[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 79 (Wednesday, May 14, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H3854-H3856]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
APPOINTMENT OF CONFEREES ON H.R. 4040, CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY
MODERNIZATION ACT
Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take from the
Speaker's table the bill (H.R. 4040) to establish consumer product
safety standards and other safety requirements for children's products
and to reauthorize and modernize the Consumer Product Safety
Commission, with a Senate amendment thereto, disagree to the Senate
amendment, and agree to the conference asked by the Senate.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Michigan?
There was no objection.
Motion to Instruct Offered by Mr. Whitfield of Kentucky
Mr. WHITFIELD of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I offer a motion to instruct
conferees.
The Clerk read as follows:
Mr. Whitfield of Kentucky moves that the managers on the
part of the House at the conference on the disagreeing votes
of the two Houses on the Senate amendment to the bill H.R.
4040 be instructed to insist upon the provisions contained in
the House bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Kentucky (Mr. Whitfield) and the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Dingell)
will be recognized for 30 minutes each.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Kentucky.
Mr. WHITFIELD of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
On December 19 of last year, this body spoke with a resounding voice
of approval for our Consumer Product Safety Modernization Act. The
measure passed by a unanimous vote of 407-0.
I would like to thank Chairman Dingell; Ranking Member Barton;
Chairman Rush; and my predecessor, Mr. Stearns, for the great job that
they did in getting this bill through the House.
H.R. 4040 is a bipartisan product. We worked for 4 months and in the
end came up with a stringent but reasoned approach to strengthen the
Consumer Product Safety Commission and to vastly improve the safety of
our children's products. The result was a bill that creates the
toughest lead standard in the world and imposes mandatory safety
standards on products for young children. To ensure such standards are
met, we require third-party testing and certification of children's
products and we nearly double the Consumer Product Safety Commission
budget over 4 years to ensure both the new safety standards and the
testing and certification requirements are met.
All the new standards and increased enforcement in the world will not
help parents unless they also know about dangerous products. We
therefore require improved public notice of recalls as well as tracking
labels on all children's products so parents can identify recalled toys
when they hear about them. We also loosened restrictions to allow the
Consumer Product Safety Commission to release critical product safety
information to the public when people face an imminent health and
safety standard.
Mr. Speaker, I strongly support H.R. 4040. I know that this is a work
product that will maximize our opportunity to protect children from
dangerous toys and products, and I urge and hope that the House
managers will stand by the provisions which passed this Chamber
unanimously only 5 months ago and insist upon the measures of H.R.
4040, as passed by the House.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
General Leave
Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to
include extraneous material on the motion to instruct under
consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Michigan?
There was no objection.
Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise to speak on behalf of the
thoroughly bipartisan legislation underlying this motion. I begin with
a commendation to my good friend from Kentucky (Mr. Whitfield) and to
my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, including Mr. Barton, the
ranking minority member, and the other members of the subcommittee and
full committee who have worked so hard on this legislation on both
sides of the aisle.
I would observe that this is a thoroughly bipartisan piece of
legislation. It passed out of the committee 51-0, and it passed the
House 407-0. It is one of the most important consumer protection bills
to come before this House in this Congress. It is crucially important
for us to have such legislation signed into law this year. And I want
to point out that without it, people will remain at risk from dangerous
products and from an important Federal regulator who will remain both
underfunded and incapable of acting properly to take care of consumers'
legitimate concerns with regard to the safety of all manner of products
from toys from the very beginning of life right through the time that
we enter the graveyard.
On December 19, 2007, the House passed this legislation then without
a dissenting vote. It represents extraordinary work by the Committee on
Energy and Commerce, and it shows how bipartisanship can function, and
it shows how an excellent staff on both sides of the aisle working
together can bring before us legislation that is in the broad overall
public interest. The Senate substituted its version of the bill on
March 6, 2008. Some elements of the Senate bill are problematic, but
others are indeed worthy of serious consideration by the conference
committee. The differences between the two bills are outweighed by
their similarities. There is no reason why the House conferees should
not return here in short order with a workable, balanced, and strong
conference report deserving the full support of the House and upon
which I intend to work closely with my good friends on the minority
side, as we have so far.
I want to remind my colleagues what the House bill does. It bans lead
beyond the most minute amount in products intended for children under
12 years of age. It mandates premarket testing by certified
laboratories for lead and other hazards in children's products, and it
sees that those laboratories are properly qualified and able to carry
out their important responsibilities. It places requirements on
manufacturers to enhance recalls. It empowers the Consumer Product
Safety Commission, CPSC, to share information about dangerous products
immediately. It requires CPSC to provide public access to a database of
serious injuries and deaths caused by consumer products, but it does so
requiring also that the information be truthful, correct, and properly
verified. It prohibits the sale and export of recalled products. It
ensures that CPSC effectively shares information with the States. And
it bans industry-sponsored travel by CPSC Commissioners and their
staff.
I want to observe that the motion is a good one. I support it. I
commend my
[[Page H3855]]
good friend from Kentucky for his offering of it and for his leadership
in the handling of this legislation.
I again want to pay my respects and compliments to my colleagues on
the Republican side and to my colleagues on this side for the
outstanding way in which they have put together this legislation.
I urge that the House support the motion to instruct offered by my
good friend from Kentucky.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. WHITFIELD of Kentucky. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank you for
those kind remarks.
And, Mr. Speaker, I would just reiterate I think we have a great
product. I think we have a wonderful opportunity in conference to come
out with a great product.
Mr. RUSH. Mr. Speaker, on December 19, 2007, the last day of the
session before the holiday season, the House of Representatives passed
H.R. 4040, the Consumer Product Safety Modernization Act. The vote was
407-0. Today, with this Motion to Instruct Conferees, we are taking yet
another step towards fulfilling our pledge to the American people to
protect their children from dangerous products and overhaul the
Consumer Product Safety Commission. I am confident that in the coming
weeks, we can resolve all of the differences between the House and
Senate versions of their respective bills and send a strong piece of
legislation to the President that he will sign into law.
We have much to be proud of in the House version of consumer product
safety reform legislation. H.R. 4040 was introduced by Chairman
Dingell, Ranking Member Barton, Ranking Member Steams, and me. This
historic bill, of which I am the lead sponsor, authorizes desperately
needed resources to the Commission and dramatically rewrites the
Consumer Product Safety Act, as well as the Federal Hazardous
Substances Act, both of which are administered by the CPSC. After
decades of neglect, the House bill restores the CPSC to its rightful
place of prominence and gives it the necessary tools to grapple with
the global marketplace and protect American consumers, particularly
children, from dangerous and defective products.
The House bill is the culmination of a deliberative, bipartisan
process that entailed countless meetings with consumer groups,
industry, and staff of the Consumer Product Safety Commission. In the
Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection, we held five
hearings before our subcommittee markup. The full-committee reported
H.R. 4040 as amended with a vote of 51-0. As Chairman of the
Subcommittee, I am extremely proud of our collective efforts during
this process.
H.R. 4040 has two titles. Title I specifically addresses children's
products by establishing the strictest lead standard in the world for
children's products and requiring certification and testing. Title II
overhauls the CPSC itself, giving the beleaguered agency much needed
resources and strengthening its underlying organic statutes. At both
the Subcommittee and Full Committee mark-ups, the bill underwent
significant changes: We strengthened the lead standard, raised the age
requirement for mandatory testing to 12, required CPSC to appropriately
tailor their corrective action plans to fit consumer needs, granted
emergency recall authority to CPSC, bestowed enforcement authority to
state Attorneys General, banned corporate-sponsored travel for
Commission employees, and preserved state common law rights of action.
All of these excellent changes were made at the behest of members of
the Energy and Commerce Committee who offered their valuable input on
how to make the underlying bill better. The House bill is much stronger
than the Senate bill in numerous ways, and it is my hope that our
friends on the other side of the Capitol will agree to adopt those
provisions in the final version that becomes law. Of course, likewise,
the Senate bill has provisions absent in the House bill that are worthy
of consideration and adoption. Indeed, the final product of a good
conference should reflect the very best work of both bodies of
Congress.
Mr. Speaker, I cannot emphasize enough that ours is a bipartisan bill
that, from the very beginning, we drafted in consultation with
Democratic and Republican members, the Consumer Product Safety
Commission, consumer groups, and industry. I want to sincerely thank
the distinguished Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, my
dear friend, John Dingell, for his unparalleled leadership. This bill
simply would not be possible without his guidance. Of course, I also
want to thank my friends, the distinguished Ranking Member of the
Committee, Joe Barton, and the former Ranking Member of the
Subcommittee, Cliff Stearns, for their leadership and unwavering
cooperation.
I hope H.R. 4040 returns to the floor in a few weeks in the form of a
conference report that the House can pass in unanimous fashion, just as
we did on the last day of session last year. If we continue our
deliberative approach of bipartisan cooperation, I am confident that we
can do so and will eventually send to the President's desk a bill that
will become law. I am confident that all of us will be able to go home
to our constituents and tell them that we have done our job to protect
American consumers and their families from dangerous and defective
products.
I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on the Motion to Instruct
Conferees.
Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, as a physician, parent, and policy maker, I
understand that we need to work together to protect our children. I'm
proud to say we have done that. The House crafted and passed a
comprehensive, commonsense bill that boosts CPSC funding and personnel,
bans lead in children's products, requires third-party product testing,
and increases penalties for those who break the law.
I went to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission labs. I saw
first hand the need for more resources.
I went to the International Toy Fair in New York City. I saw first
hand the increasing number of toys coming into this country, as well as
the measures that industry is taking to keep toys safe.
Our bill takes into account the needs the Consumer Product Safety
Commission, the needs of consumers, the needs of the industry, but most
importantly, the need to keep our children safe.
The House was able to put politics aside to keep children safe. While
also providing more resources in a pragmatic, bipartisan approach.
This Motion to Instruct recognizes these efforts and will help this
important bill to be enacted into law.
Mr. WHITFIELD of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of
my time.
Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the previous question is
ordered on the motion to instruct.
There was no objection.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion to instruct.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the ayes appeared to have it.
Mr. WHITFIELD. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, this 15-
minute vote on the motion to instruct conferees on H.R. 4040 will be
followed by 5-minute votes on the Ryan motion to instruct conferees on
S. Con. Res. 70; and the motion to suspend the rules and adopt House
Resolution 789, as amended.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 405,
nays 0, not voting 28, as follows:
[Roll No. 320]
YEAS--405
Abercrombie
Ackerman
Aderholt
Akin
Alexander
Allen
Altmire
Andrews
Arcuri
Baca
Bachmann
Bachus
Baird
Baldwin
Barrett (SC)
Barrow
Bartlett (MD)
Barton (TX)
Bean
Becerra
Berkley
Berman
Berry
Biggert
Bilirakis
Bishop (GA)
Bishop (NY)
Bishop (UT)
Blackburn
Blumenauer
Blunt
Bonner
Boozman
Boren
Boswell
Boucher
Boustany
Boyd (FL)
Boyda (KS)
Brady (PA)
Brady (TX)
Broun (GA)
Brown (SC)
Brown, Corrine
Brown-Waite, Ginny
Buchanan
Burgess
Burton (IN)
Butterfield
Buyer
Calvert
Camp (MI)
Campbell (CA)
Cannon
Cantor
Capito
Capps
Capuano
Cardoza
Carnahan
Carney
Carson
Carter
Castle
Castor
Cazayoux
Chabot
Chandler
Clarke
Clay
Cleaver
Clyburn
Coble
Cohen
Cole (OK)
Conaway
Conyers
Cooper
Costa
Costello
Courtney
Cuellar
Culberson
Cummings
Davis (AL)
Davis (CA)
Davis (IL)
Davis (KY)
Davis, David
Davis, Lincoln
Davis, Tom
Deal (GA)
DeFazio
Delahunt
DeLauro
Dent
Diaz-Balart, M.
Dicks
Dingell
Doggett
Donnelly
Doolittle
Doyle
Drake
Dreier
Duncan
Edwards
Ehlers
Ellison
Ellsworth
Emerson
Engel
English (PA)
Eshoo
Etheridge
Everett
Fallin
Farr
Fattah
Feeney
Ferguson
Filner
Flake
Forbes
Fortenberry
Fossella
Foster
Foxx
Frank (MA)
Franks (AZ)
Frelinghuysen
Gallegly
Giffords
Gilchrest
Gillibrand
Gingrey
Gohmert
Gonzalez
Goode
Goodlatte
Granger
Graves
Green, Al
Green, Gene
Grijalva
Gutierrez
Hall (TX)
Hare
Harman
Hastings (FL)
Hastings (WA)
Hayes
Heller
Hensarling
Herger
Herseth Sandlin
Higgins
Hill
Hinchey
Hinojosa
Hobson
Hodes
Hoekstra
Holden
[[Page H3856]]
Holt
Honda
Hooley
Hoyer
Hulshof
Hunter
Inglis (SC)
Inslee
Israel
Jackson (IL)
Jackson-Lee (TX)
Jefferson
Johnson (GA)
Johnson (IL)
Johnson, E. B.
Johnson, Sam
Jones (NC)
Jones (OH)
Jordan
Kagen
Kanjorski
Kaptur
Keller
Kennedy
Kildee
Kilpatrick
Kind
King (IA)
King (NY)
Kingston
Kirk
Klein (FL)
Kline (MN)
Knollenberg
Kucinich
Kuhl (NY)
LaHood
Lamborn
Lampson
Langevin
Larsen (WA)
Larson (CT)
Latham
LaTourette
Latta
Lee
Levin
Lewis (CA)
Lewis (GA)
Linder
Lipinski
LoBiondo
Loebsack
Lofgren, Zoe
Lowey
Lucas
Lungren, Daniel E.
Lynch
Mahoney (FL)
Maloney (NY)
Manzullo
Marchant
Markey
Marshall
Matheson
Matsui
McCarthy (CA)
McCarthy (NY)
McCaul (TX)
McCollum (MN)
McCotter
McCrery
McDermott
McGovern
McHenry
McHugh
McIntyre
McKeon
McMorris Rodgers
McNerney
McNulty
Meek (FL)
Meeks (NY)
Melancon
Mica
Michaud
Miller (FL)
Miller (MI)
Miller (NC)
Miller, Gary
Mitchell
Mollohan
Moore (KS)
Moore (WI)
Moran (KS)
Moran (VA)
Murphy (CT)
Murphy, Patrick
Murphy, Tim
Murtha
Musgrave
Nadler
Napolitano
Neal (MA)
Neugebauer
Nunes
Oberstar
Obey
Olver
Ortiz
Pallone
Pascrell
Pastor
Payne
Pearce
Pence
Perlmutter
Peterson (MN)
Peterson (PA)
Petri
Pickering
Pitts
Platts
Poe
Pomeroy
Porter
Price (GA)
Price (NC)
Pryce (OH)
Putnam
Radanovich
Rahall
Ramstad
Rangel
Regula
Rehberg
Reichert
Renzi
Reyes
Reynolds
Richardson
Rodriguez
Rogers (AL)
Rogers (KY)
Rogers (MI)
Rohrabacher
Ros-Lehtinen
Roskam
Rothman
Roybal-Allard
Royce
Ruppersberger
Ryan (OH)
Ryan (WI)
Salazar
Sali
Sanchez, Linda T.
Sanchez, Loretta
Sarbanes
Saxton
Scalise
Schakowsky
Schiff
Schwartz
Scott (GA)
Scott (VA)
Sensenbrenner
Serrano
Sessions
Sestak
Shadegg
Shays
Shea-Porter
Sherman
Shuler
Shuster
Simpson
Sires
Skelton
Slaughter
Smith (NE)
Smith (NJ)
Smith (TX)
Smith (WA)
Snyder
Solis
Souder
Space
Speier
Spratt
Stark
Stearns
Stupak
Sullivan
Sutton
Tancredo
Tanner
Tauscher
Taylor
Terry
Thompson (CA)
Thompson (MS)
Thornberry
Tiahrt
Tiberi
Tierney
Towns
Tsongas
Turner
Udall (CO)
Udall (NM)
Upton
Van Hollen
Velazquez
Visclosky
Walberg
Walden (OR)
Walsh (NY)
Walz (MN)
Wamp
Wasserman Schultz
Waters
Watson
Watt
Waxman
Weiner
Welch (VT)
Weldon (FL)
Weller
Wexler
Whitfield (KY)
Wilson (NM)
Wilson (OH)
Wilson (SC)
Wittman (VA)
Wolf
Woolsey
Wu
Yarmuth
Young (AK)
Young (FL)
NOT VOTING--28
Bilbray
Boehner
Bono Mack
Braley (IA)
Cramer
Crenshaw
Crowley
Cubin
DeGette
Diaz-Balart, L.
Emanuel
Garrett (NJ)
Gerlach
Gordon
Hall (NY)
Hirono
Issa
Lewis (KY)
Mack
Miller, George
Myrick
Paul
Ross
Rush
Schmidt
Shimkus
Westmoreland
Wynn
{time} 1907
So the motion to instruct was agreed to.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
Stated for:
Mr. HALL of New York. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 320, I was
unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the Chair appoints the
following conferees on H.R. 4040: Messrs. Dingell, Waxman, Rush, Ms.
DeGette, Ms. Schakowsky, Messrs. Barton of Texas, Whitfield of
Kentucky, and Stearns.
There was no objection.
____________________