Manufacturers press Senate to hold hearing on child safety law

A group of manufacturers is asking a Senate panel to review a controversial child product safety law they say is threatening their businesses.

Forty-two trade associations, including the National Association of Manufacturers and the Handmade Toy Alliance, wrote Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) recently to ask that his Senate Commerce Consumer Protection, Product Safety and Insurance Subcommittee reconsider the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act.

Congress last year passed the act, which includes a tough new lead standard for toys and other products used by children, in response to a number of toy recalls. Since then, a number of interest groups have complained it could apply to products that don’t pose a danger to children. They have lobbied hard this year to convince Congress to grant federal regulators the flexibility to determine which products should have to comply.

“The CPSIA’s unintended consequences are causing confusion for consumers and economic damage to our members across the country, especially small businesses,” the trade groups wrote.

The letter asks the subcommittee to invite Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) head Inez Tenenbaum and industry representatives to testify.

One problem businesses have with the law is that it could require small manufacturers to pay to test their products to ensure they meet the new lead standards. The CPSC has delayed enforcing the testing requirement, but the tests could be required next year.

Ed Krenik, a lobbyist at Bracewell & Giuliani who represents makers of all-terrain vehicles and other groups affected by the new law, said 11 bills have been introduced to amend the CPSIA. An amendment to a financial services spending bill would prevent the CPSC, the regulatory authority, from spending any money to enforce the new lead rule compliance on makers of ATVs used by children.

Some ATV components include lead but Krenik said that doesn’t impose any danger to children because they can’t ingest the material.

Although the CPSC has delayed enforcement, Krenik said businesses are being hurt because some retailers are refusing to stock products that have not been certified as meeting the new standard.

If ingested, lead can cause severe developmental problems for children.