Getting the lead out
Congress is far too busy creating all-new disasters to worry about one of the biggest ones left over from 2008. If lawmakers are serious about stopping further damage to the economy, however, they'll act quickly to clean up a lead-testing law that already is poisoning a number of industries with fatal amounts of regulation and uncertainty.
The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act swept through Congress on nearly unanimous votes last year and took effect Feb. 10. Passed in response to the vast recall of Chinese-made toys tainted with lead paint, the law imposes strict lead-content standards on children's products and requires rigorous third-party testing to verify compliance.
But the language of the legislation didn't address specific types of toys -- it applied the standards to all products intended for children age 12 and younger, even those that don't find their way into kids' mouths or obviously contain no metal.
The expensive product testing mandates have been postponed for a year by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, but the enforcement provisions -- selling a children's product with illegal amounts of lead can bring a huge fine and a prison sentence -- remain in effect.
Figuring out how to comply with the law, minimize liability and remain viable has been a struggle for a variety for businesses, from children's apparel makers to second-hand stores. But two industries in particular are dealing with regulatory nightmares: publishing and all-terrain vehicles.
Book sellers and libraries at one point earlier this year were confronted with the likelihood that they'd have to get rid of their juvenile collections -- or at least keep them away from anyone 12 and younger. The commission has since issued an exemption for most books published in 1986 or later, but that threshold could unnecessarily hasten the destruction of all sorts of vintage children's books and force libraries to remove a significant portion of their titles from shelves.
Meanwhile, the children's motorcycle and ATV industry can't get around the fact that brake and clutch levers, tire valve stems and other critical components use lead. Manufacturers and dealers have asked for exemptions from the law, but the commission hasn't acted decisively. Commission Chairwoman Nancy Nord said she supports delaying enforcement of the law for 12 months for children's all-terrain vehicles and motorbikes, or at least until Congress considers "how the law needs to be fine-tuned."
Banning the sale of children's ATVs and minibikes would kill significant portions of the industry, but it wouldn't kill the sport. Parents would merely seek out used, damaged equipment or put their kids on equipment sized for teens or adults. That certainly won't keep children safe.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission can't be counted on to employ reasonable, common-sense standards in enforcing this ridiculously broad law because it doesn't have the power to ignore lousy legislation.
It's incumbent upon Congress to revisit this regulatory boondoggle and specifically limit its reach to the products most likely to transfer lead into a child's body. Hint: that doesn't include books and bikes. If it can't, then it should scrap the entire law altogether.
Killing parents' jobs doesn't protect children.
