[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Pages 3522-3523]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION REFORM ACT

  Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Mr. President, I want to take this opportunity to 
express my complete support for H.R. 4040, the Consumer Product Safety 
Commission Reform Act, which passed the Senate yesterday with an 
overwhelming bipartisan majority. Regrettably, I was unable to vote on 
final passage of H.R. 4040, as I had a previous commitment that 
prevented me from being there. However, I believe so strongly in the 
Government's responsibility to maintain the highest level of product 
safety that I wanted the Congressional Record to reflect how pleased I 
am that the Senate passed H.R. 4040, after substituting the text of S. 
2663 as amended, and to extend my congratulations to the bill's 
principal sponsors, Senator Mark Pryor and Senator Ted Stevens.
  Throughout the past few years, our Nation has experienced an 
unfortunately large number of recalls on products that have been 
imported into our country. Of particular concern to me, and to many of 
my colleagues, as well as to parents and all citizens across the 
country are the millions of children's toys that were recalled due to 
dangerous levels of lead and other toxins or dangerously defective 
product design or manufacture. These recalls left many parents 
wondering whether any of the toys they purchased for their children 
were safe. It was time for the Senate to work together to protect 
America's consumers and children, and with the passage of H.R. 4040, we 
have done that and, I believe, done it well.
  Much blame has been placed on the U.S. Consumer Product Safety 
Commission, CPSC, for failing to adequately protect consumers from 
dangerous products entering the United States. Whether this was being 
too lax with regard to negligible product safety standards for toys and 
other items produced abroad, or ineffective and often toothless 
oversight of the manufacturing and design process wherever the toys 
were made, there is more than enough blame to spread around. While I 
certainly recognize the important contributions of the dedicated career 
employees at the CPSC, it is clear that the CPSC lacks the adequate 
resources, and political will, to combat this growing problem.
  With the passage of H.R. 4040, the Senate has taken a very good step 
toward addressing many of the problems we have seen in recent years by 
increasing funding for the CPSC, increasing penalties for manufacturers 
that violate consumer protection laws, reducing the levels of lead in 
children's products, requiring labeling so that parents can know when 
their children's toys have been recalled, and allowing State attorneys 
general to help enforce Federal consumer protection laws for the 
benefit of citizens throughout West Virginia and across the Nation.
  Mr. President, again I would like to express my support for H.R. 
4040, as amended by the remark on March 6, 2008, and thank my 
colleagues for all of their hard work to pass legislation that will 
better protect consumers and children from dangerous products.
  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, yesterday, the Senate passed S. 2663, the 
Consumer Product Safety Commission Reform Act, by an overwhelming 
margin of 79 to 13. This significant legislation has the potential to 
benefit every consumer and, most notably, protect America's children.
  Imagine the heartbroken look on a child's face when a favorite toy is 
confiscated because it's unsafe.
  Then try to imagine the much greater pain felt by a parent whose 
child has been poisoned or injured or even killed by an unsafe toy.
  So far this year, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, CPSC, has 
issued no fewer than six toy recalls just due to lead paint safety 
violations. These recalls affect over 75,000 toys. There were 473 
recalls last year. In fact, as a few of my distinguished colleagues 
have noted, one of the ``must-have'' toys last year, AquaDots, was 
recalled just prior to the holidays--and for good reason. The Dots 
contained a potentially coma-inducing toxic coating.
  American consumers have the right to expect that the products they 
buy are safe. The CPSC should be able to provide that assurance. 
Unfortunately, in recent years, we have seen numerous examples when the 
CPSC has not been up to the job.
  The CPSC has suffered from the antiregulatory zeal that has been 
popular in recent years. Products under the Commission's jurisdiction 
cause more than 28,000 deaths and 33.6 million injuries each year, but 
funding for CPSC has been slashed and the staff is half the size it was 
30 years ago.
  The bill the Senate has passed will strengthen the CPSC by giving it 
the staff, enforcement powers, and other resources it needs to monitor 
a rapidly changing and ever-expanding global marketplace. S. 2663 will 
give American consumers--89 percent of whom are aware of the recent 
recalls--greater peace of mind.
  S. 2663 provides critical budget and staffing resources necessary to 
provide for increased safety monitoring. The bill bans lead from 
children's products and subjects all toys to comprehensive hazard 
testing. And it mandates independent testing of many children's 
products. But all the increased testing and regulations in the world 
are only as good as the ability to back them up with meaningful 
penalties for violators. So S. 2663 increases the per-violation civil 
penalties cap to help deter violations.
  I am grateful to the bill managers for including my amendment--No. 
4103--to address the issue of training standards for safety inspectors. 
S. 2663 nearly doubles current funding levels over the next 7 years--
which I think is a good idea. And it increases the CPSC staff to at 
least 500 by 2013--which I also think is a good idea. But if there is 
going to be a rapid expansion of the staff, I think it would be useful 
for the CPSC to develop training standards for product safety 
inspectors and technical staff and to consult with a broad range of 
consumer product safety organizations in developing those standards. My 
amendment merely directs the

[[Page 3523]]

CPSC to develop such standards--again, in consultation with groups that 
have expertise in such matters--within 180 days of enactment and to 
submit a report to Congress on the standards.
  I am also grateful the bill managers included an amendment, No. 4113, 
Senator Obama and I introduced to clarify, expand, and standardize the 
information contained in recall notices.
  We have passed a bill that will help keep dangerous products off 
store shelves, out of our homes, and out of the hands of our children 
and grandchildren. We have passed a bill that will help restore 
consumer confidence in product safety. I am proud the Senate has passed 
this legislation, and I congratulate the bill managers--Senators Pryor, 
Stevens, Inouye and Collins--for crafting it and bringing it to the 
floor with such broad, bipartisan support.
  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I wish to speak on the Consumer Product 
Safety Commission Reform Bill, which the Senate passed earlier today. I 
was pleased to cast my vote in support of this important bipartisan 
bill, and I thank Senators Pryor and Stevens for their hard work in 
bringing this measure to the floor.
  The Consumer Product Safety Commission, or CPSC, is one of our 
Nation's most important Federal agencies. The Commission's principal 
responsibility entails protecting Americans from risks associated with 
products sold in the United States. Each year, it develops and enforces 
safety standards for thousands of goods. These goods range from toys to 
house-wares.
  We live in an age of increasing global trade. Consequently, the 
activities of the CPSC here become more important, as Americans 
purchase and consume a greater number of products manufactured in 
foreign nations. In order to meet these expanded responsibilities, the 
CPSC requires enhanced resources and authorities. I am pleased that the 
bill passed today provides these enhanced resources and authorities.
  The Consumer Product Safety Commission reform bill includes new 
safety standards for a variety of products, including cigarette 
lighters, furniture, swimming pools, equestrian helmets, portable 
gasoline containers, strollers, and cribs. It strengthens the 
certification of safety-standard compliance, establishes more stringent 
standards on lead in paint, reforms third-party testing for product 
safety and compliance, and increases civil and/or criminal penalties 
for noncompliance. The bill also increases CPSC personnel in major 
ports-of-entry, prohibits CPSC personnel from taking industry-sponsored 
travel, prohibits the sale of products that are the subject of a 
recall, expands jurisdiction of the CPSC to cover amusement park rides 
at a fixed site, and fosters greater coordination among the various 
agencies involved in consumer safety issues.
  Further, the legislation doubles the current CPSC authorization level 
for fiscal year 2009 to $88,500,000, and increases the level to 
$155,900,000 by fiscal year 2015. This bill also authorizes $40 million 
for fiscal year 2009 for the improvement of the Commission's research, 
development, and testing facilities, and also provides $1 million for 
fiscal year 2009 for research into safety issues related to the use of 
nanotechnology in consumer products.
  I am particularly pleased that the bill contains two provisions that 
I worked to advance regarding new CPSC safety standards for swimming 
pool drains and equestrian helmets. These standards are vital towards 
protecting children against accidental drowning and horse-related 
injuries respectively. I was pleased to work with my colleagues on the 
Commerce Committee in drafting these standards and incorporating them 
into the bill.
  In closing, I believe the Consumer Product Safety Commission reform 
bill will allow the CPSC to fulfill its responsibility of protecting 
Americans more effectively, and I look forward to working with my 
colleagues on future such legislation.

                          ____________________