Senate bill overhauls product safety agency

WASHINGTON -- The Senate voted last week to overhaul the Consumer Product Safety Commission, adding money and staff and toughening inspections of toys and other products made overseas.

Senators voted 79-13 for the most substantial changes in the independent agency since it was created in 1972.

The bill was fueled by toy recalls over the past several years and reports the agency has been shrinking as consumer imports have grown from countries with spotty track records for safety. Retailers last year recalled more than 400 products.

The Senate bill doubles safety commission funding over seven years and increases its staff by 20 percent, to 500 by 2013, to oversee consumer safety laws.

It would ban lead from children's products and create a new database to collect information from consumers, doctors and other sources about injuries from toys and other products.

It also raises civil penalties for violations of safety laws from $8,000 to $250,000.

Supporters praised the bill as a significant product safety reform.

Critics said it was burdensome for consumers and manufacturers.

Whistle-blower provisions and parts of the bill allowing state attorneys general to bring lawsuits against the makers of faulty products would lead to a spate of legal actions and big paydays for trial lawyers, they said.

Critics also said the consumer information database would allow companies to smear their rivals.

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., voted for the bill. Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., voted against it.

During debate, Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., proposed to replace the Senate bill with a version that passed the House in December by a unanimous vote.

The House bill does not establish a consumer database. Nor does it expand authority for state-brought lawsuits. It was viewed as more industry friendly.

The Senate rejected the DeMint substitute, 57-39. Ensign voted for the amendment. Reid voted against it.

MENTAL HEALTH BILL PASSED

Voting 268-148, the House passed a bill requiring insurance companies to offer mental health benefits equal to the benefits they grant for physical care.

It requires insurers to cover treatment for a range of mental illnesses, and forbids them from requiring larger co-pays or setting a lower cap on payments.

Supporters led by Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., said the bill would boost benefits for mental health care.

They characterized it as a civil rights bill for people with mental illnesses.

Critics said the bill would increase health care costs and force some employers to drop insurance coverage for their workers.

President Bush opposed the bill, preferring a less sweeping version being considered in the Senate.

That bill gives insurance companies more leeway to determine their mental health coverages.

Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., voted for the House bill. Reps. Dean Heller and Jon Porter, both R-Nev., voted against it.