[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 128 (Wednesday, July 30, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H7577-H7586]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 4040, CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY IMPROVEMENT ACT 
                                OF 2008

  Mr. DINGELL. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to 
the conference report on 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.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  (For conference report and statement, see proceedings of the House of 
July 29, 2008 at page H7194.)
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Michigan (Mr. Dingell) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Barton) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Michigan.
  Mr. DINGELL. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the debate 
on this motion be extended by 10 minutes on each side.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Michigan?
  There was no objection.


                             General Leave

  Mr. DINGELL. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
to insert extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Michigan?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. DINGELL. Madam Speaker, I yield myself 3 minutes.
  Madam Speaker, it is with a great deal of pride and pleasure that I 
bring before the House a strong bipartisan bill that will protect the 
American public from unsafe consumer products. I have some kudos for my 
colleagues. I want to commend the chairman of the subcommittee, my dear 
friend, Mr. Rush, for his outstanding leadership in the handling of 
this legislation. I also want to praise my dear friend, the ranking 
member of the full committee, Mr. Barton, and all of the House 
conferees who served so well in working out a difficult bill. Working 
with them has been a privilege and a pleasure.
  The House passed H.R. 4040 without a dissenting vote in December of 
last year, and the House followed with its amendment in March of this 
year. The resulting conference report represents the most significant 
overhaul of U.S. consumer product safety laws since the creation of the 
Consumer Product Safety Commission some 40 years ago under the 
sponsorship of myself and my dear friend from California, John Moss.
  Under H.R. 4040, the CPSC will receive substantial funding and staff 
increases, greater laboratory and computer resources, and a stronger 
statutory mandate going forward. Industry-sponsored travel by CPSC 
commissioners and staff will be banned. The presence of lead and 
dangerous phthalates in toys and other products of children up to age 
12 will be banned.
  CPSC will be required to establish a publicly accessible data base to 
help consumers report and learn about deaths and serious injuries 
caused by consumer products. Toys and other children's products will be 
subject to premarket testing by certified laboratories.

                              {time}  1700

  The conference agreement also strengthens protections against the 
import and the export of dangerous products and enhances the tools for 
removing recalled products from store shelves.
  To deter wrongdoing, it takes a number of important steps. It 
increases the

[[Page H7578]]

civil and criminal penalties to be sought by CPSC. It authorizes 
injunctive enforcement of Federal law by State attorneys general. It 
preserves State common law remedies and California's Proposition 65. It 
provides important protections for private sector whistleblowers.
  I want to conclude by pointing out that this is a bipartisan bill and 
that it was not only the work of my Republican colleagues, but also my 
Democratic colleagues. I also want to point out that there was splendid 
work done by my good friend, Mr. Barton, in his leadership in this 
matter.
  The Republican staff and the Democratic staff worked countless hours 
and did superb work. Brian McCullough, Will Carty and Shannon Weinberg 
on the Republican side; and the Democratic staff, Valerie Baron, Andrew 
Woelfling, Christian Fjeld and Judy Bailey did extraordinary work.
  In particular, I want to commend my dear personal friend, Consuela 
Washington, for leading the staff in such a splendid fashion. From the 
financial markets to the store shelves, she has been working on 
legislation to protect consumers for nearly 29 years.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. DINGELL. I yield myself an additional 30 seconds.
  I am grateful for the extraordinary legislation our combined efforts 
have produced, of which this body and this Nation can indeed be proud. 
I urge the adoption of the legislation.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BARTON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  (Mr. BARTON of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and 
extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BARTON of Texas. Madam Speaker, first let me say how delighted I 
am to see my good friend Bobby Rush back on the floor. We have missed 
him, but in his recovery from his situation, he has been a strong 
conferee. He hasn't known how strong he has been, I am sure, but he has 
been a stalwart in bringing this conference report to the floor, and we 
are delighted he is on the floor to taste the fruits of victory, which 
is well deserved because of his leadership on this issue at the 
subcommittee and on the conference.
  Madam Speaker, we have a rare thing before us. We have a conference 
report that has actually gone through the regular process. I want to 
commend my good friend, John Dingell of Michigan, the chairman of the 
Energy and Commerce Committee, for his extremely positive leadership on 
this issue.
  I want to compliment all of the House conferees: Mr. Waxman, Ms. 
DeGette, Ms. Schakowsky and Mr. Rush on the majority side, and Mr. 
Whitfield and Mr. Stearns on the minority side. The House conferees, 
under Mr. Dingell's leadership, have met numerous times at the 
principal level and uncounted times at the staff level.
  The negotiations on this conference have not been easy. They have not 
been simplistic. They have been tense and hard-fought. On more than one 
occasion I have felt like getting up and walking away. I hate to admit 
it, with Mr. Rush being a minister, but I have thought bad thoughts 
about some of the conferees. But having said that, the end product is 
worthy of support by everybody.
  This conference report shows how the House of Representatives should 
work. We took an issue that is not an easy issue. Chairman Dingell and 
Subcommittee Chairman Rush had a legislative hearing. They had a 
subcommittee markup. We had a full committee markup. We brought a bill 
to the floor. We had a motion to recommit. Mr. Dingell then got the 
House conferees together to make sure that we had a unified House 
position, and, when we couldn't, he kept bringing us together until we 
could. As has been pointed out, the leadership of the staffs on both 
sides have worked together.
  Under the conference chairman's leadership, Senator Inouye of Hawaii, 
the conference actually met. The Senate made proposals, the House 
responded, and vice a versa. The end result is a conference report that 
I believe every House conferee signed, and, as far as I know, every 
Senate conferee signed.
  So that is a rarity, Madam Speaker, but the result is going to be a 
bill on the suspension calendar which for once deserves to be on the 
suspension calendar. I fully expect to get the same sort of vote on the 
conference report that we got on the House bill, and I believe the 
House bill, that passed something like 407-0 or 407-1, I am hopeful 
that this bill will pass with that same margin.
  Now let me talk about what is actually in the bill. This is a strong 
bill. It gives the Consumer Product Safety Commission added authority 
to inspect and test children's toys. It creates for the first time a 
national laboratory that is headed by the Consumer Product Safety 
Commission. It gives States the right to set up independent 
laboratories in the State or to do third-party testing of products. It 
sets the toughest lead standards in the world for products that are 
going to be used by our children.
  Because of Senator Stevens' leadership in the other body, it bans 
three-wheel ATVs from the American market. These insidious products are 
products that have begun to creep back into the market after the lapse 
of the consent agreement between the industry and the Justice 
Department that this body helped negotiate when I was a junior Member 
15 or 20 years ago. It requires a rulemaking for four-wheel ATVs.
  On a chemical compound called phthalates, it outlaws three specific 
phthalates that there is adequate evidence that they might be harmful 
in children's products. It sets up a science-based study on three other 
phthalates that gives the CPSC the authority to also outlaw them if the 
science shows that they should be. But it does also require that there 
be real science, that we don't ban or outlaw products on no science or 
bad science. There has to be reputable science that is peer-reviewed.
  I want to commend Mr. Waxman, who was one of the House conferees. He 
and I disagreed on a number of issues, but we also agreed that we 
should try to find compromise. And we did; the bill reflects that. One 
of the main reasons that we have a conference report is because 
Chairman Waxman was willing to compromise, and I want to compliment him 
for doing that.
  I could go on and on, Madam Speaker, and I will during the course of 
the debate, but let me simply say that this bill represents the 
Congress at its best. It represents a tough issue where we used the 
process, where we gave everybody a voice. Chairman Dingell has been 
exemplary in allowing the minority to participate and to provide input 
and ideas.
  This is not the perfect bill that I would have had if I had been the 
only conferee. But it is a very, very good bill. It is a strong bill. 
It will protect America's children, it is worthy of support, and I hope 
that every Member this body votes in the affirmative for the bill later 
this afternoon.
  Madam Speaker, with thanks, I want to reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. DINGELL. Madam Speaker, it is with a great deal of pleasure that 
I welcome back our good friend and colleague the Reverend Rush from 
Illinois, and I yield to him, the author of this legislation, the 
chairman of the subcommittee, 5 minutes in support of the legislation.
  Mr. RUSH. Madam Speaker, I certainly want to commend and thank my 
chairman of the full committee, Chairman John Dingell, for his 
extraordinary leadership in this Congress, particularly in the 
conference on this particular bill. I want to thank him for his long-
standing friendship and for his preoccupation with the affairs of the 
American people. He is a man who deserves a lot of praise and honor.
  Madam Speaker, today is a day unlike any other day. It is a joyous 
occasion, because this Congress has demonstrated to the American people 
that we are capable of reaching across the aisle in a bipartisan 
fashion to solve a major consumer crisis.
  It is also a special day, because today marks my return to this 
Congress following an extended medical leave. With God's grace, with 
the support of skilled medical professionals at the University of 
Chicago Medical Center, I can stand here and announce to my colleagues, 
to my constituents and to the Nation that I no longer have cancer in my 
body.
  Madam Speaker, before I directly address H.R. 4040, there are several 
people I would like to thank. First, I give all thanks to God for all 
of you, especially

[[Page H7579]]

for your prayers, as I bear witness that the prayers of the righteous 
avail much.
  I want to give honor and thanks to my dear wife, Carolyn, and my 
family, who journeyed with me through the valley of the shadow of 
death.
  I specifically would like to thank Speaker Pelosi, who called me 
several times to check on my well-being. I also again would like to 
thank John Dingell, who called many times. I would like to thank my 
colleague from Chicago, Congressman Danny Davis, who showed his love 
and concern for my well-being. I would like to thank the chairman of 
the CBC, Carolyn Kilpatrick, who called many times. Chairman Charles 
Rangel wrote me numerous letters encouraging me. And I would like to 
thank my good friend from New York, Ed Towns, for all of his 
indications of support and well-being. Lastly, I would like to thank 
Ms. Corrine Brown of Florida. All of these individuals were prominent 
and prolific in their concern and care for me and in their well wishes.
  I am also grateful for the prayers and support of my constituents in 
the First Congressional District of Illinois, and a host of others 
throughout the U.S. and around the world. My standing here today is a 
testimony to your prayers and to God's grace.
  So, Madam Speaker, I stand here today. After decades of neglect, this 
110th Congress will soon pass landmark legislation that comprehensively 
overhauls and reforms our consumer product safety laws and revitalizes 
the beleaguered Consumer Product Safety Commission.
  This conference report represents over a year's work. It represents 
careful, often painstaking negotiations between House and Senate 
Democrats and Republicans. It wasn't easy, but, in the end, conferees 
were willing to make smart compromises and bridge their many divides. 
Indeed, this conference report is the very definition of bicameral, 
bipartisan cooperation.
  Madam Speaker, on May 15 of last year, I held my first hearing on toy 
safety in the subcommittee. Since then, the Energy and Commerce 
Committee unanimously reported to the House floor H.R. 4040, the 
Consumer Product Safety Modernization Act, and the House passed the 
bill 407-0.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. DINGELL. I yield the gentleman an additional 2 minutes.
  Mr. RUSH. The gentleman thanks the gentleman for yielding.
  Today's conference report draws on the strength of both the House and 
Senate-passed bills. It fundamentally strengthens the CPSC's regulatory 
authority and effectively bans lead and certain phthalates in 
children's products.

                              {time}  1715

  It creates a publicly accessible database on consumer products, 
mandates laboratory testing of all toys, provides whistleblower 
protection to private sector employees, improves cooperation between 
the CPSC and the U.S. Customs and Border Control, and empowers State 
Attorneys General with the injunctive authority to enforce Federal law. 
In sum, the conference report on H.R. 4040 weaves and deploys a wide 
safety net that will snare the dangerous consumer products before they 
enter the stream of commerce and into our homes.
  Madam Speaker, I want to again thank my dear friend, Chairman John 
Dingell, for his unbelievable leadership during the conference. I also 
want to express my sincere gratitude to one of the finest members of 
this body, to the distinguished ranking member and former chairman, Mr. 
Joe Barton of Texas, for his unwavering cooperation. Mr. Barton, along 
with Mr. Whitfield and Mr. Stearns, have shown a remarkable commitment 
to bipartisanship, and their willingness to compromise cannot be 
overstated. And the same can be said for the other House Democratic 
conferees, Mr. Waxman, Ms. DeGette, and the vice chair of the 
subcommittee, Ms. Schakowsky.
  Madam Speaker, I also want to thank the staff of the CPSC for all of 
their hard work and dedication throughout this process. Lastly, I want 
to thank both the Democratic and Republican staff of the subcommittee. 
They put in long hours. I want to lift up Consuela Washington, Judith 
Bailey, Andrew Woelfling, Valerie Baron, and Christian Fjeld. I brag 
about the subcommittee staff. Madam Speaker, I have the best 
subcommittee staff in the House of Representatives.
  Mr. BARTON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  I want to commend my good friend, Mr. Rush, for his efforts; and I 
see that we have a distinguished visitor from the other body. We are 
glad to have Senator Durbin on the floor.
  With that, I want to yield 4 minutes to a distinguished member of the 
committee and a conferee, Mr. Stearns of Florida.
  (Mr. STEARNS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. STEARNS. I address my colleague, Mr. Rush, and say to him I am 
impressed with the courage and energy that you come down here, and we 
want to thank you today for taking that extra time. All of us obviously 
wish you well, and hope and pray and provide great love and friendship 
that the healing powers of the Lord Almighty will bring great 
restorative powers on you and you will be successful. We are inspired 
by you being here today. Obviously it has been fun working with you on 
this bill and others as the ranking member when you became chairman.
  Madam Speaker, I rise in support of this legislation, and obviously I 
urge its immediate passage. As former chairman and ranking member of 
the Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection Subcommittee, I have been 
involved in these issues for many, many years. When I was chairman, we 
held numerous hearings and markups on a variety of issues, not just on 
toy safety and lead standards but also the Consumer Product Safety 
Commission itself. In addition, we held consumer protection hearings on 
privacy, on the Ford-Firestone tire safety, and consumer protection on 
the Internet, including spyware, data security, and ID theft. We 
compiled a long record on this subcommittee.
  This bill is a culmination of many years of hard work and oversight. 
However, like many bills, this bill, H.R. 4040, is not entirely 
perfect, not all of it is exactly what we may have wanted, but it does 
go a long way to protect our children against harmful products. And 
that is the most important issue.
  Over the last 2 years, my colleagues, we have seen numerous 
children's product and toy recalls rise dramatically. Many of these 
recalls were because of excessive amounts of lead in toys being 
imported from China. As if parents didn't have enough to worry about, 
they are now faced with another dilemma: Are the toys that they are 
buying their children safe today? That is a question they are asking. 
Today, with passage of this conference report, we will make sure that 
children are kept safe from hazardous products.
  While many Members on both sides have focused mainly on the growing 
compliance shortfalls with toys that are manufactured outside the 
United States today, particularly in China, toys have not been the only 
problem over the past several years. As imports of every type of 
product have risen over the years, so have the number of problems that 
have been associated with these particular products. But the Consumer 
Product Safety Commission has done a fairly good job of meeting this 
daunting challenge.
  As you can imagine, there are 15,000 different kinds of products. 
They have issued more recalls over the last 2 years than any other time 
in our history. I commend them for their diligent work in protecting 
the American people and their children. Despite this good work, we 
recognize the need to provide the Commission with additional resources, 
which we are doing today. We authorize significant increases in their 
budget so that the Commission can fulfill their mission to keep 
defective products that can cause injury, or worse, out of the stream 
of commerce today.
  This bill is good public policy that not only provides the Commission 
with new resources but also provides for new standards regarding lead 
paint and implements the most stringent standard ever for lead content 
in children's products. This bill requires testing and certification of 
children's products before they are ever shipped to store shelves, and 
provides increased penalties for companies that violate the law.

[[Page H7580]]

  New labeling requirements will help facilitate effective recalls, and 
the bill provides greater authority for the Commission to recall 
harmful products and notify the public of these dangers.
  It is very important that they have this additional recall authority 
that is in this bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman from Florida has 
expired.
  Mr. BARTON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield the gentleman an 
additional 1 minute.
  Mr. STEARNS. My colleagues, all of us on this conference committee 
and in the subcommittee have worked with the consumer groups, industry 
leaders, and the Commission itself to make this a bipartisan, sound 
bill that works effectively. I would like to commend the hard work of 
Chairman Rush, Chairman Dingell, Ranking Member Barton, Ranking Member 
Ed Whitfield, the Senate conferees, and all the committee staff that 
worked so tirelessly on this important legislation. It is a fact we 
have a bipartisan bill. It was bipartisan out of the subcommittee and 
the full Committee on Energy and Commerce.
  There are things you can complain about Congress, but today you can 
commend Congress for working in such a bipartisan fashion to get a very 
important bill after these many, many years. It is a commendation both 
to Mr. Dingell and Mr. Barton. Through their differences and through 
the different members on the Senate conferees, they were able to work 
patiently, consistently, and persevere until we have this final product 
today.
  I urge all my colleagues to support this critical bipartisan 
legislation, and I look forward to its implementation soon.
  Mr. DINGELL. Madam Speaker, I want to thank my good friend from 
Florida (Mr. Stearns). He was one of an outstanding group of conferees, 
as was Mr. Barton and Mr. Whitfield. They deserve the thanks of this 
body; as also was Mr. Rush, Ms. DeGette, and Ms. Schakowsky.
  I now yield 3 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from California 
(Mr. Waxman) who was one of the able conferees who has brought us a 
fine bipartisan bill.
  Mr. WAXMAN. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise in favor of this 
bill, which marks a great step forward in protecting our children and 
all Americans from unsafe products. I want to thank Chairman Dingell, 
Chairman Rush, Ranking Member Barton, and all the other conferees for 
their hard work in moving this bill forward.
  I believe this is an extremely strong bill. It provides critically 
needed new authorities, personnel, and resources for an agency that has 
grown all but defunct in recent years. I look forward to a day when we 
can all feel safer as a result of this legislation.
  There are many important pieces in this bill, as others have noted--
new lead limits, mandatory toy standards, third-party testing, a ban on 
phthalates, whistleblower protections, and much more. In all of these 
areas we have strengthened Federal law and provided for better national 
enforcement with respect to consumer products.
  At the same time, I am pleased that we have preserved essential State 
authorities, which are an important tool in protecting consumers. State 
laws and State action were the catalyst for much of this bill, and it 
is important that we preserve their ability to take actions in the 
future whenever it is needed.
  I would like to engage Chairman Dingell in a colloquy to address the 
issue of preserving State warning requirements.
  I am pleased that the bill protects State warning laws related to 
consumer products or substances, such as California's Proposition 65. 
The conference report clarifies that any warning laws in effect as of 
August 31, 2003 are not preempted by this Act or by the Federal 
Hazardous Substances Act. This important clarification effectively 
harmonizes the four statutes that are enforced by the Commission. Other 
laws enforced by the CPSC, including the Consumer Product Safety Act, 
clearly do not preempt or affect State warning requirements like Prop 
65.
  I want to make sure that we have corrected any ambiguity with this 
conference report and harmonized all the Commission's statutes on this 
point particularly, as well as the Federal Hazardous Substances Act.
  I want to yield to Chairman Dingell and ask, is it also your 
understanding that nothing in this legislation or any of the laws 
enforced by the Consumer Product Safety Commission will preempt or 
affect Prop 65 in any way?
  Mr. DINGELL. I thank the gentleman for yielding. Yes, that is my 
understanding.
  Mr. WAXMAN. I thank Chairman Dingell. Again, I am pleased to support 
this bill today. I am going to submit a longer statement for the 
Record, but I want to commend all those who have been involved in 
bringing about legislation that Democrats and Republicans can support 
and state with good, clear conscience that it is a very important step 
forward for consumers.
  I am pleased to speak in favor of this bill, which marks a great step 
forward in protecting our children and all Americans from unsafe 
products. I want to thank Chairman Dingell, Chairman Rush, Ranking 
Member Barton, and all of the Conferees for their hard work in moving 
this bill.
  I believe that this is an extremely strong bill. It provides 
critically needed new authorities, personnel, and resources for an 
Agency that has grown all but defunct in recent years. I look forward 
to a day when we can all feel safer as a result of this bill.
  There are many important pieces of this bill, as others have noted--
new lead limits, mandatory toy standards, third-party testing, a ban on 
phthalates, whistleblower protections, and much more. In all of these 
areas, we have strengthened Federal law and provided for better 
national enforcement with respect to consumer products.
  At the same time, I am pleased that we have preserved essential state 
authorities, which are an essential tool in protecting consumers. State 
laws and state action were the catalyst for much of this bill, and it 
is important that we preserve their ability to take such action in the 
future, whenever it is needed.
  One critical state law in this process was California's Proposition 
65, which requires manufacturers to label any product that contains a 
known carcinogen or reproductive toxin. That law has played a unique 
role in protecting all Americans for decades, so it was important to me 
that we not interfere with it in this legislation.
  I am therefore pleased that the conference report makes clear that 
any state warning laws like Prop 65 that were in effect as of August 
31, 2003, are not preempted by this Act or by the Federal Hazardous 
Substances Act. This important clarification effectively harmonizes the 
four statutes that are enforced by the Commission. Other laws enforced 
by CPSC, including the Consumer Product Safety Act, clearly do not 
preempt or affect state warning requirements like Prop 65. The Federal 
Hazardous Substances Act, however, is ambiguous as to its effect on 
state warning requirements. I am pleased that we have corrected this 
ambiguity with this conference report and harmonized all of the 
Commission's statutes on this point.
  I am also pleased that under another key provision of the 
legislation--the new prohibition on phthalates--states retain the 
ability to regulate phthalates in product classes that are not 
regulated under this legislation. States also retain authority to 
enforce any toy safety standards that were in effect on the date of 
enactment of this bill, as long as they notify CPSC of the standard. I 
am pleased that the bill includes explicit language to preserve states' 
ability to regulate alternatives to phthalates, such as other chemical 
plasticizers that might be used as substitutes to the phthalates that 
will be removed from toys under this law.
  The bill itself does not address the use of hazardous alternatives to 
phthalates when the prohibition goes into effect, so it is critical 
that states can act in this area. California has a law on phthalate 
alternatives and it is important that that law will remain in effect as 
the new Federal ban on phthalates enters into force.
  Finally, I am pleased that under the bill, states have the authority 
to require additional or more effective testing protocols. Because 
testing protocols can change over time as tests become more sensitive 
and science evolves, states must be free to move ahead even when 
Federal requirements lag behind. The states' ability to act quickly and 
proactively provides an essential backstop of protection for consumers, 
and this bill makes sure that backstop remains in place.
  Again, I thank Chairman Dingell and Chairman Rush for putting 
together such a strong bill for all Americans.
  Mr. BARTON of Texas. Madam Speaker, could I inquire as to the time on 
each side.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Texas controls 18 
remaining minutes; the gentleman from Michigan controls 16 minutes.

[[Page H7581]]

  Mr. BARTON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield myself 3 minutes.
  Madam Speaker, as we go through the debate this afternoon, I will 
mention some of the specifics in the bill. I would like to point out 
that the bill before us does have Federal preemptions so that there is 
one Federal standard and there is one agency to enforce that standard 
with regards to the safety of children's products, and that is the 
Consumer Product Safety Commission.
  This is important to note, because if we didn't have that, you could 
have each of the 50 States setting different standards; you could have 
a conglomeration of rules that would make it very difficult for 
interstate commerce. So one of the compromises in the bill is that 
there is Federal preemption, that there is one standard for all the 
States, and I am very pleased that that is in the bill.
  I would also like to point out that the pending bill gives the 
Commission new authority, gives the Commission new resources, increases 
the number of commissioners from three to five, and, as I have already 
pointed out, does create a CPSC testing laboratory so that our 
children's toys will be tested in the laboratory before they are tested 
by our children on the living room floors of America.
  I would also like to compliment the staffs on both sides, as has 
already been done by full committee Chairman Dingell and subcommittee 
Chairman Rush. But on the Democratic staff, Consuela Washington 
actually I think served as the key that kept all of the staffs working 
together, and her patience was just extraordinary. She was even patient 
with members like me, and I appreciate that tremendously. Judith 
Bailey, Christian Fjeld, Andrew Woelfling, Valerie Baron all worked 
very, very hard on the majority side at the staff level. On the 
minority side, I am very proud of Will Carty, Shannon Weinberg, Brian 
McCullough, Chad Grant, Jerry Couri, and even our interns, Beth 
Manzullo, and John Hammond had some input into the work product, and I 
want to commend them, especially this past weekend where they worked 
both Saturday and Sunday so this conference report could come to the 
floor today.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1730

  Mr. DINGELL. Madam Speaker, at this time I yield to the distinguished 
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ms. Pelosi, 1 minute.
  Ms. PELOSI. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding time, 
and for his hard work and great leadership in bringing this important 
legislation to the floor in a way that is bipartisan and shows the full 
support of this Congress as a Congress for America's children.
  It is a special day for us because this bill is long overdue, and 
took a ``New Direction Congress'' to work it out and bring it to the 
floor in the form that it is in, which is to protect America's 
children.
  But it is a special day for another reason, and that is because one 
of the main authors of the bill, Congressman Rush of Illinois, is back 
with us today. We are all family, and to have our family member return 
in good health is really something very special to us.
  He worked so hard to pass this bill the end of last year, so that 
before Christmas, families across America could know that Congress 
cared about our children. The bill passed on a suspension calendar with 
a strong bipartisan vote with the support of community groups that care 
about children.
  So Mr. Dingell, thank you for making this come to fruition, 
especially at a time when Mr. Rush could be back here with us so that 
we could say to him, in person, thank you for your leadership for 
America's children. We love you. You make it a very special day for us 
when we can do something for America's children and to do so in your 
presence.
  Thank you, Mr. Rush, for your leadership.
  This bill is necessary because, does anybody not know that I am a 
grandmother?
  My husband always says, I just wonder how far into your speech it is 
before you start talking about your grandchildren.
  But as a mother of five and a grandmother of seven, and a person who 
observes a wider range of children in our extended family, I know that 
we, moms and parents, want to do everything they can to do the best for 
their children. But we have our limitations. We have to depend on the 
Federal Government, and government in general, to protect our children 
from chemicals that may be harmful to their health or even worse than 
that.
  And so, the last several years, even this past year have been called 
the year of recalls. The Year 2007 was dubbed the ``Year of the 
Recall'' by Consumer's Union.
  More than 45 million toys and children's products were recalled last 
year, and some were found to contain nearly 200 times the legal amount 
of lead. Toys, toy trains, costumes, magnets, because and even baby 
bottles were among the common, everyday items found to be harmful to 
our children.
  What is a parent to do?
  This year dangerous toy and product recalls are happening in even 
swifter rates. The number of recalled toys and children's products is 
up 22 percent over the first half of last year. What is a parent to do?
  Most of the toys that were recalled should never have found their way 
on to the shelves of local toy stores. Over the last several years, at 
the same time of these record toy recalls, the Consumer Product Safety 
Commission, which is charged with testing toys before they end up in 
the homes of our children, have been starved for resources. The agency 
lost 15 percent of its work force between 2004 and 2007. And in 2007, 
even the Commission's Acting Director complained that there was only 
one lonely toy tester at the Commission.
  Today, at this legislation, we strengthen the ability, our ability to 
prevent those toys from even getting to market, get products off the 
shelves more quickly, and increase fines and penalties for violating 
product safety laws.
  The legislation eliminates lead beyond a minute amount in toys and 
other products intended for children under 12 years of age. It also 
bans toxic phthalates in children's toys and child care articles.
  Today the ``New Direction Congress'' is asserting our responsibility 
to protect children from dangerous toys. Dangerous toys. Think of that. 
Shouldn't that be an oxymoron? It should be a given that toys are not 
dangerous. Sometimes they can be used inappropriately. Somebody can 
fall with a toy, et cetera, but if it has within its very make-up 
something that is harmful to the health of children, something is wrong 
with this picture.
  The Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act, which is what this bill 
is, of 2008, is the result of the leadership of many in Congress. I 
again want to acknowledge the leadership of Chairman Dingell and Bobby 
Rush. I also want to acknowledge Ranking Member Barton for his 
cooperation in bringing this bill to the floor. I would like to 
acknowledge other leaders on the Energy and Commerce Committee, 
Congressman Waxman, Congresswoman Schakowsky, Congresswoman Diana 
DeGette, and also Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, not on that committee, 
but a person on the Appropriations Committee who has some jurisdiction 
over this issue, and who has been relentless, a relentless grandmother 
on behalf of children.
  So I would salute this as a bipartisan effort on behalf of our 
Nation's most valuable resource, our children, because it is our sacred 
duty to protect them.
  We began this Congress calling it to order in the name of all of 
America's children. Today we are honoring some of our promise to them 
by keeping their toys and children's products safe.
  Again, Madam Speaker, I urge our colleagues to give an overwhelming 
unanimous vote on support for this important legislation for the 
children.
  Mr. BARTON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield myself 2 minutes.
  Madam Speaker, I again want to talk about some of the specifics in 
the legislation. The bill before us would give the Commission new 
tools, such as greater authority to expedite recalls; would give the 
Commission the authority to strengthen reporting requirements to 
facilitate the identification of the origin of the problems that arise 
in the supply chain.
  We also give the Commission expanded authority to better monitor

[[Page H7582]]

and regulate the tremendous increase in the number of products that we 
import from overseas. The Commission, for the first time, has got 
explicit authority to consult with United States Customs and Border 
Protection Service to better identify dangerous products before they 
enter the country.
  The bill, as I have said earlier, also provides national uniform 
standards for many children's products, rather than relying on a 
patchwork of disparate State and local rules.
  As has been pointed out, the bill before us has the toughest standard 
on lead, which is basically no lead in children's products as they come 
into the national market, whether they are manufactured here in the 
United States or overseas.
  There is a concern on some part about the implementation for the 
schedule for manufacturers to comply with this new lead requirement, 
but I am confident that they have the resources to do so and will do 
so.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. DINGELL. Madam Speaker, it is a great privilege for me to yield 
at this time 3 minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from Colorado, 
who had so much to do with the success of the conference, my dear 
friend, Ms. Diana DeGette.
  Ms. DeGETTE. Madam Speaker, I want to also thank Chairman Dingell for 
his strong leadership on this issue, and also Ranking Member Barton for 
his wonderful ability to compromise on the bill.
  As the Speaker just told us, last year, it seemed like every day 
parents were being told that their children's toys were not innocent 
playthings and, in fact, were very dangerous. This mainly happened 
during the holiday season, where parents had no idea whether what they 
were buying to put under the tree would harm or even kill their child.
  For a long time now, we have all realized that our consumer product 
safety system is broken. The CPSC clearly needed more staff, more 
resources, and more authority. Our consumer protection laws needed to 
be brought into the 21st century.
  This legislation goes a long way to solving those problems. I am so 
proud to have been one of the House conferees on H.R. 4040. By working 
diligently with our Senate colleagues and our colleagues on the other 
side of the aisle, we produced a strong, bipartisan bill.
  This conference report has a number of provisions which will protect 
our kids, and I just want to highlight a few of them. It bans lead in 
children's products beyond trace amounts, the highest standards in the 
world. It permanently bans three phthalates and temporarily bans three 
others in toys for kids 12 and under; and, in fact, it extends all of 
the consumer protections to kids 12 and under because of the issue of 
shared toy boxes.
  It requires independent third-party testing of children's products to 
ensure that they are safe before they are sold.
  It increases the CPSC's budget dramatically, and it stops the export 
of certain dangerous products.
  I want to thank my conference committee colleagues and all of the 
staff members involved for pulling together such a good bill.
  Chairman, or former chairman, Ranking Member Barton was right when he 
said this is the way legislation should be, a strong collaborative 
effort that produces real results that will help all of the consumers 
of America.
  I hope, throughout the fall, as we move into the next holiday season, 
parents can take this issue off their plates as one they have to worry 
about and, instead they can worry about giving their kids a strong, 
safe holiday season as we approach the end of this year.
  Mr. BARTON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I want to yield myself 2 minutes.
  Madam Speaker, I hope I can get that quote and frame it, that I was 
right. It is good to know that I have been right about something in 
this Congress. I will take that home and show it to my family and my 
children, and maybe they will appreciate me a little bit more.
  I want to keep going through some of the substance on the conference 
report, Madam Speaker. I want to talk now, in this little segment, 
about the chemical compound called phthalates. Phthalates are the 
product, compound that are used in plastics to make them soft. There 
has been some evidence in the last several years that, in large 
quantities, in certain products, if a child were to ingest them, that 
it could cause problems in the development of that child in their 
teenage years. The science is uncertain, but there is growing concern.
  Some States have begun to ban these products. The European Union has 
banned certain of these phthalates and, as a result, in the other body, 
the Senate bill had a prohibition based on a California standard on a 
large number of these particular compounds. I didn't believe then, and 
I am still uncertain whether it is necessary to specifically ban these 
compounds because they have been used in products for a large number of 
years and there is no known instance of any kind of a phthalate 
poisoning or phthalate deformity in humans.
  Having said that, when Congresswoman Diana DeGette came to my office 
unannounced as I was trying to gather support to sustain a veto of what 
I thought would be a different bill, I did agree to work with Mr. 
Waxman and Senator Boxer in the other body and come up with a 
compromise.
  I must also say that Chairman Dingell was instrumental in that, as he 
counseled me, in only the way that Chairman Dingell can, about the need 
for bipartisan compromise. The result is the bill before us where three 
specific phthalates are banned outright, and another three are 
temporarily prohibited while we do a comprehensive scientific study. 
That is the essence of compromise.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. BARTON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield myself an additional 1 
minute.
  And I do want to give, as I said, in the conference, Congresswoman 
DeGette should get the Henry Kissinger award for diplomacy because she 
actually was apparently shuttling between my office, Chairman Dingell's 
office, Mr. Waxman's office and maybe even Congresswoman Schakowsky's 
office. That was a tremendous amount of effort on her part, and it does 
show that when there is trust and bipartisan willingness to cooperate 
and, as Lyndon Johnson, the great former President and Member of this 
body once said, ``There is nothing that is not compromisable.'' And 
certainly, this conference report shows that that is a true statement.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. DINGELL. Madam Speaker, at this time I am delighted to yield to 
the distinguished gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Schakowsky) who was so 
valuable and so helpful in achieving this purpose today, 3 minutes.
  Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Madam Speaker, as a conferee on this bill, I proudly 
rise to support the conference report to H.R. 4040, the Consumer 
Product Safety Improvement Act.
  When we began this process of reforming the Consumer Product Safety 
Commission over a year ago, I set out one goal, to ensure that the toys 
and products I buy for my grandchildren are safe. I am pleased to say 
that the conference report we are considering today fulfills that goal 
for all of America's children.

                              {time}  1745

  H.R. 4040 is legislation that every Member of Congress can be proud 
to support. It is a product of bipartisan negotiation and compromise. 
I, too, want to thank our esteemed chairman, John Dingell, for 
shepherding us through this process, as well as ranking member Joe 
Barton, my fellow conferees, and all of the staff and consumer 
advocates that worked so hard on this bill.
  I also want to thank our Senate counterparts. Chairing the conference 
was Senator Inouye, and the key author of the Senate companion bill was 
Senator Mark Pryor of Arkansas. They both deserve the gratitude of the 
House, especially if they pass this bill this week.
  I am especially thrilled, however, to welcome back to Washington my 
friend and chairman of the Consumer Protection Subcommittee and chief 
sponsor of this bill, Congressman Bobby Rush. You have been deeply 
missed, and I'm so happy to have you back on this momentous occasion 
which you have made more momentous.
  With this conference report, Congress is breathing new needed life 
into the

[[Page H7583]]

CPSC. For the first time, we are virtually banning lead in children's 
products as well as the harmful phthalates that can cause hormonal 
damage. We're improving the CPSC's enforcement authority and 
maintaining the authority of State attorneys general to ensure that the 
products sold in their States comply with the law. And we are providing 
consumers with a publicly searchable incident database that will allow 
them to report hazards to one another.
  There are three provisions I am particularly proud to have authored 
in this conference report.
  The first is language directing the CPSC to devise mandatory safety 
standards for infant and toddler durable products. Those are the things 
that are in every nursery: cribs, high chairs, playpens, strollers, 
bassinets. It also requires pre-market testing of those products to 
ensure that they meet those standards. Bottom line, we will no longer 
be using our children as test dummies. The government will be ensuring 
their safety.
  Second, I'm gratified that the conference report includes the Danny 
Keysar Child Product Safety Notification Act in its entirety. I crafted 
this legislation in honor of Danny Keysar who was strangled to death 
when he was 16 months old at his licensed daycare facility when the 
portable crib he was sleeping in collapsed. The crib that killed Danny 
had been recalled 5 years earlier, but the daycare center didn't know 
that.
  To improve the product recall system, manufacturers of children's 
products will be required to attach a postage-paid recall registration 
card to each product that can be mailed in to notify the purchaser when 
a product is recalled for safety reasons. This provision is a tribute 
to the work of Danny's parents, Linda Ginzel and Boaz Keysar, who 
created the organization Kids in Danger 3 weeks after Danny's death in 
order to prevent other children and families from suffering the same 
tragedy.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman from Illinois 
has expired.
  Mr. DINGELL. I yield the distinguished gentlewoman 30 additional 
seconds.
  Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Finally, I am delighted the conference report 
contains a provision to immediately adopt the set of existing voluntary 
toy standards as a mandatory standard on an interim basis. Then the 
CPSC, working with consumer groups, will assess those standards, 
beginning with the toys that present the greatest hazards, and develop 
not only the best possible mandatory standards, but require pre-testing 
to those standards. At last, all toys will be tested before they arrive 
on toy store shelves.
  Madam Speaker, the conference report we will adopt today will finally 
bring the CPSC into the 21st century, and will, I hope, transform it 
into the world's foremost consumer protection agency.
  It was an honor to be working on this bill.
  Mr. BARTON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield myself 2 minutes.
  Madam Speaker, in previous comments I have thanked the committee 
staffs. On this occasion, I want to thank some of our friends at the 
Consumer Product Safety Commission.
  I want to thank Cheri Falvey, who is general counsel; Gib Mullan, who 
is the director of compliance; Lowell Martin, the deputy general 
counsel; Quin Dodd, chief of staff to Acting Chairman Nord; Jack 
Horner, director of congressional relations. They've all worked very 
hard on this legislation.
  We also want to thank some of our hearing witnesses: Dr. Marilyn 
Wind, who is a pharmacologist who testified before the other body; Dr. 
Michael Babich, a chemist, who testified before the Energy and Commerce 
Committee. Some of our database presenters were Pat Weddle, who is 
director of IT services, and DeWayne Ray, deputy CIO. Some of the 
laboratory people who talked to us about how to detect lead: Dr. Joel 
Recht.
  And finally some of the staff, some of the Commission staffers who 
worked with us on the budget numbers: Mr. Ed Quist, who is the director 
of financial management of CPSC; and N.J. Scheers, director of planning 
and budget.
  Those are some of the staff people in the CPSC and the witnesses who 
helped us prepare this legislation. We should commend them for their 
efforts.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. DINGELL. Madam Speaker, at this time I yield to the distinguished 
gentleman from Illinois, Mr. Rahm Emanuel, 2 minutes.
  Mr. EMANUEL. I would like to thank the chairman as well as the 
ranking member for this legislation, but particularly I want to thank 
my colleague from Illinois, Bobby Rush, the subcommittee chairman who 
worked on this legislation who is back today from his illness. As my 
colleague Jan Schakowsky said, it is a special warmness to all of us to 
have you back.
  This legislation puts consumer safety back in the Consumer Product 
Safety Commission. You have heard from a number of speakers prior to 
me--and there is no reason to go through it--all the new powers and 
capabilities of this commission. And while we have talked about last 
year the 231 recalls of 45 million toys, Fisher-Price alone recalled 1 
million toys, 1 million cribs were recalled, we should not lose sight 
also that we had a commissioner who was not doing her job.
  When all of this was breaking out in the news, the commissioner, the 
head of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, was taking trips paid 
for by the very industry they were responsible for regulating. When 
this broke and all of the recalls were occurring, the commissioner who 
not only was taking these trips said, ``I don't need any more staff for 
this. I don't need any more money for this,'' and yet the American 
people knew at that time we had a commissioner who was head of the 
Consumer Product Safety Commission who was not on the job doing the 
police work that she was responsible for doing.
  So the good news is not only do we have new laws, not only will we 
empower this commission in a new way, after November, we're going to 
have a new commissioner with a new agency and a new mission and new 
resources to do exactly what they're supposed to be doing.
  So today, for all of us who wanted to see this legislation, who read 
with horror the stories that came out about what was happening to toys, 
to cribs, and how parents and their children were being put at risk and 
their government wasn't doing their job, I am proud of this bipartisan 
accomplishment. I'm most proud of the work that our colleagues did 
together putting aside their differences.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman from Illinois has 
expired.
  Mr. DINGELL. I yield the gentleman an additional 15 seconds.
  Mr. EMANUEL. The best news is after November, we will have a new 
commissioner who doesn't say ``yes'' to the status quo but says ``yes'' 
to the new powers to make sure that we are protecting our children and 
their families.
  Mr. BARTON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I have no other speakers, and I 
am prepared to close. I am also prepared to yield some of my time to 
Chairman Dingell if he needs additional time.
  At this point in time, though, I would reserve the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. DINGELL. Madam Speaker, I am delighted at this time to yield 2 
minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Sutton).
  Ms. SUTTON. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for your leadership on this 
amazing legislation. Consumer product safety is not an area that we can 
afford to ignore, and this historic legislation that we're passing 
today is a tremendous victory for consumers.
  This year dangerous toy and product recalls are happening at an 
unprecedented rate. I remember just a couple of months ago reading a 
story in my local paper about possible lead contamination and the paint 
on plastic Easter eggs. That is unacceptable.
  For far too long we've been reading story upon story about dangerous 
toys and contaminated food. Imports from foreign countries continue to 
grow, and many manufacturers from foreign countries fail to adhere to 
even basic safety standards.
  The American people should not have to worry about the safety of the 
products they use or the toys that they give their children to play 
with. Last year, more than 25 million toys were recalled

[[Page H7584]]

in the U.S., and 80 percent of all toys sold in the United States are 
imported from China.
  This relationship between the growing import safety crisis and 
American trade policy is notable and requires us to strengthen our 
oversight here at home. To do that, the Consumer Product Safety 
Commission needs to have the resources to help protect our families and 
then they need to do it.
  Our bill strengthens the CPSC and ensures American families are 
protected from dangerous toys, and this legislation bans lead beyond a 
minute amount in many products, creating the toughest lead standard in 
the world.
  Madam Speaker, my constituents deserve to know that their government 
is doing everything it can to keep their families safe. Today with 
passage of this bill, we are upholding that responsibility.
  I thank you again, Chairman Dingell, and your committee for all of 
your hard work, and thanks to Speaker Pelosi for making this issue a 
priority. I also want to express my appreciation to Representative 
Bobby Rush for his commitment and his leadership in bringing this 
legislation to fruition.
  I urge my colleagues to support this important work.
  Mr. DINGELL. Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time. I am 
ready to close and to say appropriate remarks for my good friend from 
Texas for his fine work and that of all of the other members who have 
worked so hard on this. So I will close at the proper time.
  Mr. BARTON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, I think we've seen in the debate today that when the 
Congress does decide to work in a cooperative spirit, the end product 
is a product that's worthy of support by all Members on both sides of 
the aisle, in most cases regardless of their philosophical affiliation.
  The Consumer Product Safety Commission is a necessary and vital part 
of our effort here in the United States to make sure that the products 
that are sold to the American public are the safest in the world. The 
emphasis on this bill, in addition to reauthorizing the Consumer 
Product Safety Commission, has really been to beef up the standards and 
the enforcement authority and the technical ability of the CPSC for 
children's toys and children's products.
  As Congresswoman Schakowsky pointed out, there are some very specific 
things in this bill that should provide over the years, as it is 
implemented, the prohibition of some of the unwanted tragedies that we 
unfortunately have seen in the past, and in her case on the crib issue 
that she's been so diligent in bringing forward.
  We increase the number of commissioners; we increase the budget of 
the commission; we create a new laboratory; we in certain cases ban 
certain products, specifically three-wheel ATVs that are coming into 
the country; we require a study on four-wheel ATVs. As we have said on 
numerous occasions, for the first time we prohibit certain phthalates 
from being used in children's products, and we require a science-based 
study on three other phthalates. We have the toughest standard for lead 
in the world today.
  By any definition, this is a strong bill. It is a pro-consumer bill. 
But yet it is also a bill that will allow the manufacturers of 
children's products to have the ability to manufacture in a safe way 
and to market in a safe way these products to the American public.
  Finally, Madam Speaker, I want to say something about the 
distinguished chairman of the committee, Chairman Dingell. I am not a 
person who normally initially is willing to compromise. I don't think 
if you ask a Member of this body who's been in it very long who knows 
me does Joe Barton change his mind very often, I think the answer you 
would get is ``not frequently.'' But it became apparent as we went to 
conference with the Senate that compromise was going to be a necessity.
  On the issue of phthalates, being a registered professional engineer, 
I was not a believer that we should automatically ban the number of 
phthalates that the other body's bill did and I was not somebody who 
was really seriously interested in finding a compromise. My position 
was the House position, which was we don't do single products. We 
should leave that up--if the science shows it should be banned later 
on, so be it.
  Chairman Dingell came to me and said, ``You're going to have to take 
another look at that.'' And I said, ``Mr. Chairman, I don't want to. I 
don't think we need to take another look at it.''
  And he said, ``Joe, I really hope that you will find it in your heart 
to really study this phthalate issue.'' And because of my respect for 
John Dingell, I promised him that I would do that.

                              {time}  1800

  And I spent the next week, both at the staff level and in phone 
conversations, with the leading scientists in the United States that 
actually manufacture and distribute the product, studying that issue.
  And as a consequence of that, since I am an engineer, if the facts 
say something, you've got to look at the facts. And I was convinced, 
based on those conversations from the staff on the minority side and 
some of the scientists that there was some doubt and there was some 
reason on certain of the phthalates, that there should be a 
prohibition.
  And we put forward a proposal from the minority side to Chairman 
Dingell. He massaged it. He put forward a position as a conference. It 
was not accepted, but it was a starting point for negotiations, and 
Congresswoman DeGette got into the discussion. She went to Mr. Waxman. 
Mr. Waxman went to the other body, to Senator Boxer and Senator 
Feinstein, and the result is we actually have a conference report that 
is a good compromise.
  So I want to commend all of those, but I especially want to commend 
John Dingell because he is the dean of the House. He has served in this 
body over half a century, and if he had not had the wisdom and the 
leadership to say that you had to try to find a compromise, we wouldn't 
be here. We would, on my side, be rallying support to sustain a 
Presidential veto, and on the majority side, be trying to make sure 
that this got the two-thirds vote.
  So, Madam Speaker and Members of the body, I have the utmost 
admiration for Chairman Dingell, and I have the utmost respect for the 
institution, of the process of the House of Representatives, and that 
shows in this bill.
  Vote for the conference report.
  I yield back my time.
  Mr. DINGELL. I yield myself the balance of the time for the purposes 
of closing.
  I want to make a little observation about my friend from Texas. He's 
too kind to me and not kind enough to himself. He and I have the 
privilege of leading the Commerce Committee. It's a great committee 
composed of great Members, and we are proud, indeed, of them all, and 
we have an extraordinary staff, and they deserve the gratitude of this 
body for the fine work they did.
  My good friend from Texas and I have had some fine fights, but we 
have over the years become great friends, as well we should be. And he 
has earned not just my respect and affection but that of all of his 
colleagues on the committee and in this body because he's a fine, 
decent and wonderful human being.
  And I know that there were difficult times for him, as there were for 
all of our other conferees, Mr. Rush, Mr. Waxman, Ms. DeGette, Ms. 
Schakowsky, Mr. Stearns, and Mr. Whitfield, and I know on one occasion 
it looked like this thing was going down the tube. But Ms. DeGette and 
my good friend from Texas (Mr. Barton) got together, and they pulled it 
together and made it work. And we owe them thanks for that. It's great 
public service.
  And we also do for Mr. Waxman, because at a very difficult time, the 
question of preemption and the level of phthalates was before us, and 
in a very quick and gentlemanly way, Mr. Barton and Mr. Waxman worked 
that issue out. We owe them thanks for that.
  We have given the House a good bill. It's a bill that's going to 
protect people. It's a bill that's going to not just protect people but 
kids, and I think we have to give a nod here to Mr. Serrano, the 
chairman of the Appropriations Committee, because without proper 
funding this legislation is not going to work, and people are going to 
keep getting killed by shoddy products,

[[Page H7585]]

most of which are imports. And we understand that under Mr. Serrano's 
leadership, there will be $100 million in the appropriation next year 
for dealing with the problems of this agency.
  Again, Madam Speaker, this is a good bill. It shows how the House can 
work together and how the process, when properly used, leads to good 
legislation.
  My good friend, Mr. Barton, is an institutionalist, and we're very 
proud of that. And I pride myself that I, in some small way, am one of 
those, too. But this is the way the place should work. For hundreds of 
years, wise men and women have left us the way that this place can and 
should work, and it's my hope that as we go forward in this Congress 
and in following Congresses that we will again be able to work as we 
did on this matter, not just on the Commerce Committee but on all 
others.
  Commerce is very proud of its traditions and its history. We're also 
very proud of our other sister committees and of the good work that 
they do, and it is a real privilege for me to commend all of my 
colleagues on both sides of the aisle and say to them well done for the 
great work that you have done. All of us have reason to be proud, and 
all of us have reason to be grateful, and all of us have strong reason 
to be delighted to see back our old friend Reverend Rush, who started 
this whole thing out.
  And so, Madam Speaker, to my colleagues I say, well done, let's vote 
this legislation through. It's a great piece of legislation, and it 
will protect and it will save lives, health, and the security of our 
people.
  Ms. ESHOO. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4040, the 
Consumer Product Safety Modernization Act.
  In the last year there have been countless reports about dangerous 
products that have slipped through the cracks and reached store 
shelves, only to be discovered when someone got hurt. There has been a 
complete failure by the Consumer Product Safety Commission to keep 
harmful and sometimes lethal products away from consumers. Red tape, 
lax enforcement, and a shortage of resources at the CPSC have 
contributed to the recent recalls: 25.6 million toys were recalled from 
stores in fiscal year 2007, compared with only 5 million toys in 2006, 
and it's the American consumer, especially children, who are suffering.
  It's become glaringly obvious that we can't rely on manufacturers to 
police themselves, we need to give the chief consumer regulatory agency 
the authority and the resources necessary to get unsafe products off 
the shelves and stop them from coming into the country.
  This bill is a significant improvement in product safety from the way 
we're operating now. It provides additional funding to the CPSC and 
bolsters the Commission's ability to test and identify dangerous 
products. It also authorizes State Attorneys General to bring action on 
behalf of their residents to enforce Federal consumer safety rules.
  I'm pleased that my amendment to give the CPSC mandatory recall 
authority is included in the bill. This an is important tool for the 
CPSC to wield against the most nefarious companies who resist a recall 
of their faulty products.
  On the other hand, I'm disappointed that my amendment on allowable 
lead levels in children's toys was not accepted. The amendment I 
offered in committee would have brought lead levels to 40 parts per 
million, the standard recommended by the American Academy of 
Pediatrics. It's my hope that the CPSC will take seriously its 
authority to adopt a more protective standard if it makes the 
determination that it is feasible and protective of human health.
  I support this bipartisan bill to protect American consumers, 
especially children, and ask my colleagues to support it as well.
  Mr. MARKEY. Madam Speaker, I rise to commend my colleagues on both 
sides of the aisle for their excellent work on reaching an agreement on 
this important legislation to upgrade and modernize the regulations and 
the Agency charged with ensuring the safety of consumer products.
  In the past couple of years, Americans have been shocked to learn 
that the Consumer Product Safety Commission is an agency in crisis, 
starved of resources and slow to respond to a growing tsunami of toxic 
toys and other products that continue to put consumers at risk.
  We learned of defective cribs that resulted in deaths whose defects 
were never fully disclosed to the public. We learned of lead-tainted 
jewelry and other products, toys coated with a notorious date-rape 
drug, and unacceptable delays in the investigation and recall of 
dangerous products on the part of the CPSC. We learned of undue 
influence by manufacturers within the CPSC itself. With all of these 
problems, CPSC had come to stand for the ``Can't Protect the Safety of 
Children'' agency.
  The Democratic Congress made reform a priority and embarked in a New 
Direction. The result is a remarkable success.
  We have agreed to BAN lead and pthalates in children's products.
  We have agreed to greatly increase funding and personnel for the 
CPSC.
  And we have agreed to dramatically upgrade and make mandatory testing 
requirements and standards for toys.
  These new provisions will dramatically improve the protection of 
consumers across the country.
  There are three provisions in this conference report that I would 
like to call particular attention to.
  First, I am delighted that the Conference Committee has included 
language I first conceived of and proposed during House consideration 
of the bill to create an online searchable database for consumers to 
obtain early warning of defective and dangerous products.
  In 2000 and again in 2003, the CPSC documented cases of children 
suffering intestinal injuries after swallowing small but powerful 
magnets that had fallen out of toys. The public didn't know, and the 
CPSC did nothing.
  By mid-2005, after more reports of safety concerns associated with 
the magnets and two reports of serious, life-threatening injuries, the 
public still didn't know and the CPSC still did nothing.
  On Thanksgiving Day 2005, 22 month old Kenny Sweet of Redmond, 
Washington died after swallowing magnets that had fallen out of 
Magnetix toys. It was only after Kenny's death and an additional 4 
hospitalizations that the CPSC finally gave the public an inkling of 
what was going on.
  But it took until April 2007--after seven years of reports of risks, 
numerous serious injuries and a death--before a full recall of all the 
products was undertaken.
  In the past months, we have learned of additional tragic accidents 
related to flawed or toxic products on store shelves. The fundamental 
problem that needed to be solved is that the people buying these 
products for their children, grandchildren or households should not 
have to wait months or years to find out that someone has died or been 
seriously injured.
  The database created in this legislation will give empower consumers 
by requiring the CPSC to create a publicly searchable database that 
will allow them to access specific reports from consumers, doctors, 
hospitals or others of serious injury, illness or death, or risk of 
serious injury illness or death that may be due to a faulty or unsafe 
product. The database will be similar to those that already exist for 
cars and other automotive products at the National Highway Traffic 
Safety Administration and for drugs and medical devices at the Food and 
Drug Administration.
  No longer will parents be learning about ``Thomas the Toxic Train,'' 
``Defective Diego'' or ``Poisonous Polly Pocket'' months or years after 
the CPSC learns of them, and I thank the Conferees for including my 
proposal in the final bill.
  I also want to particularly commend the Conferees for including 
strong whistleblower protections for private sector employees who are 
retaliated against for disclosing safety problems with defective 
products. These provisions are similar to those I authored for rail and 
mass transit security workers in the 9-11 bill, and represent an 
excellent step forward in ensuring that these brave individuals are 
treated like the ``Paul Reveres'' they are instead of being threatened 
with loss of their jobs and livelihoods.
  I wish to point out that Congress did not reiterate long standing 
case law and established legal principles for interpreting statutory 
language in the whistleblower provision, and intends that those 
standards continue to be respected. To illustrate, consistent with 
long-established Supreme Court case law, see e.g., English v. General 
Electric, 496 U.S. 270 (1990), these rights do not cancel or replace 
preexisting remedies, whether under other overlapping congressional 
statutes, statute laws, state tort claims or collective bargaining 
agreements. There also should be no confusion that the rights created 
by this statute supersede and cannot be canceled and overridden by any 
conflicting restrictions in company manuals, employment contracts or 
nondisclosure agreements.
  I also wish to note that consistent with the Act's remedial purposes 
and longstanding case law, employee should be broadly defined to 
protect all individuals, including current and former employees, as 
well as job applicants, who have information that may prevent danger to 
consumers from illegal product hazards.
  Finally, section 102 which relates to third party testing, I am 
pleased that the Conferees included language that requires testing of 
samples that are identical in all material respects to the product, 
meaning that submitting product prototypes rather than actual examples 
of the manufacturing run for testing would not, in my view, satisfy the 
requirements of this section.

[[Page H7586]]

  Once again, I wish to commend my colleagues for their excellent work 
on this landmark legislation. I look forward to a reinvigorated CPSC, 
equipped with the necessary resources and authority needed to be the 
consumer's ``cop on the beat'', keeping Americans safe from dangerous 
products.
  Mr. WHITFIELD. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of this 
conference report for the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act.
  To begin, I would like to thank Chairman Bobby Rush, the original 
author of this bill, for his tremendous leadership on this issue. He 
has been in our thoughts and prayers and we are extremely pleased to 
see he is back and recovering. I look forward to continuing our 
important work together.
  I also would like to thank full Committee Chairman John Dingell and 
Ranking Member Joe Barton for their collaborative work during this 
conference. Unfortunately, we have seen in recent history that the 
minority--on both sides of the aisle--have been shut out of conference 
negotiations. We are here today under the best of circumstances, and I 
credit this to their character and hard work.
  Madam Speaker, we were all horrified at the number of children's 
products that were recalled last year. I am glad the Commission worked 
so hard to get those potentially dangerous products off the store 
shelves and this bill will make that important job easier and more 
effective.
  When parents purchase toys the last thing they should be worried 
about are toxic levels of lead, potential chemical side effects from 
accidentally swallowing a toy, or similar health hazards.
  Both chambers acted swiftly to approve legislation--and I might add 
the House voted unanimously--to better fund and equip the Consumer 
Product Safety Commission (CPSC) so they can help prevent another 
``year of the recall.''
  Today's conference report represents months of work to get a strong 
but reasoned bill that protects our children, and to send it to the 
President for his signature into law. Among other provisions, the 
conference report sets the toughest lead standard for children's 
products in the world. We require the CPSC to lower allowable lead to 
only trace amounts, and task them to revise this standard downward if 
it is technologically possible. We also require mandatory third party 
testing for children's products to ensure compliance with CPSC 
regulations and standards.
  As I mentioned, the conferees acknowledged that the CPSC has been 
underfunded and understaffed for years. To alleviate that, we increase 
the authorization levels significantly in the first year and then by 
approximately 7 percent for each of the next 4 years. These new 
resources will allow the Commission to hire additional staff and update 
their laboratory to help them do their job more effectively. This 
conference report also increases the penalties for bad actors and 
enhances the authority of State Attorneys General to seek appropriate 
injunctive relief, so that dangerous children's products don't make it 
into the hands of our kids and grandkids.
  Finally, I would like to address one of the more controversial 
provisions relating to a group of chemical plasticizers known as 
phthalates. Most of us in Congress are not scientists; however, 
concerns were raised that some phthalates could potentially be harmful 
to young children and pregnant mothers.
  While I support restricting the use of the certain phthalates that 
many scientists agree are harmful, I have some concerns about the 
interim prohibition on other phthalates that are considered to be safe. 
We obviously do not want to replace one safe plasticizer with a lesser 
known and potentially more harmful one. However, I am pleased that we 
asked the CPSC to quickly form an expert panel to review these 
phthalates and their alternatives to ensure we get it right.
  I also would just like to note that the conferees on both sides of 
this issue worked in good faith to find a true compromise on this 
section, and I believe they all should be commended for their hard work 
and open mindedness.
  I would also like to briefly mention the issue of Federal preemption. 
While this is sometimes a contentious issue, I believe that it is 
important that businesses are given some certainty as to what rules 
they must follow, and who will be enforcing those rules. A confusing 
patchwork of State laws ultimately benefits no one.
  So, I am glad that this conference report preempts State standards--
notably for lead, lead paint and the phthalates I mentioned--and that 
the authority of the State Attorneys General is appropriately limited 
to ensure that enforcement is swift, efficient, and consistent across 
the country. All of the children in America will be protected equally 
and vigorously.
  Madam Speaker, I strongly support this conference report as the 
compromise product of a good process. In closing, I would again just 
like to thank all the members of the conference committee on both sides 
of the Capitol and their staffs, including my own staff, James 
Robertson, for working tirelessly to produce a law that will maximize 
our opportunity to protect children from dangerous toys and products.
  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of this 
conference report and commend the conferees for their decision to 
prioritize public health in this final legislation.
  At the end of last year, as the country was awash in reports of 
unsafe levels of lead being found in children's toys, I expressed the 
hope that this Congress' final CPSC Reform bill would embrace the 
improved recall notice and strengthened enforcement authority in the 
House-passed bill while going beyond the House-passed legislation to 
broaden the scope of mandatory product testing, enhance a family's 
right to know about dangerous and defective products on the market, and 
provide robust whistleblower protections for those courageous enough to 
bring serious safety hazards to light.
  After months of negotiations, I am gratified that this conference 
report accomplishes all of these objectives. H.R. 4040 retains the 
House bill's original focus on ensuring meaningful public notice for 
product recalls and empowering states' Attorneys General to help 
enforce Federal law. Additionally, today's conference report requires 
mandatory pre-market safety testing for lead and other safety standards 
in toys, cribs and other children's products--without preempting 
stronger State protocols like those we have in Maryland. It requires 
the CPSC to create a searchable and user-friendly public database on 
deaths and serious injuries resulting from consumer products so that 
parents have access to the information they need to protect themselves 
and their children. And it provides important whistleblower protections 
to private sector employees who report violations of CPSC-enforced 
product safety requirements.
  Finally, this legislation takes the long overdue step of banning lead 
above truly minute amounts from products intended for children under 
twelve, and it outlaws a number of dangerous chemicals called 
phthalates from children's toys and child care items.
  Madam Speaker, this conference report represents a vitally important 
bipartisan agreement on behalf of America's families. I urge a ``yes'' 
vote.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Dingell) that the House suspend the rules 
and agree to the conference report to the bill, H.R. 4040.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. BARTON of Texas. Madam 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 and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

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