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In a vote that would make the Grinch proud, the U.S. Senate passed a bill at the height of the holiday shopping season that would make it harder to protect children from imported toys containing toxic chemicals.

The Senate bill to reform the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) of 1976 must be reconciled with a much different bill approved in June by the U.S. House of Representatives, before final TSCA reform can become law.

American families expect assurance of product safety. But the Senate bill makes it harder for the federal government to halt imported products containing toxic chemicals banned in the United States. About 95 percent of all toys sold in the U.S. are manufactured outside this country.  

Chemical safety reform should make it easier to ensure the safety of imported products, not more difficult. This “toxic toys” provision should be struck from the final legislation.

Read more, in a statement about the Senate bill issued about by Mike Belliveau, executive director of the Strategy Center.