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| Wed, Aug. 20, 2008 |  |
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Washington Digest: Senate passes product safety bill Monday, Mar 10, 2008 By Sara Spivey and Steve Tetreault Stephens Washington Bureau Senators voted 79-13 for the most substantial changes in the independent agency since it was created in 1972. The bill was fueled by well-publicized 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 CPSC 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 called the bill the most significant product safety reform in recent history. Critics said the bill was burdensome for consumers and manufacturers. Whistleblower 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. They also said the consumer information database would allow companies to smear their rivals. Sens. Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor, both D-Ark., voted for the bill. During debate, Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., proposed to replace the Senate bill with a less sweeping version that passed the House last 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. Lincoln and Pryor voted against the amendment. 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 to set 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. The White House opposed the bill, saying it preferred a less sweeping version that is being considered in the Senate. That bill gives insurance companies more leeway to determine their mental health coverages. Reps. Marion Berry, D-Gillett, Mike Ross, D-Prescott, and Vic Snyder, D-Little Rock, voted for the House bill. Rep. John Boozman, R-Rogers, voted against it. |
