Consumer Law

Consumer Product Safety Bill Passes Congress

By Brian Wolfman

The Washington Post reports that the Senate yesterday passed landmark consumer product safety legislation by a vote of 89 to 3. This follows House passage of the bill Wednesday by an even more lopsided vote: 424 to 1. The legislation now goes to President Bush who is expected to sign the bill.

The Post story explains that the "historic legislation . . . would remove toxic chemicals from toys and put a more powerful and better-funded cop on the beat to police the safety of consumer goods is on the verge of becoming law. . . . [The bill] represents the most significant expansion of the Consumer Product Safety Commission since it was created in 1973. It also marks a fundamental shift in the federal government's approach to protecting consumers from dangerous products: transforming a reactive stance to a preventive one by dealing with hazards before goods reach the marketplace, including products manufactured overseas."  Senator Mark Pryor's website has a useful synopsis of the legislation.

Full post as published by CL&P Blog on August 02, 2008 (boomark / email).