Senate committee OKs consumer safety bill

WASHINGTON, D.C. The Senate Commerce Committee Tuesday approved legislation to help strengthen consumer protection laws.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission Reform Act of 2007, introduced by Senator Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) and Commerce Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), provides for a 58% increase above current funding levels for the CPSC over the next seven years, an increase in staff to at least 500 employees by 2013 and the streamlining of product rulemaking procedures. In addition, children's products will be subject to stricter scrutiny, with the requirement of third party certification, mandated tracking labels and the ban of lead from children's items.

“This bill is about safety,” said Senator Inouye. “Harmful products continue to enter the stream of commerce, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths, tens of millions of injuries, and hundreds of billions of dollars in losses to our country each year. These numbers are too high, and an effective CPSC should help reduce these grievous losses.”