Proposal Would Weaken Commission, Imperil Consumers

The Consumer Product Safety Commission is the federal governmental body that stands between American consumers and potentially harmful products; it is one of their few bulwarks against unthinking-or just unscrupulous-manufacturers. That's why it's alarming that Congress is currently moving toward OK'ing a proposal that would weaken the commission by lessening its power over lead-content limits for toys, replacement schedules for outdated cribs and product testing, generally. Specifically, the proposal would dilute a potent 2008 consumer-protection law, letting child-care facilities wait longer to replace old cribs, postponing the implementation of a lower lead-content limit for toys and loosening product-testing requirements for businesses.

The proposal does face opposition-from U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield, for example. Children in day-care centers "should not be placed in cribs that don't meet up-to-date and rigorous safety standards," the North Carolina lawmaker told the news organization Bloomberg last month. "Lead-content limits should not be stretched to benefit industry to the detriment of our children."

Has your child been harmed by a dangerous product? Contact the personal injury attorneys at Hodes Milman toll-free at (949) 640-8222, or submit the contact form on our website, hodesmilman.com. We've achieved million-dollar verdicts in product liability actions on behalf of our clients.