U.S. House panel backs product safety agency revamp

U.S. House panel backs product safety agency revamp
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A congressional panel voted onThursday to beef up the U.S. consumer product safety watchdogand effectively ban lead from children's toys after recalls ofmillions of lead-tainted goods from China.
Moving Congress a step closer to overhauling the ConsumerProduct Safety Commission (CPSC), a House of RepresentativesEnergy and Commerce subcommittee cast a voice vote in favor ofa bill to boost funding and staff for the agency.
The bill, headed next for the House floor, would alsorequire more independent safety testing of products, wider useof tracking labels and better recall procedures.
It advanced on the same day that the CPSC announced arecall by retailer Bon-Ton Stores Inc of about 1,000 children'sbath robes, made in China, because they failed to meetflammability standards. No injuries have been reported.
"Recently, it hardly seems like a week goes by before somenew product is being recalled ... Toothpaste, dog food and toybeads have all been found to be poisonous, and it seems likewe're finding lead in everything," said Rep. Joe Barton at asubcommittee meeting where the bill was approved.
Barton, a Texas Republican, is co-sponsoring the bill withIllinois Democrat Bobby Rush, who chairs the subcommittee.
The bill resembles a measure approved last month by theSenate Commerce Committee and bound for the Senate floor.
"After decades of neglect, this bill restores the CPSC toits rightful place of prominence and gives it the necessarytools to grapple with the global marketplace and protectAmerican consumers, particularly children," Rush said.
In the 1980s, the CPSC had a staff of almost 1,000. Today,it has 420 people and a tiny testing office for toys.
Nancy Nord, acting chairman of the agency, has beencriticized by Democrats. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rushcalled for Nord's ouster on October 30. But Nord has refused tostep down and demands for her resignation have subsided.
A former Bush administration counsel and U.S. Chamber ofCommerce executive, Nord is one of only two commissioners nowserving on the CPSC. The agency was created in the 1970s toregulate hazards in about 15,000 different consumer products.
The House bill would restore the CPSC to its fullcomplement of five commissioners and give it more clout toenforce product safety rules.
It would also require that, 60 days after its enactment,any children's product containing more than 600 parts permillion of lead would be banned from the market.
The lead limit would tighten to 250 parts per million aftertwo years and to 100 parts per million after four years.
(Reporting by Kevin Drawbaugh, editing by Gerald E.McCormick)