Washington, D.C. - U.S. Congressman Kevin Brady today voted in favor of a bi-partisan bill aimed at protecting children from toys tainted with lead paint or parts.  H.R. 4040 the “Consumer Product Safety Modernization Act” passed by a vote of 407 to 0.

Today’s bill was prompted after a leading toy manufacturer in the United States was forced to recall nearly one million toys this summer after tests revealed the products contained unacceptable levels of lead paint.  Exposure to lead in young children can lead to serious health and developmental problems including speech delay, attention deficit disorder, learning disabilities, neurological and renal damage, stunted growth, anemia, and hearing loss.

“Parents shouldn’t have to worry whether the toys they buy are going to compromise their children’s health.  We have safety standards for the food we import and cars we drive, it only makes sense that we demand the same from toy makers,” said Brady.

H.R. 4040 toughens federal standards to ban lead in children’s products beyond minute amounts; requires pre-testing and certification of certain children’s products, including nursery equipment; and mandates certain labeling to make it easier for parents to track the products they’ve purchased in the event of a safety recall. 

The bill increases the cap on civil penalties for bad actor companies to $10 million, and allows State Attorneys General to seek injunctive relief for some violations.

This bill also increases budget funding for the Consumer Products Safety Commission, the agency charged with overseeing product safety in America.  The additional funding will enable them to provide better information to consumers about recalled products and the available remedies, and to exert more control to stop the importation of unsafe consumer products.