Political Quotes

“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.”