• Home
• About Amy
• Serving Minnesotans
• About Minnesota
• Issues/ Legislation
• Media Center
• Contact Amy
• FAQ

News Releases

Commerce Committee Passes Klobuchar's 'Toxic Toy' Legislation

Sen. Klobuchar instrumental in passing strong consumer protection bill as holiday season nears

October 30, 2007

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar was successful in passing legislation she introduced earlier this fall as key provisions of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Reform Act that passed the Commerce Committee today.  The reform bill passed by the Committee will make children’s toys safer by modernizing the CPSC to more effectively test and recall defective toys.  Today’s action by the Commerce Committee, which Klobuchar serves on, comes on the heels of recent toy recalls that could have a significant impact on consumers’ holiday shopping.

Klobuchar’s legislation will effectively ban lead in children’s toys, products and jewelry.  If enacted, Klobuchar’s provisions would be the first time standards for lead levels in children’s products would be set by federal law.

“As our kids look for new toys to fill their toy box this holiday season, parents have been checking to see if everything from Barbie to Batman is safe for their children,” said Klobuchar.  “It’s simply unacceptable that we continue to see more and more toys recalled due to high lead content and safety flaws.  It’s time to put clear standards in place that make it clear -- toys with toxic lead have no place on our shores or in our stores.”

Just yesterday, Consumer Reports released the results of four months of laboratory testing for lead in children’s products. Results showed that products from toys and jewelry to lunchboxes, to vinyl backpacks contain high levels of lead.  The study also found that 36 percent of shoppers say they will be buying fewer toys this holiday season and 70 percent will be checking product labels.

Millions of toys have been recalled just this year due to lead contamination, which poses significant danger to children.  Children exposed to lead can suffer long-lasting or permanent health consequences, and in some cases have died from exposure.  The dangers are personified in the case of Jarnell Brown, a four-year-old Minnesota boy who died last year of acute lead poisoning after ingesting a free charm composed of 99 percent lead.  Testing later revealed his blood lead level was three times higher than what health officials consider dangerous.

“Any parent can tell you the first place a new toy goes is in your child’s mouth, but that shouldn’t be our first test for lead,” said Klobuchar, noting that the sweet taste of lead that adds to children’s temptations to taste it.  “After months of recalls, we’ve taken action to make it clear that lead has no place in our children’s products.  We must keep these unsafe toys off our shores and out of our stores.”

The legislation would designate lead as a “banned hazardous substance” in children’s products.  The bill would set a ceiling for a trace level of lead in children’s products and jewelry given the high risk it poses to children if ingested.  While current law does not ban lead in toys, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has voluntary guidelines on lead which trigger additional testing and administrative procedures, rather than an immediate recall.  The legislation will also give the CPSC the power to lower levels for all children’s products even further through rule-making as science and technology allow.

The legislation approved by the Commerce Committee today, also included Senator Klobuchar’s bill that seeks to simplify the recall process for retailers and parents. The legislation requires that toys be imprinted with an identifying stamp on both the packaging and the toy itself, allowing retailers to more easily identify recalled toys on their shelves and parents to simply look at a toy’s imprint to know if that toy has been recalled.  The CPSC Reform Act of 2007 also included language from Senator Klobuchar’s bill that makes it illegal to sell a toy once it has been recalled.

###