[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 143 (Tuesday, September 25, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1979]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            TAINTED IMPORTS

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                            HON. JOHN BARROW

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 25, 2007

  Mr. BARROW. Madam Speaker, I rise today because I haven't been able 
to open up a newspaper in the last few months without reading about 
another product coming into this country from overseas that is tainted, 
poisonous, or dangerous in some major way.
  Tainted pet food, counterfeit alcohol, poisonous toothpaste, 
children's toys with lead paint . . . the list goes on and on.
  Frankly, I'm tired of hearing about these dangers only when it's too 
late to do anything about them without spending valuable time and 
resources to fix the problem. We need to do a better job of ensuring 
the safety of these imported products across the board.
  As a father and a consumer, I hope that in the coming weeks we'll 
devote the time necessary to figuring out how to identify these 
problems. We need to act before we read about more recalls or worse--
when someone gets physically ill because of lax regulations or 
enforcement. We have a duty to ensure that the stream of commerce isn't 
polluted.

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