House Proceeding on Dec 19th, 2007 :: 4:16:23 to 4:36:23
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4:13:52 to 4:16:23( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Chris Carney

4:16:04 to 4:16:23( Edit History Discussion )

Chris Carney: years old and a they were killed tragically in automobile accidents simply because they were not safe, they didn't have the proper training. so these issues are so hugely important. i became aware

4:16:23 to 4:16:38( Edit History Discussion )

Henry A. Waxman: of this bill when a couple from my district came to me here in washington several months ago. and their son, their 4-year-old son had been tragically killed by a vehicle backing over him.

4:16:23 to 4:18:31( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Henry A. Waxman

4:16:38 to 4:16:55( Edit History Discussion )

Henry A. Waxman: and, you know, you can't bring these lives back. of course you can't. but this kind of legislation and bringing this kind of safety to help prevent, maybe my grandchildren, somebody se's

4:16:55 to 4:17:09( Edit History Discussion )

Henry A. Waxman: child from going through a tragic situation like that from which the family never recovers. so, again, to be here today to offer a few words of support for h.r. 1216. the things like automatic

4:17:09 to 4:17:20( Edit History Discussion )

Henry A. Waxman: power window reversal, rear-wheel visibility. this addresses safety risks that resulted in the deaths of so many children in this country. no, we cannot bring them back, but we can help

4:17:20 to 4:17:35( Edit History Discussion )

Henry A. Waxman: protect our young people in the future. i strongly support it, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from illinois. mr. rush: madam speaker, i have

4:17:35 to 4:17:49( Edit History Discussion )

Henry A. Waxman: no further requests for time, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas. mr. barton: madam speaker, i have one more speaker, the ranking

4:17:49 to 4:18:02( Edit History Discussion )

Henry A. Waxman: member of the subcommittee, mr. stearns of florida, would like to speak for one -- no, you don't want to speak on the car bill? then i have no more speakers. i urge adoption of the bill and

4:18:02 to 4:18:19( Edit History Discussion )

Henry A. Waxman: yield back the balance of my time, also. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 1216. those in favor say aye. as amended. those in favor say

4:18:19 to 4:18:31( Edit History Discussion )

Henry A. Waxman: aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection the motion to reconsider is

4:18:31 to 4:19:11( Edit History Discussion )

Sheila Jackson-Lee: laid upon the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois rise? mr. rush: i move that the house suspend the rules and pass t bill h.r. 4040 as amended. the speaker pro tempore:

4:22:51 to 4:23:01( Edit History Discussion )

JosÃ© E. Serrano: the clerk will report the title. the clerk: union calendar number 306, h.r. 4040, a bill to establish consumer product safety standards and other safety requirements for children's products

4:22:51 to 4:25:06( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: JosÃÂÃÂ© E. Serrano

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JosÃ© E. Serrano: and to s re-authorize and modernize the consumer product safety commission. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from illinois, mr. rush, and the gentleman from texas, mr. barton, will each

4:23:09 to 4:23:25( Edit History Discussion )

JosÃ© E. Serrano: control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from illinois. mr. rush: i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include

4:23:25 to 4:23:32( Edit History Discussion )

JosÃ© E. Serrano: extraneous material on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. rush: madam speaker, i yield myself as much time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore:

4:23:32 to 4:23:46( Edit History Discussion )

JosÃ© E. Serrano: the gentleman is recognized. mr. rush: madam speaker, today is indeed a grand day. today is a day that we show the american people that this congress, this house of representatives, gets

4:23:46 to 4:24:00( Edit History Discussion )

JosÃ© E. Serrano: things done. today the house will vote on sweeping bipartisan legislation that will protect our children from defective and dangerous toys and comprehensively reforms the consumer product

4:24:00 to 4:24:15( Edit History Discussion )

JosÃ© E. Serrano: safety commission. the bill before us today, h.r. 4040, the consumer product safety modernization act of 2007, was introduced by chairman dingell, ranking member barton, ranking member stearns

4:24:15 to 4:24:30( Edit History Discussion )

JosÃ© E. Serrano: and myself. this historic bill authorizes desperately needed resources to the commission and dramatically rewrites the consumer product safety act as well as the federal hazard substances act,

4:24:30 to 4:24:45( Edit History Discussion )

JosÃ© E. Serrano: both of which are administered by the c. -- cpsc. after decades of neglect, h.r. 4040 finally restores the cpsc to its rightful place of prominence and gives it the necessary tools to grapple

4:24:45 to 4:25:06( Edit History Discussion )

JosÃ© E. Serrano: with the global marketplace and protect america's consumers. particularly our children from dangerous and defective products. this b ill represents eight months of work, five hearings, a subcommittee

4:25:06 to 4:25:19( Edit History Discussion )

Joe Barton: markup and a full committee markup on which the final vote was 51-0. as chairman of the subcommittee on commerce, trade and consumer protection, i am extremely proud of our collected efforts during

4:25:06 to 4:27:23( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Joe Barton

4:25:19 to 4:25:33( Edit History Discussion )

Joe Barton: this entire process. h.r. 4040 has two titles, title one specifically addresses children's products by establishing the strictest lead standards in the world for children's -- children's products

4:25:33 to 4:25:53( Edit History Discussion )

Joe Barton: and requiring certification and testing. title two overhauls the cpsc itself, -- giving the agency much-needed resources and strengthening its underlying organic statute. at both the subcommittee

4:25:53 to 4:26:07( Edit History Discussion )

Joe Barton: and full committee markups, the bill underwent significant changes. we strengthen thed lead standard, raising their -- strengthened the lead standard, raising testing to 12 years of age, required

4:26:07 to 4:26:22( Edit History Discussion )

Joe Barton: cpsc to taylor their aggressive action plans to fit consumer needs, bestowed enforcement authority to state attorneys general, banned corporate sponsored travel for cpsc employees and preserve state

4:26:22 to 4:26:37( Edit History Discussion )

Joe Barton: common law rights of action. all of these excellent changes were made at the behoeft of the members of the energy and commerce committee who offered their valuable input on how to make this

4:26:37 to 4:26:53( Edit History Discussion )

Joe Barton: underlined bill even better. madam speaker, i cannot emphasize enough the bipartisan nature of this bill. from the very beginning we drafted this bill in consultation with the consumer product

4:26:53 to 4:27:07( Edit History Discussion )

Joe Barton: safety commission, consumer groups and industry. madam speaker, i want to sincerely thank the divisioned chairman of the full committee -- distinguished chairman on the full committee on energy

4:27:07 to 4:27:23( Edit History Discussion )

Joe Barton: and commerce, my dear friend from michigan, mr. john dingell, for his leadership. this bill simply would not be possible without chairman dingell's guidance. of course, i want to thank the

4:27:23 to 4:27:36( Edit History Discussion )

Bobby L. Rush: distinguished ranking member of the committee, my friends, mr. barton, and the ranking member of the subcommittee, mr. stearns, for their incredible leadership and unwavering cooperation.

4:27:36 to 4:27:52( Edit History Discussion )

John D. Dingell: i urge my colleagues to vote yes on this historic piece of legislation on this historic bill and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance

4:27:36 to 4:30:59( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: John D. Dingell

4:27:52 to 4:28:08( Edit History Discussion )

John D. Dingell: of his time. the gentleman from illinois reserves his time. the gentleman from texas. mr. barton: we want to talk about this bill a little bit. not yield it, reserve it. mr. rush: i reserve the

4:28:08 to 4:28:26( Edit History Discussion )

John D. Dingell: balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. barton: madam speaker, i want to start off by congratulating chairman john dingell. i have with me

4:28:26 to 4:28:43( Edit History Discussion )

today's "congress daily," the little, one of the news periodicals that tracks what we do and on page seven, the headline is "house panel easily passes consumer safety legislation." it goesen

4:28:43 to 4:28:57( Edit History Discussion )

John D. Dingell: to say that dingell said he plans to approach the speaker and ask her to put the ll on the suspension calendar because it passed committee 51-0 and the next paragraph, a leadership aide said it's

4:28:57 to 4:29:09( Edit History Discussion )

John D. Dingell: unlikely that the bill could come to the floor before congress adjourns for the year. well, i just want to congratulate the chairman for going to speaker pelosi and getting her to agree

4:29:09 to 4:29:23( Edit History Discussion )

John D. Dingell: to put this bill on the floor before we go home because this bill shows how the congress should shd -- should work. it didn't pass 51-0 because of certain dipity. it passed 51-0 yesterday in the

4:29:23 to 4:29:41( Edit History Discussion )

John D. Dingell: energy and commerce committee because staffs on both sides of the aisle at both the full committee and the subcommittee met for countless hours to negotiate the many compromises necessary

4:29:41 to 4:29:51( Edit History Discussion )

John D. Dingell: to put the bill together. i want to especially compliment conswela washington, the majority council, chairman dingell's council that has worked so hard on this bill. if president washington

4:29:51 to 4:30:04( Edit History Discussion )

John D. Dingell: were still alive today, he would be very proud of her for the work that she's done because she's not only had to work with the minority staffers and members, she's also had to diligently

4:30:04 to 4:30:17( Edit History Discussion )

John D. Dingell: work with the majority staffers and members as they sometimes were -- each side was pulling her in different directions and it's good to know she's all in one piece and doing well. this

4:30:17 to 4:30:32( Edit History Discussion )

John D. Dingell: bill will strengthen the consumer product safety commission. this bill will create a state-of-the-art testing laboratory to test the products and the toys that we sell to the american public.

4:30:32 to 4:30:45( Edit History Discussion )

John D. Dingell: this bill will enhance the recall ability of the consumer product safety commission. this bill will enexpand the number of commissioners so that -- will expand the number of commissioners so we have

4:30:45 to 4:30:59( Edit History Discussion )

John D. Dingell: a full commission again. this bill increases the fines that the consumer product safety commission can levee -- levy against companies that sell defective products. this bill has the toughest lead

4:30:59 to 4:31:13( Edit History Discussion )

Ellen O. Tauscher: standard in the world per products. i wish it were my line but it's not. chairman rush line on the lead standard in response to an amendment in committee to make it even tougher said that

4:30:59 to 4:32:20( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Ellen O. Tauscher

4:31:13 to 4:31:27( Edit History Discussion )

Ellen O. Tauscher: god himself, where he gave the 10 commandments to moses, that may have been the only holy ground in theorld that would have met this standard. i thought that was just priceless in terms of

4:31:27 to 4:31:36( Edit History Discussion )

Ellen O. Tauscher: trying to put in context how is it tough this standard is that the lord himself would have difficulty meeting the standard in the bill. so, this is a good work product. it was done the right

4:31:36 to 4:31:49( Edit History Discussion )

Ellen O. Tauscher: way. negotiations with the stake holders, negotiations with members, negotiations with the staff, an open markup at subcommittee, adequate time between subcommittee and full committee, a manager's

4:31:49 to 4:32:04( Edit History Discussion )

Ellen O. Tauscher: amendment that was circulated so that all members had a chance to see it, a full committee markup that lasted two days, numerous amendments that were offered, some withdrawn, some accepted,

4:32:04 to 4:32:20( Edit History Discussion )

Ellen O. Tauscher: some modified and the result was the 51-0 vote that occurred in full committee yesterday and then again thanks to chairman dinkle's ability to get things done in -- dingell's ability to

4:32:20 to 4:32:32( Edit History Discussion )

get things done in the house, a suspension calendar today so members on both sides of the aisle have an attempt to put their stamp of approval on this very important piece of legislation.

4:32:32 to 4:32:43( Edit History Discussion )

i'm very proud to have played a small part in this process and i cannot urge in stronger language that we should pass this and send it to the other body so that they may also resip ro cate.

4:32:43 to 4:32:55( Edit History Discussion )

i predicted at the press conference six weeks ago or two months ago that something very close to this bill will be on the president's desk. we will have a bill signing ceremony in the oval office

4:32:55 to 4:33:10( Edit History Discussion )

or the rose garden on this legislation later in this congress. so i'm very pleased to endorse it. i again thank all members for their hard work. a special commendation to cliff stearns,

4:33:10 to 4:33:28( Edit History Discussion )

the former ranking member of the subcommittee for his hard work. with that at that i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas reserves his time. the

4:33:28 to 4:33:46( Edit History Discussion )

gentleman from illinois. mr. rush: i yield to the gentlelady from colorado, ms. degette, for two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from is recognized for two minutes. ms. degette:

4:33:46 to 4:34:11( Edit History Discussion )

James P. McGovern: i want to thank the t distinguished chairman of the subcommittee, mr. rush, for yielding me this time and i want to congratulate him and my distinguished chairman, mr. dingell, for bringing

4:33:46 to 4:39:35( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: James P. McGovern

4:34:11 to 4:34:29( Edit History Discussion )

James P. McGovern: this strong consumer protection bill to the floor so quickly. i also want to thank congresswoman delora who i have been working with and i'm thrilled to see it on the floor. madam speaker, this

4:34:29 to 4:34:43( Edit History Discussion )

James P. McGovern: year we've seen the number of children's product and toy recalls rise dramatically. many of these recalls were because of excessive amounts of lead, which is a various -- very dangerous compound

4:34:43 to 4:34:59( Edit History Discussion )

James P. McGovern: for children. as if parents didn't have enough to worry about this season, they're faced with another dilemma. are the toys that they are boying safe? today in the house we will act to make

4:34:59 to 4:35:16( Edit History Discussion )

James P. McGovern: sure the answer to that ha question in the future is the resounding yes. back in september, with congresswoman dollarow, i addressed this issue. i want to commend the good work of the energy and

4:35:16 to 4:35:30( Edit History Discussion )

James P. McGovern: commerce committee for incorporating many of the provisions of our bill, most of the provisions, in h.r. 4040, as it sits before us today. this bill takes a number of steps to protect kids under

4:35:30 to 4:35:42( Edit History Discussion )

12. for example, it almost doubles the funding for the consumer product safety commission, which has been woefully underfunded and staffed. it bans lead in children's products and toys. it

4:35:42 to 4:35:56( Edit History Discussion )

requires independent third-party testing and it bans industry-sponsored travel, which has been a scandal at the consumer product safety commission. passing h.r. 4040 today is a crucial first step in

4:35:56 to 4:36:06( Edit History Discussion )

making sure that children are safe from dangerous products. as parents like us are rushing to finish their holiday shopping this weekend, they can rest assured that the u.s. house of representatives

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is oprn their side. i look forward to working with my colleagues early in the next session to make sure that e food parents are putting on their table is also safe. i yield back the balance

4:36:22 to 4:36:31( Edit History Discussion )

of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back the balance of her time. the gentlewoman from texas -- the gentleman from texas. mr. barton: i yield five minutes to the former