House passes consumer product safety bill

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Legislation aimed at revamping U.S. consumer product safety, including a partial ban on controversial plastic-softening chemicals called phthalates, was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday.

The bill, that also would sharply cut the amount of lead allowed in toys and other products while increasing funding for the Consumer Product Safety Commission, was approved in a 424-1 vote and now goes to the Senate.

The commission came under intense scrutiny after millions of toys, mostly made in China, were recalled last year.

President George W. Bush previously had expressed concern over some of the provisions in the Senate version of the bill and is reviewing the version agreed to by House and Senate negotiators on Monday.

"We do think that the Consumer Product Safety bill moved in our direction a little bit on some of the issues that we were concerned about," White House Press Secretary Dana Perino said. "That doesn't mean we don't have some concerns that remain."

The ban on phthalates, which some believe can cause abnormal reproductive development in children, was one of the mostly hotly debated items in the bill.

Three types of phthalates would be permanently banned in children's toys and child care items, except for minute amounts, while three others would be temporarily banned pending further study.

The bill also would mandate national safety standards for all-terrain vehicles, linked to hundreds of deaths each year, as well as set standards for toys.

Whistle-blower protections and third-party testing requirements for certain children's products also are in the bill, and it would give the CPSC authority to inspect manufacturers' proprietary labs and increase maximum criminal penalties for violations.

Mattel Inc, RC2 Corp, and other companies were forced to pull millions of their toys from shelves last year, mainly due to excessive lead content in paint.