Amy Klobuchar: “I am very pleased this bill is advancing, the Consumer Product Safety Commission bill, that involves so many important…”

“I am very pleased this bill is advancing, the Consumer Product Safety Commission bill, that involves so many important provisions. But in my State, I will tell you this: We are very focused on the provision dealing with the toxic toys. I can tell you, after being in the Senate for only a year, it is truly an inspiration to see we were able to get a bill through our committee--thanks to the leadership of Senator Pryor and Senator Inouye and Senator Stevens--and get it to the floor. The reason it is so important in our State is we had a little boy who died, a 4-year-old boy who swallowed a charm that was given to him with a pair of tennis shoes. He did not die from choking on the charm. He did not die from his airway being blocked. He died when the lead went into his bloodstream day after day after day. When that charm was tested, it was 99 percent lead. It was from China. His own blood, when he died, had three times the normal amount of lead. It is a very sad story. But it is some solace to the people in our State that after only being here a year, and as a member of the Commerce Committee, I was able to work to make sure we have a Federal lead standard in this bill.”