Mcnerney: Consumers Must Exercise Caution in Toy Shopping This Year

Press Release

MCNERNEY: CONSUMERS MUST EXERCISE CAUTION IN TOY SHOPPING THIS YEAR

Washington, D.C. - Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, is one of the biggest shopping days of the year with stores nationwide luring consumers with good deals and extended hours. With the ever expanding list of recalled toys and products containing dangerous materials, shoppers need to be more careful than ever in selecting gifts this year - especially for young children.

Congressman Jerry McNerney (CA-11) issued the following statement:

"I have heard from many constituents expressing concern about the safety of products. With the start of the holiday shopping season upon us, everyone should be concerned about the quality of the products they will be buying. This year, millions of toys and other children's products have been recalled due to unsafe levels of toxic chemicals and other hazards. Some of those toys contained nearly 200 times the legal amount of lead.

"As toy imports from countries with lax safety standards have grown dramatically, under the Bush Administration, the staff at the Consumer Product Safety Commission has shrunk. Unfortunately, an understaffed and underfunded CPSC does not have the resources to fulfill its oversight responsibility.

"Congress is working to increase oversight of the toy industry and to bolster the ability of the Consumer Product Safety Commission to do its job in ensuring the safety of consumer goods entering the American marketplace. In particular, I have worked to pass measures to ban lead in children's toys, mandate increased toy testing, and increase the amount of the fines that the CPSC can levy on violators.

"I encourage parents, and anyone else buying toys, particularly for small children, this holiday season to use all available resources and exercise care in selecting their gifts."

Resources for Parents:

1. Consumer Product Safety Commission web site at www.cpsc.gov for information about recent recalls and toy safety.
2. Parents can also check resources offered by the toy industry at www.toyinfo.org or 888-884-TOYS.
3. Toy Safety tips produced by the U.S. Public Interest Resource Group: http://uspirg.org/static/TipsforToySafety2006.pdf

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