As Holiday Shopping Season Arrives, Lowey and NYPIRG Promote Toy Safety

NEW YORK – Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D-Westchester/Rockland) today joined the New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG) for the release of NYPIRG’s 22nd annual “Trouble in Toyland” report and to call attention to Congressional efforts to protect children from unsafe toys and those that may pose choking hazards.

“As the holiday shopping season begins, it is critical that parents have the resources they need to protect their children from dangerous toys,” said Lowey. “I commend NYPIRG for their 22nd report on this important topic, and I will continue to work in Congress to ensure that the federal government is doing its job to inform parents of potential choking hazards and keeping unsafe products off the shelves.”

The Child Safety Protection Act of 1994 requires choke hazard labels on balloons, marbles, and toys intended for children under the age of six if they contain small parts. However, it includes no such requirement for toys bought over the internet or from a catalogue. To close this loophole, Congresswoman Lowey has introduced legislation that was included in the Consumer Product Safety Commission Reform Act. This broad bill passed the Senate Commerce Committee on October 30th.

“More shopping is being conducted online each year, and parents need to know which toys pose unacceptable risks to small children,” said Lowey. “Further, the federal government needs to have more tools at its disposal to keep dangerous products off the shelves.”

Congresswoman Lowey is a cosponsor of the Safety Assurance for Every (SAFE) Consumer Product Act, as well as the Consumer Product Safety Commission Reform Act, which is expected to be considered by the House Energy and Commerce Committee in the coming weeks. In addition to closing the internet and catalogue loophole, this legislation would:

· Ban lead from children’s products and paint;

· Require mandatory testing of children’s products by independent third-party labs;

· Enhance the recall authority of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, to ensure that consumers learn about recalls effectively and more quickly;

· Provide the Consumer Product Safety Commission with greater resources to protect America’s consumers, including improved testing and research facilities;

· Ban unsafe and untested imported children’s products.

At the press conference, NYPIRG announced the release of its 22nd annual “Trouble in Toyland” report, which identifies unsafe products on the shelves of America’s stores during the holiday season.

“While we have seen progress after more than two decades of advocacy on behalf of America’s littlest consumers, researchers still found trouble in toyland on store shelves throughout New York this month,” said Tracy Shelton, Consumer Attorney with NYPIRG. “But recent high profile product recalls have given us a chance to urge Congress to pass strong product safety reforms, and give kids the best holiday gift of all.”