House OKs lead ban for toys

WASHINGTON —  Alarmed by a year of recalls targeting millions of tainted toys, the House voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to ban lead and other dangerous chemicals from items such as jewelry and rubber ducks that could end up in kids’ mouths.

The legislation also would toughen rules for testing children’s products and take steps to give more muscle to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which was criticized last year for its handling of a flood of goods from China deemed hazardous to children.

“It should be a given that toys are not dangerous,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) said of the legislation that was lauded by lawmakers and consumer groups as one of the most far-reaching product safety bills in decades.

With the bill, said Rep. Joe L. Barton of Texas, top Republican on the Energy and Commerce Committee, “our children’s toys will be tested in the laboratory before they are tested by our children on the living room floors of America.”

The bill, a product of House-Senate negotiations, would impose the toughest lead standards in the world, banning lead beyond minute levels in products for children 12 or younger.

It would also ban children’s products -- either permanently or pending further study -- containing six types of phthalates, chemicals that are found in plastics and are suspected of posing health risks.

The 424-1 vote sends the measure to the Senate, which could approve it before Congress leaves for its August recess at the end of this week.

The White House has voiced opposition to parts of the bill but has not threatened a veto.

The bill would require third-party testing for many children’s products before they are marketed, a key change in monitoring practices.