Washington D.C. Office
713 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
(202) 224-2854
(202) 228-4260 fax
(202 228-1404 TDD
Email our office

Chicago Office
John C. Kluczynski Federal Office Building
230 South Dearborn St.
Suite 3900 (39th floor)
Chicago, Illinois 60604
(312) 886-3506
(312) 886-3514 fax
Toll free: (866) 445-2520
(for IL residents only)

Springfield Office
607 East Adams Street
Springfield, Illinois 62701
(217) 492-5089
(217) 492-5099 fax

Marion Office
701 North Court Street
Marion, Illinois 62959
(618) 997-2402
(618) 997-2850 fax

Moline Office
1911 52nd Avenue
Moline, Illinois 61265
(309)736-1217
(309)736-1233 fax

Obama urges quick passage of toy bill

Friday, December 2, 2005

By Clare Howard of the Journal Star

Ban sought on children's products with lead

PEORIA - As the holiday shopping season really gets revved up, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama is calling on Congress to speedily pass his bill banning children's products containing lead, including lunch boxes, toys and jewelry.

Obama, D-Ill., introduced two bills in late November to reduce childhood lead exposure.

Tommy Vietor, Obama's deputy press secretary, said: "Yesterday alone, there was a recall of 6 million toys because of lead. The senator is calling on Congress to pass his legislation before the busiest holiday shopping season. He wants to raise awareness about the dangers."

In a prepared statement, Obama said: "As a parent of two young children, it's frightening to think that a toy or a lunch box I purchase for one of my daughters could unknowingly expose her to toxic lead. But as recently as 2003, millions of pieces of toy jewelry had to be recalled from store shelves because they contained dangerously high levels of lead, and one popular lunch box was found to contain more than 90 times more lead than the legal limit."

Obama's bill, the Lead Free Toys Act of 2005, would require the Consumer Product Safety Commission to classify any children's products containing lead as banned products under the Hazardous Substances Act.

The bill focuses on products used by children under age 6 which contain more than a trace amount of lead. The bill also requires the commission to issue standards for the reduction of lead in electronic devices.

Obama has received no guarantee from the Senate leadership that this bill will pass this year, Vietor said. But given the fact that 6 million children's necklaces and zipper pulls were recalled this week alone because they contained toxic lead levels, Obama hopes this legislation will be made a priority.

Lead is highly toxic and continues to pose a major health risk for infants, children and pregnant women in the United States. Peoria has the highest rates of childhood lead poisoning in Illinois, and Illinois has the highest lead poisoning rates in the nation.