WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation held a Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Insurance Subcommittee hearing today titled Oversight of the Consumer Product Safety Commission: Product Safety in the Holiday Season.

Witness List:

Panel I 

The Honorable Inez Tenenbaum, Chairman, Consumer Product Safety Commission

The Honorable Anne Northup, Commissioner, Consumer Product Safety Commission

Panel II

Dr. H. Garry Gardner, FAAP, Chair, Committee on Injury, Violence and Poison Prevention, American Academy of Pediatrics

Mr. Steve Lamar, Executive Vice President, American Apparel and Footwear Association

Ms. Rachel Weintraub, Director of Product Safety and Senior Counsel, Consumer Federation of America

Ms. Jill Chuckas, Board of Directors, Handmade Toy Alliance; Owner, Crafty Baby, LLC

Key Quotations from Today’s Hearing:

“The Consumer Product Safety Commission’s (CPSC) mission is to prevent as many consumer product related deaths and injuries as possible. As millions of Americans go shopping during the holiday season, they should know that the products they are buying – particularly for their children – are safe. The holidays are a time for family gatherings and cheer. They should not involve trips to the emergency room because of a defective toy. I look forward to working with my colleagues to make sure we are doing everything in our power to improve the CPSC, promote product safety and protect American families.”

Chairman John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV

“As we enter the holiday season, it is critical to ensure that the toys on our shelves are safe. No child should be harmed by a gift that is supposed to bring him or her joy. This hearing has highlighted important ways we can continue to improve product safety and protect our children during the holidays and throughout the year.”

Senator Mark Pryor, Chairman, U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Insurance

“Passage of the CPSIA sent a strong message to both the Commission and the consumer product manufacturing community: the old, reactive approach to consumer product safety was not working. Instead, CPSIA directed the Commission to pursue a new proactive approach focused on keeping harmful products out of this country and—most importantly—out of the hands of infants and children…The year 2010 has been extremely busy for the Commission, but we are not done with our work. As we enter the heart of the holiday shopping season this year, we will remain vigilant to identify hazardous products in the marketplace.”

The Honorable Inez Tenenbaum, Chairman, Consumer Product Safety Commission

“It is important to clarify the risks associated with lead. Some advocates, including witnesses in your second panel today, will say that ‘there is no safe level of lead’ which implies that none of us can ever spend enough time and money to reduce or eliminate lead everywhere. However, an important fact to follow up this statement would be that there exists an unsafe level of lead, which has been established by our leading scientific agencies, the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and the Environmental Protection Agency.”

The Honorable Anne Northup, Commissioner, Consumer Product Safety Commission

“Lead is well-established as a potent neurotoxin and a particular threat to the developing brain of the fetus, infant, and young child, with documented negative effects on behavior and permanent loss of IQ points. Studies have shown that lead has no normal function in the human body, and that a ‘normal’ blood lead level is zero. There is no ‘safe’ level of lead exposure; no threshold for the toxic effects of lead has been identified. When lead accumulates in the body, it is tightly bound to bones and then released slowly over years or decades. Therefore, exposures that may be separated by significant gaps in time have an additive effect on the body’s burden of lead.”

Dr. H. Garry Gardner, FAAP, Chair, Committee on Injury, Violence and Poison Prevention, American Academy of Pediatrics

“Although product safety is a year round job, it is appropriate to have this oversight hearing as we enter the holiday season. The focus on consumer spending during the holidays is a natural time to reflect on product safety and compliance. Furthermore, as Congress begins to think through its agenda for the next two years, this is a good opportunity to identify what changes can be made to ensure that our nation’s product safety regulatory system is operating effectively.”

Mr. Steve Lamar, Executive Vice President, American Apparel and Footwear Association

“Today is the first day of Chanukah, Christmas is just 23 days away, and the holiday buying season officially began last Friday. The holiday season, with our country’s tradition of gift giving, provides a useful perspective through which to observe and comment on the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA) in particular and the Consumer Product Safety Commission in general. Whenever we make a purchase for our family and friends, most people assume that the product they are considering is safe. While purchasers think about what the person would like, what they want or need or what they requested, an underlying assumption is that the product we are choosing will not cause harm. While consumers do need to think about how the child interacts with the product, if there are other children in the house who may play with the product, or whether the product has been previously recalled, there are some issues that no amount of thought or planning can detect. It is the realm of hidden hazards that the CPSIA and CPSC have sought to detect and prevent.”

Ms. Rachel Weintraub, Director of Product Safety and Senior Counsel, Consumer Federation of America

“Most importantly, Congress should grant the CPSC the authority to use risk analysis to allow flexibility of third party testing requirements and hazardous content limits. High risk items like paint or metal jewelry should be held to higher verification standards than low-risk products like bicycle valve stems and brass zippers on children's garments.”

Ms. Jill Chuckas, Board of Directors, Handmade Toy Alliance; Owner, Crafty Baby, LLC

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