Consumer Safety Bill Passes Senate

A bill to strengthen the Consumer Product Safety Commission passed the Senate last week, setting up negotiations to reconcile the bill with the version passed unanimously by the House of Representatives in December. The Senate bill (S. 2663) would increase funding and staff for the agency, increase whistleblower protections, mandate safety standards for toys (including banning lead in children's products), and raise penalties for making defective products to as high as $20 million. The bill would bar CPSC employees from accepting industry-funded travel and create a new online product safety database. Despite some significant differences between the Senate bill and the House version, which is considered more favorable to industry, reconciliation of the two bills is expected.