Ed Markey: “I commend Chairman Dingell and Subcommittee Chairman Rush for their intensive efforts to produce bipartisan legislation…”

“I commend Chairman Dingell and Subcommittee Chairman Rush for their intensive efforts to produce bipartisan legislation to overhaul a beleaguered agency, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, CPSC. As a tsunami of toxic toys flooded into our country and onto store shelves earlier this year, it became clear that the CPSC was unequipped to perform its vital mission-- protecting the public from significant risks of serious injury or death from toys and other consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction. Chairman Dingell and Chairman Rush moved swiftly to respond to this crisis of confidence in the CPSC, holding important hearings that exposed major weaknesses at the agency, including an under-resourced and demoralized staff, a lead standard that enabled unsafe lead content in children's products, weak leadership provided by Acting Chairman Nancy Nord and other problems that made the CPSC the 'Can't Protect the Safety of Children' agency. I congratulate my distinguished colleagues for their work. When the Energy and Commerce Committee considered this legislation yesterday, I voted for it. H.R. 4040 mandates many important improvements at the CPSC and includes much-needed increases in resources for the Commission. Specifically, the bill: Bans lead beyond a minute amount in products intended for children under 12. Requires mandatory safety standards for nursery products, such as cribs and high chairs.”