Senate OKs measure for tighter inspection of foreign-made toys

Senate OKs measure for tighter inspection of foreign-made toys

The bill calls for a database for information on injuries.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Responding to record recalls of products that sickened children, the Senate passed legislation Thursday that would toughen inspections of toys and other playthings made outside the U.S.

The bill calls for a public database of consumer complaints, bolsters the Consumer Products Safety Commission to help it certify the safety of overseas products, bans lead in children’s goods and sets new standards for safe toys.

It won approval by a 79-13 vote after four days of debate. The Bush administration and other critics said the database unfairly could taint manufacturers. But President Bush stopped short of threatening a veto.

Both the Senate and House versions passed with veto-proof margins, increasing the chances a compromise would draw similar support.

Congress has much to do before Bush has the chance to make a decision on a veto.

“The hard work starts” now, said Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., with negotiators from each chamber working to reconcile their differences. He managed the bill with Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.

The House’s version, passed by a 407-0 vote in December, has many differences, including a lower cap for jury awards. Regarding the database, the House version proposes a study on how to create one.

The congressional debate was thick with emotion. The mothers of two boys sickened by toys tearfully urged Congress to speed the legislation to the president, saying many provisions would have helped her children and prevent others from similar dangers.

Klobuchar and Pryor said the legislation was written in close consultation from some of the retailers who had to pull recalled products from store shelves.

“We believe that stronger federal quality assurance standards will play a critical role in achieving what we all are striving for: the safest possible products for our children,” Toys “R” Us Inc. said in a statement after the Senate vote.

The Senate bill would nearly double the agency’s budget and increase its staff to nearly 500 people by 2013.

The new database would collect information from people, hospitals and other sources about injuries, illnesses and deaths from consumer products.

The Senate bill would raise the civil penalty cap per violation from $8,000 to $250,000 and the limit for a related series of violations from $1.8 million to $20 million; the House version would raise the penalty limit to $10 million.