys.
        For magnets, the use of certain powerful, rare-Earth
    magnets that are small parts and could be swallowed, is not
    allowed in children's toys. Despite this, there remain concerns
    and confusion over adult magnetic products, still available in
    the marketplace, that are small parts and do not comply with
    our toy standard. These products are not children's toys and
    are not safe for children.
        Batteries that are small parts also pose a unique threat to
    young children, particularly those under 3 years of age, who
    may still mouth objects. Since the 1990s, the Toy Safety
    Standard has addressed batteries used in children's toys,
    requiring a locking mechanism on the battery compartment to
    prevent children's access to the batteries. These requirements
    apply to all batteries and toys intended for children under 3
    years of age, and batteries that are small parts, such as coin
    and button cells, in all toys.
        Following a report regarding battery ingestion from various
    consumer products, the ASTM Subcommittee on Toy Safety
    revisited the standard for batteries and found that it was
    providing effective protection, preventing children from
    accessing batteries in a toy. However, consumers were largely
    unaware of the hazard that small batteries could pose if
    ingested. While there was not evidence the toy battery
    compartment locks were failing, there were cases of children
    ingesting batteries that may have been purchased for use in the
    toy and left where a child could access them and that even some
    used or spent batteries can still pose a risk.
        Accordingly, in 2016, requirements were added to the toy
    standard, so that toys that use coin cell batteries include
    labeling to alert consumers to the danger and the importance of
    keeping batteries away from young children. Additionally, since
    many non-toy products common in our homes and in a child's
    environment do not have the same safeguards, the Toy
    Association began recommending that the example of the toy
    standard for batteries be adopted by other product categories,
    as well, to reduce the hazard that these products may pose.
        We have also incorporated messaging as part of our year-
    round consumer awareness campaign on the importance of keeping
    children away from batteries from any product. And they are
    closely following the development of several protective
    technologies for the batteries themselves that may offer
    enhanced protection of children in the future.
        As you can see, the safety of toys is a high priority and
    toys are highly regulated in this country. However, I would be
    remiss in not mentioning the concern about counterfeit toys
    being sold in the online marketplaces. The Toy Association has
    continued to raise the concern over the increase in counterfeit
    toys. While all toys are required to comply with safety
    standards, counterfeits, while also skirting intellectual
    property law, may not comply with the range of standards to
    which toys are subject, putting unsuspecting consumers,
    children, and families at risk. Any business selling toys in
    the U.S. must be held to the same high safety standards.
    Accordingly, the Toy Association supports both the INFORM
    Consumers Act and the Shop Safe Act to require more
    transparency and create new accountability to help reduce the
    presence of counterfeits and unsafe products sold online.
        As an industry, we recognize the trust that families place
    in us and in the safety of toys. We take that responsibility
    very seriously and pride ourselves on the effectiveness of the
    toy standard and in its process for revision, seeks to
    continually keep pace with innovation and new information. ASTM
    F963 serves as a model for other countries looking to protect
    the health and safety of their youngest citizens, and for other
    product categories looking to emulate its protected standards
    for children.
        Thank you for the opportunity to speak today and I look
    forward to addressing any questions you may have.
        [The prepared statement of Ms. Lawrence follows:]

     Prepared Statement of Joan Lawrence, Senior Vice President, Standards
                  And Regulatory Affairs, The Toy Association
        Good morning. My name is Joan Lawrence, and I am the Senior Vice
    President, Standards and Regulatory Affairs for The Toy Association.
    Thank you for the opportunity to testify today on the subject of
    Product Safety During the Holiday Season. While I was asked to
    specifically talk today about the topic of batteries used in toys, the
    broader topic for this hearing--Product Safety--is of utmost importance
    to the toy industry and, in fact, my role at The Toy Association
    includes promoting toy safety and safe play year-round. In that effort,
    I also serve as the chairperson of the multi-stakeholder expert
    subcommittee on toy safety under ASTM International, responsible for
    the ASTM F963 toy safety standard which comprises the bulk of U.S. toy
    safety requirements.
        The Toy Association is a not-for-profit trade association whose
    membership includes more than 950 businesses--from inventors and
    designers of toys to toy manufacturers and importers, retailers and
    safety testing labs--all involved in bringing safe, fun toys and games
    to children. The U.S. toy market is $27 billion annually, with an
    annual U.S. economic impact of $98.2 billion. Our members manufacture
    and sell approximately 90 percent of the three billion toys sold in the
    U.S. each year.
        Toy safety is the top priority for The Toy Association and its
    members. Since the 1930s, the Association and its members have served
    as leaders in global toy safety efforts; in the 1970s we helped to
    create the world's first comprehensive toy safety standard, which was
    later adopted under the auspices of ASTM International as ASTM F963.
    The ASTM F963 Toy Safety Standard has been recognized as a ``gold
    standard'' for toy safety. Its subcommittee of experts includes
    government, medical and child development experts, industry, engineers
    and inventors, toy safety testing labs, and consumer representatives.
    The group continually reviews the standard to keep pace with product
    innovation, incorporating the latest intelligence on product safety and
    children's behavior--and has led the world in this regard. In fact, in
    2008 the U.S. Congress passed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement
    Act (CPSIA) which, among other provisions, made ASTM F963 a mandatory
    consumer product safety rule for all toys sold in the U.S.--and
    requires testing and certification of compliance to all applicable
    provisions of the ASTM toy safety standard. In effect, Congress also
    endorsed the work of the ASTM expert toy safety subcommittee--and its
    process for continual review.
        In all, there are over 100 different safety standards and tests for
    toy safety, required of all toys sold in this country and these
    standards have been used a model for other jurisdictions. Among the
    requirements, are strict standards for the use of magnets and batteries
    in children's toys.
        For magnets, the toy standard does not allow the use of certain
    powerful rare earth magnets in children's toys and toy components that
    are small parts and could be swallowed. Despite this, there remain
    concerns and confusion over adult magnetic products, still in the
    marketplace, that do not comply with the toy standard. These products
    are not children's toys and are not safe for children. This is a key
    point in our year-round messaging to consumers.\1\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ See www.PlaySafe.org.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Regarding batteries, the use of battery technology in some toys can
    enhance the educational and developmental benefits of play--
    incorporating lights, colors, sounds, motion--and fostering motor
    skills, problem solving, language development, learning cause and
    effect, and more.\2\ However, batteries that are small parts pose a
    unique threat to young children, particularly those under three (3)
    years of age who may still mouth objects; certain ingested batteries
    can begin to burn internal tissue in as little as two hours.
    Importantly, to prevent this, since the 1990s the ASTM toy safety
    standard has addressed batteries used in children's toys, requiring a
    locking mechanism on the battery compartment to prevent children's
    access to batteries. These requirements apply to all batteries in toys
    for ages under three years, and batteries that are small parts (coin
    and button cells, for example) regardless of intended age of the
    user.\3\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \2\ Resources: U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Age
    Determination Guidelines: Relating Consumer Product Characteristics to
    the Skills, Play Behaviors, and Interests of Children, January 2020 .
    And The Genius of Play: https://thegeniusofplay.org
        \3\ See ASTM F963: Reading Room--Products & Services (astm.org)
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        When data emerged several years ago from the National Poison Center
    related to battery ingestion, describing incidents related to batteries
    from numerous types of consumer products, the ASTM Subcommittee on Toy
    Safety revisited the ASTM requirement for batteries--and found that it
    was providing effective protection preventing children from accessing
    batteries in a toy. In contrast, however, many of the non-toy products
    common in our homes and in a child's environment, do not have the same
    safeguards to prevent children's access to batteries. As such, The Toy
    Association began recommending that the toy standard for batteries--be
    adopted by other product categories as well. Common consumer products
    such as hearing aids, remote controls, battery-operated watches and
    clocks, and even musical greeting cards have been associated with
    tragic incidents--and should consider immediate action to reduce the
    hazard they pose.
        What we did find in our review of the incidents was that while the
    toy standard's requirement for a locked battery compartment was
    working, consumers were largely unaware of the hazard that small
    batteries could pose if ingested. While there was not evidence that
    battery compartment locks were failing, there were cases of children
    accessing batteries that may have been purchased for use in a toy and
    left where a child could access them, and that even some used/spent
    batteries accessed by children can still pose a risk to them. (In some
    cases, even batteries discarded in the garbage have been found by an
    inquisitive toddler.) Accordingly, in 2016 we revised the ASTM toy
    safety standard to reaffirm the requirement for a locking mechanism on
    the battery compartment--and add requirements that toys that use coin
    cell batteries also include labeling to alert consumers to the danger
    of these batteries if ingested and the importance of keeping batteries
    away from young children. Additionally, The Toy Association has
    incorporated messaging as part of our year-round consumer awareness
    campaign on the importance of keeping children away from batteries from
    any product.\4\ We are also closely following the development of
    several protective technologies for the batteries themselves, should
    they offer enhanced protection of children from the hazard.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \4\ www.PlaySafe.org
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        As you can see, the safety of toys is a high priority--and toys are
    highly regulated in this country. Seen as an effective safety standard,
    ASTM F963 serves as a model for other countries looking to protect the
    health and safety of their citizens--and for other product categories
    looking to emulate its protective standards for children.
        It is also important to keep in mind that, under current law, the
    third-party online marketplace system is not necessarily held to the
    same strict safety regulations. This has created an ecommerce
    environment where third-party sellers can operate anonymously online
    and bypass U.S. safety and testing regulations.
        Every day, there are examples of unsafe and non-compliant toys
    being offered and sold in online marketplaces. Listings frequently
    include toys marketed to children under the age of three that pose
    choking hazards, toys without required labeling, and products with
    battery compartments without a locking mechanism. These products
    sidestep regulations, yet are offered on popular mainstream online
    marketplaces and marketed as appropriate for children. Any business
    selling toys in the U.S. must be held to the same high safety standards
    that apply in the brick and mortar world and which consumers have come
    to know and trust.
        The Toy Association urges Congress to pass both the INFORM
    Consumers Act and the SHOP SAFE Act to require more transparency and
    create new accountability to help reduce the presence of counterfeits
    and unsafe products sold online.
        As an industry we recognize the trust that families place in us and
    in the safety of toys. We take that responsibility very seriously and
    pride ourselves on the effectiveness of the toy standard and in its
    process for revision that seeks to continually keep pace with
    innovation and new information. As you consider legislation to address
    battery safety in consumer products, we urge you to consider what we
    have learned and how we have led in the toy sector--so that the
    protections we have instituted may apply to all consumer products.
        Attachments:

       Taking Counterfeits Offline (2020)

       Press Release: Toy Association Warns Holiday Shoppers about
            Counterfeit Toys Sold Online (November 1, 2021)

       Toy Safety Shopping Guide, published by The Toy Association

    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        Senator Blumenthal. Thank you so much, Ms. Lawrence. We are
    very appreciative that we have been joined by the Chairman of
    the Committee, Senator Cantwell. I am going to turn to her for
    any statements or questions that she may have.

                   STATEMENT OF HON. MARIA CANTWELL,
                      U.S. SENATOR FROM WASHINGTON

        The Chairwoman. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I certainly want
    to thank you, Senator Blumenthal, and Senator Blackburn for
    your leadership on this issue and having a hearing at this
    important time. As we enter the holiday season, consumers are
    purchasing these gifts and presents at record numbers, and we
    need to make sure that our safety is at the utmost level of
    scrutiny.
        I am deeply concerned about how well our current system
    protects consumers, particularly children, from unsafe
    products. We need to do better, as the hearing already has
    pointed out from out witnesses.
        Recalls are important but they are not always adequate. Too
    often, product recalls are not effective at getting dangerous
    products out of circulation. Four and a half years ago, the
    CPSC held a recall effectiveness workshop, which highlighted
    the low effectiveness of recalls. This was then corroborated by
    a GAO report that issued a statement about faulting CPSC, for
    not consistently assigning more recall checks to these high-
    risk recalls.
        So, today, I am sending a letter to the CPSC, asking for
    them to improve their recall efficiency and making sure that
    they take steps to improve the process, asking for relevant
    information to show that we need to do a better job at this.
    The importance of this work is underscored by the CPSC's
    current own estimates about emergency rooms treated--198,000
    toy-related injuries in 2020. So, in 2021, 13 toy products have
    been recalled by the CPSC, so far, due to high lead levels,
    risks of children choking on small parts, and other avoidable
    risks.
        So, I wanted to ask you, Dr. Hoffman, what policy
    recommendations would you recommend to improve the CPSC's
    ability to ensure corrective actions? Ms. Rhodes, would you
    support requiring retailers or manufacturers of recalled goods
    to use information collected through the course of sale to
    directly notify consumers and buyers of these known hazards?
        Ms. Rhodes. Yes, we do support recalling companies using
    information that was gathered during the transaction to notify
    customers of recall.
        The Chairwoman. And how well do you think we are doing on
    that?
        Ms. Rhodes. I think certain companies have actually enacted
    that. A good example is Amazon, sometimes, will reach out to
    customers because they have the means to do so. But, typically,
    with recall effectiveness, we have low rates, as you suggested,
    and there is a lack of accountability in the recall
    effectiveness, with recalling companies.
        The Chairwoman. Dr. Hoffman, how effective are we if we are
    not getting the message out?
        Dr. Hoffman. Thank you, Senator Cantwell. I think if we do
    not get the message out, we cannot be effective. And I think
    that we need to think about the recalls from the standpoint of
    the families and consumers and do everything we can to make it
    as friendly for them as possible. I think an example where we
    have had some success, is in child passenger safety around car
    seats. There is, you know, with every car seat that is sold, an
    opportunity to register it with the manufacturer--register the
    owner with the manufacturer with the owner so that they can
    proactively reach out. I think that it has some benefit,
    although, there are still some barriers to getting those
    completed.
        I think this also goes back to the need to have a fully
    staffed and fully functioning Consumer Product Safety
    Commission that can work to meet the needs of families and
    consumers.
        The Chairwoman. So, getting Ms. Boyle appointed so we that
    we can have an active and an aggressive Commission.
        I am reminded--I think this committee dealt with this issue
    once before, as it related to used cars and the process of
    notifying people on how to notify individuals when these cars
    were defaulted and defective. And I think the committee did
    good work, so I am asking the Ranking Member and the
    subcommittee Chair here to--maybe you can look at that as a
    model and let us see what information we get back from the
    CPSC. But let us take action on this. You guys are providing
    great leadership. Thank you.
        Senator Blumenthal. Thank you very, very much, Chairman
    Cantwell. Excellent point and we will follow up on it and very
    much appreciate your leadership on this issue, as you were
    involved in the used car recall issue, as well. Thank you so
    much.
        And I want to just take the point that Senator Cantwell
    made so well. I have introduced S. 1355 which is the Sunshine
    in Product Safety Act that strikes a section of the current
    law, section 6B, the section that restricts the disclosure of
    information--it actually restricts the disclosure of
    information by the CPSC related to product hazards. It permits
    a manufacturer to challenge the disclosure of information in
    Federal court, if the manufacturer believes the disclosure is
    not ``fair in the circumstances'', which is an extraordinarily
    vague standard. Changes to 6B would improve recall efficiency
    and give the CPSC more of the teeth that it needs to be a real
    tiger, not a paper watchdog.
        Ms. Rhodes, can you comment on that potential change in the
    Sunshine in Product Safety Act?
        Ms. Rhodes. Absolutely. We see with recalls that, once the
    recall is disclosed, consumers can learn about it. But there is
    this whole hidden process with recalling companies and CPSC
    where they can be discussing an unsafe products for weeks, or
    even months, before consumers are even informed. Removal of 6B
    will allow consumers to get information immediately, which is
    especially important when we are talking about products that
    can seriously injure and also kill people.
        Senator Blumenthal. Dr. Hoffman, would you favor that kind
    of change in the law that would permit greater disclosure, and
    more promptly, about hazards in toys?
        Dr. Hoffman. Absolutely. And I think, for many juvenile
    products, that is an issue. We saw that very specifically in
    the issue of incline sleepers when, on April 5th of 2019, it
    was disclosed by the Consumer Product Safety Commission that
    there were 10 deaths associated with those products, and a
    report by Consumer Reports, that came out three days later,
    revealed there actually were 32.
        The fact that products can be identified as hazardous,
    without--and have no--and they are--with a lack of any
    requirement to notify the public around the specific product, I
    think, leads to significant increased risk of injury and death
    for kids.
        Senator Blumenthal. Thank you. Ms. Lawrence, would you
    favor--will you support that change in section 6B of the Act?
        Ms. Lawrence. Well, prefacing my response by the fact that
    I am not a lawyer, I do understand that 6B is in place, in
    part, because early information in the investigation and
    decisions regarding a recall is often inaccurate, and thus, you
    know, if information was released prematurely, it could be
    misleading to consumers and unfair to the company, you know.
    But I am happy to provide a response from the Toy Association
    on this issue, should you be interested in that, following the
    hearing.
        Senator Blumenthal. I am not only interested, but I would
    request that you provide that response. I hope that the Toy
    Industry Association will support it, because it would simply
    remove time consuming and costly roadblocks to disclosure of
    information to consumers. It permits, in effect, manufacturers
    to block and conceal very severe hazards in toys for lengthy
    periods of time. And I am hopeful that the Toy Industry
    Association will support the Sunshine in Product Safety Act
    that would remove this kind of impediment. So, I will welcome
    and ask you to provide that information.
        In this first round of questioning, let me turn to you, Ms.
    Rhodes, because you brought with you the Wild Republic Slap
    Watch toy, or it is actually an accessory. It is a watch, as I
    understand it. And you held it up briefly, could you hold it up
    again, please? I know it is still in the package, but I gather
    that that watch has a lithium battery that can pop out. Is that
    correct?
        Ms. Rhodes. Yes. It is tucked in behind here, if you can
    see the back of the watch.
        Senator Blumenthal. And a child who has that watch could
    easily pop out the battery?
        Ms. Rhodes. Yes. That is why it was recalled.
        Senator Blumenthal. The battery would look something like
    this. And the battery, in effect, has an acid that eats through
    the lining of the trachea or esophagus in a child who swallows
    it. It is, I guess, the acid that does the damage. But this
    kind of small, button cell battery is found in a wide variety
    of items. Could you list a few of them that are commonly found
    in households?
        Ms. Rhodes. Yes. They can be found in TV remotes; garage
    doors will sometimes have--that clicker will have button cell
    or coin cell batteries. We do find them in children's toys, of
    course. So, objects that are just around the house that you may
    not think of, especially when it comes to TV remotes that may
    just be placed on the table.
        Senator Blumenthal. They are powerful batteries. They are
    useful. They perform an important function. But if they are
    unsafely secured in those common household items, they can be
    swallowed by children, correct?
        Ms. Rhodes. Correct.
        Senator Blumenthal. Dr. Hoffman, could you tell us what
    happens to the esophagus of a child who swallows one of these
    batteries, if it is lodged in the throat?
        Dr. Hoffman. Absolutely. So, those batteries function--
    there is a positive side and a negative side. So, the top is
    one and the bottom is the other. If there is contact between
    the two, and there is contact on the positive side and the
    negative side at the same time, it starts to discharge
    electricity. The acid is in the battery and that is what leads
    to the electric charge.
        In the esophagus, which is a food tube of a child, the top
    part of the battery and the bottom part of the battery will be
    contacted by the tissue. And that contact with the tissue will
    allow electricity to begin flowing. And so, it is not actually
    a chemical burn, but it is an electrical burn that happens, and
    it happens immediately, at the first contact between a child's
    tissue and the top and bottom of the battery.
        So, the damage is instantaneous, and the degree of damage
    is a function then of the strength of the battery and the
    duration of time that it is in contact with human tissue. So,
    we can see injury with, you know, within an hour or less. And
    as Ms. Hamsmith's experience tragically showed, you know,
    within a couple of hours that damage can be irreversible and
    potentially fatal.
        Senator Blumenthal. Dr. Hoffman, does the damage continue,
    potentially, after the battery is removed?
        Dr. Hoffman. In the same way that any burn continues to
    cause tissue damage after the source of the burn, the heat
    source, is removed, yes. And especially with electrical burns
    that is true.
        Senator Blumenthal. Is the burn treatable? It would seem
    like the throat is a difficult part of the body to reach, if
    there is a burn in the esophagus.
        Dr. Hoffman. Absolutely. While the gastrointestinal tract,
    the digestive tract, has a significant blood supply, it does
    tend to heal fairly well. But these burns are severe enough
    that they can cause lifelong damage. And if they are deep
    enough and causes, as tragically happened in Reese's case,
    perforation or rupture, it can lead to even longer-term issues,
    as the experience with the Hamsmiths shows.
        Senator Blumenthal. There is no requirement now, Dr.
    Hoffman, as I understand it, that hospitals specifically report
    these kinds of injuries, correct?
        Dr. Hoffman. Not as far as I am aware, no.
        Senator Blumenthal. So, the number that we have, which
    itself is absolutely appalling and horrifying, could well be
    only a fraction of the total number. In fact, it has been
    estimated that it is only 11 percent, that 350,000 number.
        Dr. Hoffman. Absolutely. Absolutely.
        Senator Blumenthal. And let me ask you--I know that this is
    more an educated guess on your part than actual documented,
    scientific data, but what could explain the uptick in
    ingestions in 2020? An increase of 93 percent between March and
    September of that year.
        Dr. Hoffman. Yes, I think, Senator, you eluded to this in
    your opening remarks. I think a lot of it has to do with just
    exposure. You know, a child who is not--who is--who lives in an
    environment where there are no button or coin batteries is
    going to have a zero percent chance of accessing one and,
    potentially, ingesting it.
        You know, the period of time we are talking about, we were
    still looking at kids who were home during the day; parents
    were, you know, out of their--broken away from their routine
    and forced to be teachers and workers and babysitters. And, you
    know, while we know that parental supervision and the
    supervision of caregivers is absolutely essential to help
    prevent injuries for children, it is completely insufficient.
    And having kids around products with button and coin batteries
    for longer periods of time with that potentially distracted
    supervision, I think, goes a long way toward explaining this
    tragic increase.
        Senator Blumenthal. Right. And some battery manufacturers
    actually have developed a coating, with a very bitter taste--a
    bitter coating for the batteries, to help signal to kids, or
    others, that they should spit it out. Should we still push for
    some kind of mandatory product safety standard that will secure
    the batteries within whatever the items are?
        Dr. Hoffman. Absolutely, Senator. I think so much of what
    we try to do in injury prevention is install layers of
    protection. I think the bittering agent, there is no data yet
    to support that. I think there is some promise in it. But we do
    not have any hard data to show that it is at all effective. And
    I think, you know, short of eliminating these from an
    environment, doing everything we can to put barriers to access
    in place, which would include making it as hard as possible for
    a battery to be removed, inadvertently, from a product by a
    child who is not supposed to have access to it would be a huge
    step forward.
        Senator Blumenthal. And I know that the American Academy of
    Pediatrics has done a lot to educate parents. Would you say
    that parents are generally unaware or aware of the dangers of
    these batteries?
        Dr. Hoffman. I think it is tremendously variable. You know,
    clearly, Academy policy and everything we have that is designed
    for families, including our healthychildren.org resources, talk
    about this. But there are so--you know, there are so many
    hazards around and these batteries are so ubiquitous, I think
    it is a little bit challenging to get people's attention, and
    certainly to get people's attention to the degree that I think
    the problem warrants.
        Senator Blumenthal. Thank you. I have a number of
    additional questions, but I am going to turn to the Ranking
    Member and come back whenever she finishes.
        Senator Blackburn. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you all
    for your testimony. Ms. Rhodes, I want to come to you first.
    You mentioned, in your testimony, CBP apprehending the shipment
    in Baltimore that had the toxic chemicals. And I think it was
    barium, cadmium, let us see, lead. So, how can we help ensure
    that these counterfeit items never get into the supply chain?
    That they are stopped before they come in? And then, likewise,
    CPSC had removed--recently removed some of their inspectors
    from the ports. Talk about those two things very quickly,
    please.
        Ms. Rhodes. I will say that the ports are a little bit
    outside of my general expertise.
        Senator Blackburn. Yes.
        Ms. Rhodes. But when it comes to the----
        Senator Blackburn. But the effect is not.
        Ms. Rhodes. Yes, the effect is not.
        Senator Blackburn. Yes.
        Ms. Rhodes. When it comes to these products, a lot of them
    do come into the ports, but a lot of them are sold online. And
    one of the ways we can stop that is by having hosting platforms
    give customers as much information as they can about who is
    selling the product, as well as making sure that they are
    monitoring for dangerous listings, so American consumers are
    not purchasing counterfeit products online and then, having
    them shipped into the United States.
        Senator Blackburn. Right. And that would get into the
    section 230 reforms that I mentioned earlier, that would allow
    for that transparency and information share.
        Ms. Lawrence, let us go back to what you all at the Toy
    Association can do and how you are sharing information with
    customers. And Chairman Cantwell mentioned what we had passed,
    when I was over in the House that dealt with information to
    purchasers of used cars and maybe using that as a model. But
    talk a little bit about what you all are proactively doing to
    share information with consumers about the dangers of certain
    toys. And I know, at one point, you all had done work on resell
    of toys, things that would show up in flea markets and
    different sales that people would have.
        Ms. Lawrence. Yes, thank you for the question. We have
    great concerns about counterfeit products in particular,
    because we know that these products are skirting copyright law
    and, likely, not complying with our tough toy safety standards,
    as well. So, we have, a couple of years ago, issued a white
    paper on this issue--on the issue of counterfeit toys and their
    increased occurrence in the marketplace and what could be done.
    We revised that white paper again in 2020 and found that the--
    that with the increase in online sales, the issue continues to
    increase.
        We are--you know, every day you see numerous products being
    sold on online marketplaces that would violate our top toy
    safety standards. So, we are working to communicate with the
    industry, with policymakers, and with consumers. For consumers,
    we provide information on how to shop the online marketplaces
    more safely, what to look for, what red flags to avoid when you
    are buying toys in an online forum. And more generally, we work
    year-round to educate consumers on how they can choose age-
    appropriate toys and toys that are appropriate for their
    families, their home environment, and also, how to supervise
    play. We have a website, playsafe.org, that provides this year-
    round messaging for consumers, so that they can understand, you
    know, what goes into toy safety----
        Senator Blackburn. Ms. Lawrence, can I--let me interrupt
    you right there. And you can do this for the record. I would
    like to know what organizations you all are partnering with to
    get this information out. Do you partner with, like, AARP or
    some of these organizations, to educate grandparents who may
    think buying online is the way to do it. And oh, you know, it
    populates the screen and you have got four different options,
    which look like the same toy. And three of them are counterfeit
    but they are at the lower cost. So, why don't you give me a
    list of the organizations that are--you are partnering with.
    And, likewise, Playsafe, how many unique users do you have to
    that website every year? This will help us to understand how
    broadly the information is getting into the community.
        I also--Ms. Rhodes, I am going to come back to you first on
    this. CBP apprehended nearly 3/4 of a billion dollars' worth of
    goods at Long Beach alone, coming in through the port, of
    counterfeit goods. And that does not even touch what is there
    online. So, we know what is coming in through the port. But do
    you all have any way of quantifying counterfeit product that is
    coming into the marketplace online?
        Ms. Rhodes. No, we have no way----
        Senator Blackburn. You do not?
        Ms. Rhodes.--of quantifying.
        Senator Blackburn. OK. Ms. Lawrence, do you all have any
    numbers that would quantify what is coming in illicitly?
        Ms. Lawrence. We would rely on the U.S. Consumer Product
    Safety Commission who, as you mentioned, has inspectors at the
    ports, as well as CBP, to get an estimate of the number of
    products that are arriving in our U.S. ports.
        Senator Blackburn. OK, but you have--all right, but you
    have nothing that quantifies what is being done online?
        Ms. Lawrence. It is very difficult to quantify what is
    being done online because, while 1 day a product may be found
    to be violative, the next day that same seller could remake
    itself under a new name and sell that same product again.
        Senator Blackburn. Right, and we have seen that many times.
    I have got innovators in Tennessee who hold patent and they are
    manufacturing in China. And 1 day, in either an e-mail or in
    their mailbox, they get a flyer for the product that they have
    had the company making for them, at a lesser price. They have
    been ripped off.
        I want to--Ms. Lawrence, I am going to stay with you for a
    second on standards. And talk about the importance of these
    protocols around setting standards for the toy--for the
    marketplace and what you all do, in that regard, to set these
    standards.
        Ms. Lawrence. Well, our Expert Toy Safety Committee, which
    is the ASTM Toy Safety Committee, continually is looking at--
    when there is new innovation and products, they look at data,
    they look at incidents--information regarding incidents. They
    look at how children's behavior is changing over time. And all
    of these pieces of information and resources come together to
    drive and identify where emerging hazards may exist, where
    standards may need revision or new standards created.
        I would also mention that listening to recent--Trista's
    story today, from a personal note that is the kind of story
    that keeps someone in the standards setting world up at night.
    And it is the very kind of story that motivates us, our every
    day. It is those kinds of stories that drive us to continually
    look at those standards and revise them as needed, to address
    issues in the marketplace.
        Senator Blackburn. Well, and we thank you all for your
    testimony and for the good work that you are doing. Mr.
    Chairman, I yield back my time.
        Senator Blumenthal. Thanks very, very much, Senator
    Blackburn. I am going to turn to Senator Lujan.

                   STATEMENT OF HON. BEN RAY LUJAN,
                      U.S. SENATOR FROM NEW MEXICO

        Senator Lujan. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to thank you
    and the Ranking Member for today's important hearing, and for
    all of the witnesses to be here, especially the powerful
    testimony, Ms. Hamsmith. The story needs to be heard more and
    more. And I know that other outlets have done their due
    diligence to make sure parents and families are aware. But just
    thank you for continuing to be an advocate and the courage and
    the strength to be with us today. Thank you.
        Mr. Chairman, as the holidays are upon us, and we are
    always reminded that it is supposed to be a time to come
    together and to celebrate family and community. This hearing is
    really important because, as we heard with the powerful
    testimony today, often times these toys are given with the best
    of intentions and without, maybe, even the proper warning of
    what should be on there, which is what the advocacy is.
        And that is only made worse with counterfeit products.
    Because, if you have products that we know that are being
    manufactured under the guidelines and the regulatory
    environment, and they are still missing the mark, what happens
    when a product is counterfeit.
        In addition to that, we also know that there is price
    gouging taking place. And I was proud to join Senator
    Blumenthal, our Chairman, in introducing a piece of legislation
    called Stopping the Grinch Bots Act, which is contributing to
    that. And when there are fewer, in this case, gaming devices
    that are out on the market, then there are more counterfeits
    that enter, and then, more dangers that result from that.
    Parents deserve fair pricing and safe products, not just for
    this time of year, but for all parts of the year.
        Ms. Rhodes, you outlined, in your testimony, the
    availability of counterfeit goods online is a problem year-
    round. So, in my home state, one of the other areas that we
    have concerns with with counterfeit products are Native
    American art, crafts, which have caused local artists millions
    and millions of dollars. Most of the imitations are created
    overseas, imported, and then, sold here in the United States as
    genuine. It is a violation of Federal law and needs to stop.
    And it is just, every time I get a chance to talk about it, I
    remind everyone that you are going to go to jail if you are
    doing this, once you are caught. And you will get caught.
        What is more, counterfeit safety gear can also cause
    people's lives. Last year, in the Energy and Commerce Committee
    hearing, when I was a member of the House, there was a
    counterfeit bike that was brought in, a counterfeit bicycle
    helmet that was brought in, and they asked if I would stand on
    that bicycle helmet. I told them, well, I might crush it under
    normal circumstances. But they assured me, by standing on one
    that I would wear regularly when I am out riding my bike that
    it would not crush the way that this on did. I stood on it,
    gave it a little bit of pressure, like an eggshell. And earlier
    that year, myself, I had had a pretty serious fall where I went
    over the handlebars. My helmet stopped me from doing additional
    damage, because I went into a bunch of rocks.
        So, these counterfeit goods, in addition to the lack of
    safety standards, could very well cost people their lives. So,
    the question that I have for the panel is, yes or no, do
    counterfeit products online pose a threat to the health and
    safety of consumers? Ms. Rhodes?
        Ms. Rhodes. Yes.
        Senator Lujan. Dr. Hoffman?
        Dr. Hoffman. Absolutely.
        Senator Lujan. And Ms. Lawrence?
        Ms. Lawrence. Yes, they do.
        Senator Lujan. And Ms. Rhodes, what steps should online
    platforms take to eliminate the presence of counterfeit goods?
        Ms. Rhodes. Online platforms should inform the consumers as
    of much information as they can about who they are purchasing
    goods from. They can also--apologies. They can also use their
    platform to navigate what are dangerous listings and make sure
    they are removing them immediately.
        Senator Lujan. So, according to PIRG's Annual Toy Safety
    Report for 2021, your organization also found multiple examples
    of recalled products available for sale online. So, what more
    should these platforms do to ensure that dangerous recall
    products are not available on their sites?
        Ms. Rhodes. For hosting sites, they should make sure that
    they are reviewing for recalling products. But for recalling
    companies, there needs to be more accountability in the system.
    One way could be the CPSC releasing an annual report looking at
    recall participation rates. We can also have recalling
    companies promote the recall the same extent that they would
    promote the product to begin with.
        Senator Lujan. So, recently the CPSC also took action to
    recall more than 10 million magnets that also pose serious
    death concerns, if people were to swallow those rare Earth
    magnets, as well. This year, less than 1/3 of recalled products
    are actually corrected or destroyed. So, there is still an
    uphill battle, even with the current standards of the CPSC. So,
    my question is, how do we improve those numbers and how can
    Congress and CPSC improve the effectiveness of product recalls?
        Ms. Rhodes. Absolutely. And that goes to the recalling
    companies' promoting and marketing, which they could do through
    a bunch of means. This could be through targeted social media
    ads. Just actually promoting the recall on their social media
    pages. They can even use the influencers that they pay to
    promote the product to also talk about the product recall.
        The most important thing is getting awareness into the
    public. And while consumers can learn about recalls and even
    report bad incidents on saferproducts.gov, most consumers are
    not aware that that database exists. So, it is important to
    also market saferproduct.gov and have the CPSC really highlight
    how important that database is and how it can be used by
    consumers.
        Senator Lujan. I appreciate that. Mr. Chairman, I do have a
    few other questions. I will submit them to the record. But
    again, I want to thank the witnesses. And Ms. Hamsmith, I am
    sorry that you have to be here today, but I am grateful that
    you are. Thank you again, Mr. Chairman.
        Senator Blumenthal. Thanks, Senator Lujan. Senator Markey.

                   STATEMENT OF HON. EDWARD MARKEY,
                    U.S. SENATOR FROM MASSACHUSETTS

        Senator Markey. Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman. This is
    just such an incredibly important hearing.
        When parents put a Christmas gift under the Christmas tree,
    they assume it is safe. They assume nothing can go wrong. They
    think that they are making their child happy. They want their
    children to look up at them with big smiles, as they are
    unwrapping all of these presents under the Christmas tree. And
    the Consumer Product Safety Commission's job is to make sure
    that the smile stays on the faces of those children and
    parents.
        And we know that, historically, because of unscrupulous
    manufacturers of goods, that counterfeit products, that
    mislabeled items, that recalled products, just to name a few of
    the categories that exist, make their way under Christmas
    trees, all across our country. And children are the victims.
    And the Consumer Product Safety Commission is supposed to be
    the cop on the beat to make sure that those children are not
    harmed in our country.
        So, the examples are just so many that it is hard to focus
    on all of them, but children are especially vulnerable to toxic
    substances. And a minor flaw that would only be an
    inconvenience to an adult, could have serious short- and long-
    term consequences for a child. We know that.
        So, from my perspective, this is a very important hearing.
    And what I would ask from you, Ms. Rhodes, is do we need a
    fifth Consumer Product Safety Commission Commissioner, so that
    they can act and put the right kinds of safeguards in place?
        Ms. Rhodes. Yes, we absolutely do.
        Senator Markey. And do you agree with that, Ms. Hamsmith?
    Yes, and Dr. Rhodes, do you agree with that? I mean--I am
    sorry, Dr. Hoffman. I am sorry. Dr. Hoffman.
        Dr. Hoffman. Yes. Thank you, Senator Markey. Absolutely.
    The American Academy of Pediatrics believes that a fully
    functioning and adequately resourced Consumer Product Safety
    Commission is absolutely essential.
        Senator Markey. Yes, thank you. And Ms. Rhodes, is there a
    particular group of products that are of most concern to you?
        Ms. Rhodes. For counterfeit products?
        Senator Markey. Yes.
        Ms. Rhodes. Yes. I think children's toys falls in that
    category because we know children throw toys at the wall, they
    put them in their mouths. So, if there are toxic chemicals or
    they can be causing small parts, those are known hazards. Other
    goods that are particularly concerning are medicine or
    cosmetics, things that are going on our body or in, or we
    swallow them.
        Senator Markey. Yes, thank you. So, yes, this--so, this is
    a very important area. And here is what I will say. All I want
    for Christmas is a fifth Consumer Product Safety Commissioner
    to be put in place. And then, families across the country can
    rely upon the Federal Government to ensure that these bad
    companies--these bad actors do not endanger their children.
        So, let us just work very hard, here in the Commerce
    Committee and in the U.S. Senate, to get that Commissioner on
    the job, to make sure that all of the children in our country
    are protected proactively. That the Commission is working hard
    to make sure these toys, these products are never on the
    shelves in the first place.
        So, I thank all of you for being willing to testify today.
    And hopefully, it will be the spur for us to telescope the
    timeframe, which it takes for us to get that fifth
    commissioner--to get Mary Boyle on the floor of the Senate for
    full consideration.
        Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        Senator Blumenthal. Thanks, Senator Markey. I was going to
    make the same point about the fifth Consumer Protection--CPSC
    Commissioner. Well made, much better than I could.
        Let me ask our other witness, Ms. Lawrence, on behalf of
    the Toy Industry Association, assuming that you support toy
    safety, is it not important they have a fifth Commissioner
    confirmed?
        Ms. Lawrence. Absolutely. The CPSC is a small agency with a
    big mission. And we would support all resources to help them
    see through that mission for all consumer products, including
    the addition of the Commissioner.
        Senator Blumenthal. I really welcome and appreciate your
    support for additional resources. I assume, Ms. Rhodes, you
    agree that additional resources are important for the CPSC?
        Ms. Rhodes. Yes, they are needed for the CPSC to do their
    job and protect consumers.
        Senator Blumenthal. And Dr. Hoffman, would you agree?
        Dr. Hoffman. I absolutely agree.
        Senator Blumenthal. You know, for this agency to be more
    than, as I mentioned earlier, a paper tiger, it has to have
    resources to investigate, to take evidence, to build the case.
    And in addition to eliminating section 6B and the impediments
    it poses to effective education and disclosure, the resources
    are necessary to uncover the hazards in the first place. Would
    you agree, Ms. Rhodes?
        Ms. Rhodes. Yes, they are needed.
        Senator Blumenthal. You know, Ms. Hamsmith, I think,
    mentioned in her written testimony that Australia is one nation
    that has implemented a mandatory product standard to require
    warning labels and child resistant closures on battery-operated
    devices, including toys. These requirements are set to go in
    effect, I believe, in 2022. What do you believe, Ms. Rhodes
    that that kind of requirement would have on toy safety in this
    country? In effect, it is Reese's Law.
        Ms. Rhodes. Yes. I believe it is critical that Reese's Law
    is passed. When speaking to a pediatrician from University
    Hospital, children--rainbow babies and Children's Hospital, we
    learned that button battery ingestions can start to burn holes
    within the first 30 minutes. It is critical that we have these
    safeguards to protect children's health.
        Senator Blumenthal. Dr. Hoffman, you have mentioned that
    you support Reese's Law. Ms. Lawrence, would you agree that we
    should approve Reese's Law?
        Ms. Lawrence. Yes. In fact, the Toy Association applauds
    the work you are doing to help keep children, excuse me--pardon
    me--to help keep children safe from battery ingestion. And we
    recommend that you use the example that has been set in our
    U.S. Toy Safety Standard as a model for what you are seeking to
    do for other product categories.
        Senator Blumenthal. And as you mentioned in your testimony,
    Ms. Lawrence, toys or objects with a play value are required to
    adhere to ASTM F963, which has a set of toy safety standards.
    Would you comment on what effect those standards have had on
    the toy industry?
        Ms. Lawrence. Are you asking regarding batteries, or in
    general?
        Senator Blumenthal. Both. In general, and specifically,
    with respect to toy batteries.
        Ms. Lawrence. OK. Well, those standards are required, by
    law, and companies must demonstrate compliance with third
    party, independent testing by an accredited laboratory and be
    certified that they comply with the standards. We have noticed,
    since this has been made mandatory in the CPSIA Act of 2008,
    that we have seen a decrease in the number of recalls. We have
    also seen a significant decrease in the number of incidents
    related to toys. So, we do see that making these requirements
    mandatory for all products sold in the U.S. has had an impact.
        Regarding batteries, that standard was implemented as part
    of the toy standard in the 1990s. And we, when, you know
    battery ingestion data came out about 10 years ago, we started
    to go through that data and look at what are the scenarios and
    examples where toys were involved somehow. And we found it was
    from situations where batteries were left within a child's
    reach--whether it was a spent battery, or a new battery
    intended to go in a toy. That is how children were getting the
    batteries.
        But the locking mechanism that we have required in our toy
    standard, was upheld because we found that it was working.
    Children were not--that locking mechanism was not failing and
    allowing children to get the batteries that way. But what it
    did tell us was that we needed to put labeling on toys, so that
    consumers really understood how serious a hazard this is for
    children to access batteries from any source. And so, in 2016,
    we implemented that addition to the toy standard, and we have
    found that this has made an impact. In general, most of the
    incidents are not related to toys. And when they are, it is
    because the batteries have been left within a child's reach or
    a child found them in the garbage can.
        Senator Blumenthal. So, I really hope that the Toy
    Association will back Reese's Law. And that when you get back
    to us with that position, that it will be to support Reese's
    Law because it would, in effect, extend or incorporate warnings
    and the compartments or securing, locking, whatever you call
    it, of the batteries within a device, so that they would not
    pop out or be easily accessible to children.
        Dr. Hoffman, let me go back to something that is, sort of,
    a pet peeve of mine. I highlight it every year--balloons. I am
    holding up a couple of examples. If we were not in the U.S.
    Senate, I would do what I normally do in the press conferences
    we have with Conn PIRG in Connecticut, which is to blow up one
    of these balloons and then, pop it and show how the remnants of
    that deflated balloon are so easily swallowed. Can you comment
    on how important a choking hazard balloons can be, if they are
    not properly supervised?
        Dr. Hoffman. Absolutely, Senator. I remember very vividly
    as a--when I was in training in residency, caring for an 18-
    month-old child who, on his--at a birthday party, had been
    holding a balloon and an adult came up behind the child and
    tickled them to startle them, which caused the balloon to pop.
    The child inhaled and the balloon lodged itself in the child's
    airway. He, sadly, died as a result of that and that has
    forever impacted me.
        The issue of rubber and latex balloons, especially, it has
    been estimated that it is around 15 children a year die as a
    result of aspiration or ingestion, of either balloons or parts
    of balloons. This is another thing that is completely
    preventable. And I appreciate that people like balloons. They
    are fun. But they are also--they are--they need to be
    considered a hazard.
        We do not see the same risk associated with the mylar
    balloons, which I think are a reasonable alternative for
    somebody who absolutely, positively, had to have a balloon. But
    I think in 2021, it is hard to come up with an argument why we
    need--why we still need latex or rubber balloons, especially
    around kids.
        I think one of the things that needs to be highlighted--you
    know, we spend a lot of time talking about toys. Kids do not
    decide--kids do not care if something is labeled a toy or not
    labeled a toy. If you give a child your car keys and that fob
    has button batteries in it, that child is going to explore it
    and play with it in a way they would play with anything else,
    including, especially for younger kids, putting it in their
    mouth. And so, I think we need to be looking at this from the
    perspective of kids recognizing that everything is a toy and,
    developmentally, they are built to explore. And a lot of that
    exploration involves putting things in their mouth, especially
    for younger kids. And the safest thing we can possibly do is
    ensure that kids do not have access to those products.
        Senator Blumenthal. I think that is a really excellent
    explanation. Not only do kids not know whether something is a
    toy or not, they do not really care or know whether a balloon
    is made of one substance or another--mylar versus any other
    substance. And so, mylar balloons are a pretty good choice.
    Would you agree?
        Dr. Hoffman. I think they are a much safer choice. They are
    not without hazard, but they are a much safer choice.
        Senator Blumenthal. But parental supervision is important
    because asphyxiation can be caused in a matter of minutes,
    correct?
        Dr. Hoffman. Yes. I think parental supervision--you know, I
    mentioned earlier this idea about layers of protection.
    Parental supervision is an absolutely essential layer, but it
    is completely insufficient because nobody's supervision can be
    perfect. And I mentioned earlier, I have had the privilege of
    working with a number of families who have lost children to
    unintentional injury and helping elevate their stories and
    bring their voices to the advocacy work. And one parent--I do
    not know if Senator Blackburn is still there, but a parent who
    has become very close--a very close friend from Tennessee,
    always talks about everybody expects they are going to find the
    loophole. That it is never going to happen to them. But the
    fact of the matter is, it does happen to people. It happens to
    real people who love their kids, who care, who are doing the
    best they possibly can. And all it takes is a second of
    distraction. And nobody can provide the perfect level of
    supervision.
        So, we need those multiple layers and that includes, you
    know, things like closures on battery--closures to ensure that
    batteries cannot be released and removing potential hazards
    from the home and making sure that things do not get to market
    that are fundamentally dangerous. I think that the magnets that
    you mentioned earlier are a really good example of something
    that, you know, to a child, does not matter whether it is
    called a toy or marketed as a toy. To a child, you know, rare
    Earth magnets are a toy, and they end up in the mouth and then,
    they end up in the gut and then, that ends badly.
        Senator Blumenthal. And I am holding up some examples of
    those magnets, Dr. Hoffman, rare Earth magnets. They are very,
    very powerful. They are used on people's desks. They are, kind
    of, playthings for adults. While they are on the phone they can
    fiddle with them. But as you say, a child who walks into a
    parent's home office does not know that they are for the parent
    to fiddle with or play with, not for the child. And they are
    really difficult to separate, but they are composed of a lot of
    these tiny beads. Could you tell us--I tried a little bit
    earlier, what happens exactly to, or can happen to, a child's
    digestive system if they swallow some of these magnets?
        Dr. Hoffman. So, thank you, Senator. If a child--ingesting
    one would not be a problem. Ingesting more than one, those
    magnets are so strong that they are going to find each other
    across the bowel. And if they are inches apart, they will be
    drawn to each other. And what happens is, they squeeze the
    bowel tissue, the gastrointestinal tissue, between them and
    that causes a loss of blood supply, and the bowel dies.
        And so, injury there can happen, also, you know, within a
    matter of a very short period of time, in as short of time as
    an hour. It can lead to perforation of the intestine, which is
    a very serious, life-threatening condition. And as happens with
    button and coin cell ingestions, they often--they can be hard
    to detect, and they can often go undetected until they have
    caused serious injury.
        Senator Blumenthal. Thank you. A number of pieces of
    legislation have been mentioned--the STURDY Act, which is led
    by Senator Casey, that requires the CPSC to provide safety
    standards for free standing clothing storage units, such as
    dressers, bureaus, or chests of drawers. And a second version
    of the STURDY Act, we just reintroduced, with consensus
    agreement among a number of the manufacturers. There are other
    pieces of legislation that have been introduced and hope that
    we can move them forward.
        Ms. Rhodes, do you support this legislation?
        Ms. Rhodes. The STURDY Act? U.S. PIRG does not have a
    position on the STURDY Act.
        Senator Blumenthal. And Ms. Lawrence, I think you mentioned
    that you do. I do not know whether, Dr. Hoffman, you are
    familiar with the STURDY Act?
        Dr. Hoffman. Absolutely and the American Academy of
    Pediatrics supports it very strongly.
        Senator Blumenthal. I want to just close by, again,
    thanking our--all of our panelists, our witnesses, this
    morning. You have provided a really powerful record for passing
    Reese's Law. I know that Ms. Lawrence will be providing us her
    position on behalf of the Toy Industry Association. But again,
    to Trista Hamsmith, you have really made this cause a national
    issue and I am very proud to be introducing Reese's Law today
    with Senator Blackburn. We hope it will be approved promptly.
    The sooner it is passed, the more children we can protect and
    the more injuries we can prevent.
        So, I want to thank all of our witnesses and my colleagues.
    The record will remain open for 2 weeks in case there are any
    written questions from my colleagues, or additional answers in
    response to questions from our witnesses.
        And with that, the hearing is adjourned. Thank you.
        [Whereupon, at 11:48 a.m., the hearing was adjourned.]

                                A P P E N D I X

               United States Consumer Product Safety Commission
                                        Bethesda, MD, December 14, 2021

    Hon. Richard Blumenthal,
    Chair,
    Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security,
    Washington, DC.

    Hon. Marsha Blackburn,
    Ranking Member,
    Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security,
    Washington, DC.

    VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL

    RE: Comments for the Record for the Subcommittee on Consumer
                Protection, Product Safety and Data Security Hearing
                Entitled ``Hidden Holiday Hazards: Product Safety During
                the Holiday Season''

    Dear Chair Blumenthal and Ranking Member Blackburn:

        Thank you for holding the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection,
    Product Safety, and Data Security hearing, entitled ``Hidden Holiday
    Hazards: Product Safety During the Holiday Season.'' This hearing
    discussed a number of important consumer safety issues including
    ingestion and choking hazards from items such as button cell batteries,
    toys, and balloons. Such hazards can result in tragedy if not addressed
    properly. The hearing also included testimony about how the Consumer
    Product Safety Commission (CPSC) must improve its effectiveness at both
    traditional ports and those facilitating e-commerce. I agree.
        I am thankful for the attention this hearing brought to these
    critical aspects of CPSC's mission. I write to you, and for the hearing
    record, to share my views and recent efforts regarding small parts
    enforcement, and improving CPSC effectiveness at the ports.
    I. The CPSC Small Parts Rule Must Be Enforced
        Choking hazards are dangerous for consumers of any age, but are
    particularly serious for young children. Toys that obstruct children's
    airways were a leading cause of toy-related fatalities in 2020. CPSC is
    aware of at least nine toy-related deaths in 2020 for children 12 years
    of age or younger, six of which were associated with airway obstruction
    hazards.\1\ Another fatality was associated with an aspiration hazard
    involving a nail shaped plastic toy.\2\ Due to delays in death
    certificate reporting, fatality information is not yet complete for
    2020.\3\ Accordingly, these fatality statistics will likely increase
    once reporting is complete. In any event, these fatalities are too
    high, particularly considering the Commission's existing regulation
    banning small parts in toys and other articles intended for children
    under three.\4\ I want to assure the Committee that protecting children
    from choking hazards by fully enforcing the Small Parts Rule is one of
    my highest priorities as a CPSC Commissioner.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ U.S. Consumer Prod. Safety Comm'n, Toy-Related Deaths and
    Injuries Calendar Year 2020 (2021) at 6, https://cpsc-d8-media-
    prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/Toy-Related-Deaths
    -and-Injuries-2020.pdf?VersionId=XOEWLpoHSpcMtio3Ccab6gn4umXCso.7.
        \2\ Id. at 7.
        \3\ Id.
        \4\ See 16 C.F.R. Sec. 1501.2 (``Small Parts Rule'').
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        For the past several years, I have made my views clear.\5\ CPSC
    staff's interpretation of the Small Parts Rule is incorrect,
    particularly with respect to flocked toys, but also ``stuffed, plush .
    . . and other figures,'' as explained in the regulation.\6\ The current
    interpretation excludes certain toys that should be treated as per se
    violative, thereby impeding full enforcement. In November 2020, I sent
    a letter to then-Acting Chairman Robert Adler raising this issue.\7\
    Specifically, I made clear that, in my opinion, CPSC has been
    misapplying the agency's method for identifying toys that fall per se
    within the scope of the small parts rule.\8\ A copy of this letter is
    attached.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \5\ See e.g., Press Release, Statement of Commissioner Peter A.
    Feldman on Flocked Toys (May 6, 2021), https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-
    public/COPF%20Statement%20on%20Flocked%20
    Toys%20FINAL.pdf; and see, e.g., CPSC Public Hearing on Commission
    Agenda and Priorities for Fiscal Year 2022 (Apr. 7, 2021) (Statement of
    Comm'r Peter A. Feldman) (``it's my understanding that CPSC compliance
    staff still allow dangerous small parts to be sold as is or as toy
    accessories, if they believe that the toy itself is appropriately age
    graded for 3 years or older. I personally believe that this is
    inconsistent with both the regulation and the official policy
    referenced in the regulation, I also believe frankly that it's
    dangerous. . .'').
        \6\ See Small Parts Rule, supra note 4.
        \7\ Letter from Peter A. Feldman. Comm'r, U.S. Consumer Prod.
    Safety Comm'n, to Robert S. Adler, Acting Chairman, U.S. Consumer Prod.
    Safety Comm'n (Nov. 25, 2020) (attached).
        \8\ See Id.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        These products have known fatalities and at least one near miss,\9\
    and were previously listed on the U.S. Public Interest Research Group's
    Trouble in Toyland list of dangerous toys.\10\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \9\ Mark Saal, Farmington Mom, 911 Dispatcher Hailed for Saving
    Choking Toddler, Standard-Examiner (July 4, 2013), https://
    www.standard.net/police-fire/2013/jul/04/farmington-mom-dispatcher-
    hailed-for-saving-choking-toddler.
        \10\ U.S. Pub. Interest Research Group, Trouble in Toyland 2020
    (Nov. 2020), https://uspirg.org/sites/pirg/files/reports/Trouble-In-
    Toyland_2020/USP_Toyland-Report_Nov20_web
    .pdf (last accessed Dec. 3, 2021).
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Earlier this year, the U.S. District Court of New Mexico appeared
    to agree with my position, concluding that these toys and their
    accessories are banned hazardous substances as a matter of law.\11\
    Given this ruling, I am frustrated that, to date, CPSC has still yet to
    act.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \11\ Schmidt v. Int'l Playthings LLC, No. 1:2019 Civ. 00933, Doc.
    172 at 99-101 (D.N.M. 2021) (relying on CPSC's own guidance to reach
    its conclusion), https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/
    new-mexico/nmdce/1:2019cv00933/432865/172/.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        In October, I met with representatives of the Toy Industry
    Association (TIA) to discuss this issue. It is clear that a difference
    of opinion exists as to the proper enforcement standard. I am also
    attaching an October 11, 2021, media report summarizing this meeting
    with TIA, which I believe accurately describes the industry group's
    position.\12\ Ultimately, it will fall to the Commission to address the
    enforcement policy.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \12\ Sean Oberle, No Room to Interpret Small Parts on Flocked Toys,
    Feldman Tells TA, Prod. Safety Ltr. (Oct. 11, 2021) (attached).
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Rest assured, I will continue my efforts within the Commission to
    apply the proper safety standard to these toys. I remain hopeful that
    with a newly-constituted Commission, we may now be in a position to
    correct future enforcement and keep children safe from these known
    hazards. If progress towards full enforcement of the Small Parts Rule
    does not occur, additional oversight and direction from Congress may
    become necessary.
    II. CPSC Must Focus and Increase Resources at Ports of Entry
        As witnesses testified during the hearing, interdicting dangerous
    products at the ports must remain one of CPSC's top priorities.
    Following the passage of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of
    2008,\13\ CPSC enhanced its safety mission by expanding its presence at
    high-volume ports of entry to conduct screenings and seizures of
    dangerous products. Among other things, CPSC port inspectors routinely
    screen for toys with obvious small parts violations and latex balloons
    that do not include the required warning labels.\14\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \13\ The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, Pub. L.
    110-314, 122 Stat. 3016 (Aug. 14, 2008).
        \14\ See 16 C.F.R. 1500.19 (requiring latex balloons to include the
    cautionary statement: ``WARNING: CHOKING HAZARD--Children under 8 yrs.
    can choke or suffocate on uninflated or broken balloons. Adult
    Supervision required'').
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        For nearly six months at the start of the pandemic, then-Acting
    Chairman Adler and his executive leadership team withdrew the agency's
    frontline inspectors from their duty stations, over the concerns of
    some Commissioners and without full transparency to Congress or
    American consumers.\15\ While the initial pullback may have been
    necessary to establish health and safety protocols for our inspectors
    and other relevant inspection and testing personnel, the extended
    absence could and should have been avoided. In an October 2021 report
    to Congress, CPSC Inspector General (IG) Christopher W. Dentel pointed
    out that the lack of a suitable Enterprise Risk Management (ERM)
    program contributed to our absence from the ports.\16\ Specifically, IG
    Dentel found that:
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \15\ Letitia Stein and Tricia Nadolny, Hazardous goods found for
    sale after consumer protection inspectors were pulled from ports during
    COVID-19, USA Today, July 14, 2021, https://www
    .usatoday.com/story/news/investigations/2021/07/14/consumer-product-
    safety-risk-after-covid-port-screening-lapse/7938830002/.
        \16\ Off. of Inspector Gen., U.S. Consumer Prod. Safety Comm'n, Top
    Management and Performance Challenges Fiscal Year 2022, at 6 (OCT. 21,
    2021), https://www.oversight.gov
    /sites/default/files/oig-reports/CPSC/Top-Management-and-Performance-
    Challenges-Fiscal-Year-2022-Final.pdf.

            [p]erhaps nowhere was the CPSC's deficits in integrating ERM
            into its operations clearer than in its decision to remove
            inspectors from the Nation's ports for a prolonged period at
            the beginning of the pandemic. A mature ERM process would have
            allowed for a more nuanced approach which would have better
            balanced the risks to inspectors against the safety of American
            consumers.\17\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \17\ Id.

        It is worth noting that other agencies, including U.S. Customs and
    Border Protection, never pulled back from the ports during the
    pandemic. I remain concerned that the full effect of this lapse will
    never be known, in part because CPSC never conducted a serious remedial
    screening of products that entered the country during this period.
    While CPSC staff did submit a report to Congress as required under Pub.
    L. No. 116-260, I fear the nature of this review lacked the depth and
    detail necessary to account fully for our time away from the ports.\18\
    The decision to withdraw inspectors placed consumers at risk. The
    failure to conduct comprehensive inspections of product inventory
    continues this risk.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \18\ Staff Report to Congress Pursuant to Title XX, Section 2001 of
    the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Pub. L. No. 116-260) Port
    Surveillance (June 25, 2021), https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/CPSC-
    Report-to-Congress-Consolidated-Appropriations-Act-Port-
    Surveillance.pdf?iYw
    rKt8RXocIVYSMoXm5uiL7VfItQIIZ.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        The good news is that CPSC returned its inspectors to the ports
    after the months-long absence.\19\ Although our inspectors are back at
    work, more needs to be done. In particular, it continues to be my
    position that we must increase the number of inspectors at traditional
    high-volume ports and to grow our fledgling e-commerce inspection
    program. CPSC will always face challenges in denying bad actors access
    to our markets and interdicting dangerous products. Our first and best
    line of defense is to stop these products from entering American
    commerce before they get to physical or digital store shelves.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \19\ See USA Today, supra note 15.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        As part of the 2022 Operating Plan, the Commission added 27 new
    port inspectors at traditional high-volume and e-commerce ports of
    entry and increased resources for our compliance staff in the field. I
    am proud to have supported this plan.\20\ Given the supply-chain issues
    facing many of our largest ports, I believe it is imperative that these
    busy hubs of commerce have a robust CPSC presence. Moreover, I support
    increasing our presence at non-traditional ports to address the
    emerging challenges e-commerce presents. Commerce is not conducted the
    same way as it was in 1972, when the agency was created. To function
    properly, and to keep American consumers safe, CPSC must adapt to modem
    modes of transportation and distribution.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \20\ Press Release, Dana Baiocco and Peter A. Feldman, Comm'rs,
    U.S. Consumer Prod. Safety Comm'n, Joint Statement of Commissioners
    Dana Baiocco and Peter A. Feldman on the Passage of the Fiscal year
    2022 Operating Plan (Sept. 28, 2021), https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/
    FY22OpPlanJointStatement.pdf?VersionId=vYdSOfbkYTyz.Xpl9UOof1AACeGW3evJ.

    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    III. Conclusion
        Although CPSC cannot prevent every death, we must work to minimize
    injuries and hazards to the American public. This starts with properly
    enforcing our law and regulations and creating a robust and modem port
    inspection team. I will continue to advocate for these priorities and
    stand ready to work with the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce,
    Science, and Transportation to improve CPSC's ability to fulfill its
    mission.
        Thank you again for holding this important hearing, and all your
    work protecting American consumers from dangerous products. Please do
    not hesitate to contact me with any questions.
                Sincerely,
                                              Peter A. Feldman,
                                                          Commissioner.
    Enclosures

    cc: The Honorable Maria Cantwell, Chair, U.S. Senate Committee on
    Commerce, Science, and Transportation

    The Honorable Roger F. Wicker, Ranking Member, U.S. Senate Committee on
    Commerce, Science, and Transportation
                                     ______

                                  ENCLOSURE A

    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

                                  ENCLOSURE B

    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

                                     ______

        Response to Written Question Submitted by Hon. Amy Klobuchar to
                                 Hannah Rhodes
        Products Sold Online. I am concerned about safety when consumers
    buy products online. In July, the Consumer Product Safety Commission
    (CPSC) filed suit against Amazon to recall hazardous products sold on
    Amazon.com, including 24,000 defective carbon monoxide detectors that
    fail to alarm, numerous flammable children's sleepwear garments, and
    nearly 400,000 hair dryers sold without the required devices that
    protect against shock and electrocution.

        Question. In 2020, online sales represented more than 21 percent of
    total retail sales for the year--up 44 percent from 2019. What action
    needs to be taken to further protect consumers, particularly from
    dangers online?
        Answer. U.S. PIRG supports the language of The Integrity,
    Notification, and Fairness in Online Retail Marketplaces for Consumers
    (INFORM) Act to help prevent counterfeit and other dangerous goods from
    ending up in American's homes.\1\ We also support ensuring that online
    platforms that host third-party sellers verify that the consumer
    products being sold have undergone the proper safety testing and have
    the appropriate certifications.\2\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ Congress.gov, ``S.963--INFORM Consumers ACT'' (online at:
    https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/936/text).
        \2\ CPSC, ``Testing & Certification'' (online at: https://
    www.cpsc.gov/Business--Manufacturing/Testing-Certification).

    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Response to Written Question Submitted by Hon. Ben Ray Lujan to
                                 Hannah Rhodes
        Flocked Toys and Small Parts. I recognize that PIRG's 2020 Trouble
    in Toyland report advocated for the recall of flocked toys with small
    parts such as the Calico Critters Yellow Labrador Twins. I am deeply
    concerned by potentially hazardous products remaining available,
    especially given reports concerning the death of a young child in New
    Mexico and a near-death incident for a boy in Utah.

        Question. What steps should the CPSC take concerning these
    products?
        Answer. U.S. PIRG continues to advocate that the Calico Critters
    flocked toys and accessories be recalled by the U.S. Consumer Product
    Safety Commission (CPSC) and that these products pose a dangerous
    choking hazard.\3\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \3\ U.S. PIRG, ``Trouble in Toyland: 35th Annual Toy Safety
    Report'' (Nov. 12, 2020) (online at: https://uspirg.org/sites/pirg/
    files/reports/Trouble-In-Toyland_2020/USP_Toyland-Report_Nov
    20_web.pdf).
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                     ______

        Response to Written Question Submitted by Hon. Amy Klobuchar to
                                Dr. Ben Hoffman
        STURDY Act. After Ted McGee, a 22-month old from Apple Valley,
    Minnesota was killed by a falling IKEA Malm dresser, I worked with the
    Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and IKEA to recall these
    dangerous products. I also joined Senators Casey and Blumenthal in
    reintroducing the STURDY Act earlier this month to protect children
    from injuries and deaths related to furniture tip-overs. The bill
    directs the CPSC to create safety standards for dressers and other
    storage units.

        Question. You highlighted this bill in your testimony. How will
    legislation like this be critical in helping address dangers in the
    home?
        Answer.
        Dear Senator Klobuchar:

        Thank you for submitting this question for the record for the
    American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), and thank you for your work to
    protect children from injuries and deaths related to furniture tip-
    overs. The AAP strongly supports the STURDY Act and urges the Senate to
    advance this bipartisan legislation expeditiously. According to the
    CPSC, a child is sent to the emergency department every 60 minutes
    following a furniture tip-over incident, and one to two children die
    every month. These tragedies can and must be prevented, and the best
    solution is to design a safer dresser that will not tip over and harm
    children. I care for families with young children who live in rental
    properties with a landlord who has prohibited installation of wall
    anchors for furniture. For these families, the only way to protect
    their children from furniture top-overs would be ensuring the furniture
    itself was not a risk.
        The STURDY Act would require the CPSC to create a mandatory safety
    standard for dressers and other clothing storage units to prevent child
    fatalities and injuries. The new standard would require testing to
    simulate the weights of children up to 72 months old; require testing
    measures to account for scenarios involving carpeting, drawers with
    items in them, multiple open drawers, and the dynamic forces of a
    climbing child; and mandate strong warning requirements. These
    provisions would significantly improve on the current voluntary
    standard by better representing the real-world risks children face from
    furniture tip-overs. Parents and caregivers need a strong mandatory
    standard to protect children from furniture tip-overs, and the STURDY
    Act would direct the CPSC to implement one quickly. Thank you again for
    your bipartisan leadership of this important legislation.
                                     ______

     Responses submitted on Behalf of The Toy Association by Alan Kaufman,
                           due to J. Lawrence illness
     Response to Written Question Submitted by Hon. Richard Blumenthal to
                                 Joan Lawrence
        Product Safety Information. Please provide the Toy Industry
    Association's position on S.1355, the Sunshine in Product Safety Act,
    and whether the Toy Industry Association supports a change Section 6(b)
    of the Consumer Product Safety Act, which creates roadblocks and
    unnecessary delays to the disclosure of product safety information to
    consumers.
        Answer. There has been from time to time a push by certain special
    interests to repeal section 6(b) of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15
    U.S.C. 2064(b)), arguing that this section of the CPSA prevents the
    public from knowing about product safety problems in a timely manner,
    but this argument does not hold water on closer analysis. They also
    argue that this clause is unique among regulatory agencies, but neglect
    to mention that so is section 15(b) of the CPSA.
        Section 6(b) of the Act was intended by Congress as a
    counterbalance of sorts to section 15(b) of the same act, which
    requires manufacturers and importers to immediately notify the CPSC of
    any information that would suggest the existence of a substantial
    product hazard or a noncompliance to a consumer product safety rule.
    Given that the agency has interpreted ``immediately'' to mean within 24
    hours, and penalties for late or non-reporting are potentially
    significant, companies typically initially report without sufficient
    time to complete an investigation, determine the accuracy of such
    information, or identify key details or circumstances for the initial
    15(b) report. This is the information 6(b) initially ``protects''--and
    which those who seek to repeal 6(b) want access to. However, this
    initial information is often wrong, is revised later based on more
    thorough investigation, and in many cases further investigation
    determines that no defect or hazard actually exists. Releasing the
    information, prior to review and investigation, would flood consumers
    with misleading and frightening information--and further confuse
    consumers if a retraction has to be issued later. At the same time, it
    would unfairly tar perfectly safe products based on premature release
    of incorrect information.
        Section 6(b) is actually a requirement which ultimately works to
    the benefit of consumers. Here is what CPSC says about it in their 6(b)
    fact sheet:

            ``Section 6(b) prohibits the Commission from disclosing
            information about a consumer product that identifies a
            manufacturer or private labeler unless the Commission has taken
            ``reasonable steps'' to assure 1) that the information is
            accurate, 2) that disclosure of the information is fair in the
            circumstances, and 3) that disclosure of the information is
            reasonably related to effectuating the purposes of the CPSA and
            of the other laws administered by the Commission. Before
            disclosure of such information, the Commission must provide the
            manufacturer or private labeler with an opportunity to comment
            on the accuracy of the information. The Commission may not
            disclose such information for at least 15 days after sending it
            to the company for comment.''

        So, the CPSC currently can release this information with only a 15-
    day delay, even over manufacturer objections, if it is accurate and
    fair. We are of the opinion that section 6(b) provides a minimal and
    reasonable check on CPSC to be certain that product-or manufacturer-
    specific information must be reviewed by the agency for accuracy and
    fairness prior to release, and that manufacturers have an opportunity
    to comment on the accuracy and fairness as well. While 6(b) may delay
    the release of preliminary, inaccurate, and misleading information, it
    does not in any way delay CPSC from releasing information that is
    necessary to carry out its mission.
        ``Eliminating 6(b) to improve consumer access to vital
    information'' sounds like a laudable goal, but, in reality and as
    described here, 6(b) avoids bombarding consumers with useless,
    incorrect information on the safety of consumer products. Further,
    eliminating 6(b) would strip even minimal manufacturer protections from
    the law.
                                     ______

        Response to Written Question Submitted by Hon. Amy Klobuchar to
                                 Joan Lawrence
        Hazardous Toy Imports. In June 2021, Customs and Border Protection
    agents, working with the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)
    inspectors, intercepted nearly 400 children's toys containing hazardous
    chemicals and unsafe design posing a significant hazard to children at
    the Houston Seaport.

        Question. What more should be done to ensure that imported consumer
    products are safe, particularly for our children?
        Answer. Thank you for asking this, Senator. The Toy Association has
    long supported CPSC's Port Operations as one of the most effective and
    efficient ways to interdict non-complying product before it enters U.S.
    commerce. Further, all toys entering and sold in the U.S. must comply
    with mandatory toy safety standards and be certified as compliant with
    all relevant safety testing.
        We believe that additional enhancements can be made to improve the
    effectiveness of port operations and oversight--and ensure that
    imported products are safe. Among the improvements that could be made
    are the following: greater funding and more personnel for the agency's
    port operations arm; an increase in CPSC's testing laboratory capacity
    to reduce the current 28-day turnaround to release compliant product
    (e.g., this could be achieved by the CPSC using agency-approved
    independent laboratories--or labs of partner government agencies such
    as FDA's).
        Additionally, it is important to note that with the increase in
    online sales, there is also an increase in counterfeit and knock-off
    products being sold online--and growing concern about the safety of
    these products that may not comply with mandatory standards and
    testing. As such, to ensure that children's toys are safe, increased
    attention by the CPSC to counterfeit and knock-off products being sold
    to consumers via online sites is called for, including increased
    surveillance of online platforms and enhanced efforts to work with the
    Postal Service and parcel delivery companies to inspect the many
    direct-to-consumer packages that are sold on e-commerce sites (and fall
    below the $800 de minimis value requiring formal entry).
        I should add that The Toy Association is fully supportive of the
    INFORM Act, which will begin to address some of these issues, and urge
    all Senators to support it as well.
                                     ______

        Response to Written Question Submitted by Hon. Ben Ray Lujan to
                                 Joan Lawrence
        Labeling Requirements. According to the Toy Association, up to
    ninety-six percent of parents don't rely on age grading for toys, even
    though these labels are often in place to ensure child safety.

        Question. How should product labels be updated to ensure they are
    providing parents the critical information they need to ensure child
    safety?
        Answer. Thank you, Senator, for your question. We believe that
    choosing age-appropriate toys is critical to ensuring safe and fun
    playtime, while enhancing the developmental benefits that play
    provides. As such, much of our outreach to consumers includes advice to
    follow the recommended age when selecting toys for children. Age
    recommendations (``age grading'') on toys are intended as safety
    guidance and incorporate the developmental features of children at a
    given age--and the specific features of the toy. Such age grading
    typically follows the authoritative guidance of the U.S. Consumer
    Product Safety Commission on this topic (See CPSC Age Determination
    Guidelines for reference).
        Our year-round messaging to consumers includes guidance on the
    importance of reading and following age grading on toys. We know that
    consumers may be tempted to ``age up'' on toys when they think that
    their child is more advanced than average; our messages emphasize the
    importance of following the recommended age nonetheless (``It's not
    about how smart a child may be, it's safety guidance and should be
    followed.''). See also www.PlaySafe.org.
        In addition to the manufacturers' recommended age on most toys,
    toys that contain certain design features (e.g., small parts, small
    balls, marbles, or certain other features called out in mandatory toy
    safety standards) are also required, by law, to carry specific warning
    labels that describe the hazard and specify a minimum appropriate age
    requirement for the toy.\1\ In some cases, the age prescribed for the
    mandatory warning label may be different (lower) than the toy's overall
    recommended age; this may be confusing to consumers.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ Child Safety Protection Act (CSPA).
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        The Toy Association is currently exploring, with outside experts
    and CPSC Human Factors staff, whether any changes to current industry
    practice can be proposed that will reduce confusion and improve
    consumer adherence to age labels.

                                      [all]