Proposal to Roll Back Consumer-Product Safety Agency Authority Advances

The Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manfacturing, and Trade approved draft legislation by voice vote to roll back the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's authority on issues including lead testing for toys, baby-crib replacements and consumer complaints. A vote in the full Energy and Commerce Committee is next.

Under the legislation, child-care facilities would have additional time to replace out-of-date cribs, a stronger lead-content limit would be delayed, and the legislation would restrict who may post to a CPSC website tracking complaints about consumer products.

The new bill delays the lowering of lead-content limits to 100 parts per million, down from 300 parts per million today until August 2012, and narrows the range to apply only to goods marketed at children ages six and under, that can be placed in a child's mouth.

The proposal would also limit the posting items at www.SaferProducts.gov from people who are injured, members of their families or people authorized by them and the CPSC would have to do more to verify the claims.