Lawmakers Propose Revisions to the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act

The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee Thursday finished marking up proposed legislation to amend the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) on Thursday. The CPSIA was passed in 2008 in response to a massive spike in recalls of children’s toys and products for lead and other health risks.

Consumer groups warn that the proposed changes, which would revise children’s product testing and lead-limit requirements in the existing legislation, could increase dangerous hazards in children’s products. However, a spokesperson for the committee lead Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R-Calif.), said the CPSIA, as it stood, cannot not be enforced “rationally.”

“2008 had set extremely strict limits on lead content for all consumer products for children 12 and under,” spokesperson Ken Johnson told FoxBusiness. “It disrupted the sale of everything from bicycles to used clothing in thrift stores.”

The proposed amendment would revise the allowed lead limits for toys intended for children six and under and six and above. If the new legislation is not passed by August 2011, Johnson said some goods already on the shelves that do not meet current lead standards will have to be pulled and destroyed, costing American businesses millions.