Senate Compromise on Overhauling Consumer Product Safety Commission

Article in the Wall Street Journal -- Senate Forges Consumer-Safety Bill, by M.P. McQueen.  Here's an excerpt:

Following a rash of toy recalls last year, Senate Democratic and Republican leaders announced Friday that they reached a compromise on a bill to overhaul the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

The Senate is likely to vote this month on the bill, which would give the agency greater resources to remove unsafe products from the marketplace, but it would still have to be reconciled with a bill the House passed in December. Although industry groups have raised objections, the agreement appears to put CPSC-overhaul legislation back on track to clear Congress, especially in an election year when a crackdown on unsafe children's products has broad consumer appeal.

The bill would boost fines for safety violations to $20 million from the current $1.8 million, restore the commission to five members from three and require the safety agency to set up a database containing reports of injuries, illnesses or deaths from consumer products submitted by the public.

BGS