Federal action on toy safety, finally

On Monday, July 28, House and Senate lawmakers reached agreement on a new toy safety bill which President Bush won't have the courage to veto.  The law is a reaction to much-publicized incidents of unsafe imports from China and Denmark and the apparent impotence of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.  The bill will eliminate lead an other contaminations, in part by requiring third-party testing and allowing CPSC inspection. It also prohibits most Phthalate chemicals.  It requires the adoption of safety standards for childrens' use of ATVs and would gradually increase CPSC funding and penalties for safety violations.  It requires the creation of a national data base for unsafe products, and as one Congressman pointed out, "will assure that toys are tested in a lab by scientists, and not on the living room floor by kids".