Six months after Christmas, lawmakers hope to have a belated gift for consumers: tougher lead standards for toys and more money for the beleaguered agency that oversees product safety.

Members were scheduled to meet this week to resolve a few remaining differences between the House and Senate consumer safety bills. Sources in and outside of Congress said that they expected lawmakers to meet a self-imposed deadline by voting on a conference report before the July 4 recess.

Since then, lobbyists for consumer advocates and industry groups have battled, sometimes under the radar, as high gasoline prices overtook toy safety as the top consumer issue.

A coalition of businesses led by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) have warned the Senate’s version would lead to unnecessary litigation and could diminish the communication between companies and federal regulators about product safety.

“We, the businesses who represent the manufacturers, want CPSC and want it reformed, but they have to be the right reforms and they can’t be detrimental to manufacturers,” said Edward Krenik, a Bracewell & Giuliani lobbyist who represents the NAM-led coalition. He insisted the coalition supports “about 90 percent” of the legislation.

With few new news reports of recalls in the headlines, consumer advocacy groups have sought to keep the pressure on Congress to pass the reform bill. In May, one group brought to the Hill parents who allege that their children were harmed by the higher lead levels in toys that eventually led to last year’s recalls.

Elizabeth Fischer, a mother of four, said her 3-year-old son, Kevin, was given the Mattel-manufactured Diego and Boots dolls last June. A few weeks later, Fischer noticed a dramatic change in his behavior, including a loss of speech.

After hearing of the recalls in August, Fischer had Kevin tested for lead poisoning. Tests revealed the lead levels in his blood and urine were five times the norm. Fischer believes the poisoning has placed him within the autistic spectrum and in danger of developing attention deficit disorder.

Mattel spokesman Howard Opinsky said he doubted the Mattel toy caused the poisoning.

“We’re talking about a very small toy and a very small amount of lead,” he said.

 “Mattel supports the passage of comprehensive CPSC reform legislation this year,” Opinsky said. But he added that the company is not lobbying on the bill.

Top staff aides discussing the bill reached a few compromises last week.

The conference report, for example, was expected to adopt the House’s threshold by setting new lead standards for products aimed at children 12 years old and below, a victory for consumer advocates who had wanted a higher threshold than the 7-year-old standard also proposed. Industry groups had pushed to retain the current standard, which was reflected in the Senate bill.