Last year was known as “The Year of the Recall.”
But your efforts helped make 2008 the Year of the Consumer Victory.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (left) and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi share a moment with little Abigail Hartung Aug. 1 at a Congressional signing ceremony for the product safety bill. Abigail was 14 months old in 2007 when her crib partially collapsed, trapping her hand between the railings. The crib was eventually recalled, and Abigail's experience was one of many that helped prompt Congress to pass the legislation.

The president has just signed into law one of the most significant product and toy safety reform bills in almost two decades, and you helped make it happen.

Activists sent more than 400,000 emails, made countless phone calls and visited members of Congress urging them to pass the bill. And Congress listened, overwhelming passing the bill with only four ‘no’ votes out of 535 members.

But it wasn’t easy. Our battle against all those who wanted to weaken or kill this legislation was long and difficult. We were up against some of the biggest lobbies in Washington--the major manufacturers, chemical producers and even the oil companies. They wanted to keep the status quo, and spent lavishly to do so.

Tough bills were passed, but negotiations on a final bill dragged on for months. Each passing day meant the possibility of a weaker law.

Yet big industry was up against a bigger force--the American consumer. You didn’t have the deep pockets or the access, but you had a voice, and you worked for months to let your lawmakers know you wanted them to do the right thing.

You wanted toys that didn’t contain dangerous lead and chemicals. Imports that were inspected, not just passed on to store shelves. And a fully funded and staffed Consumer Product Safety Commission, not a toothless agency that only had one toy tester on staff and half the employees it had 30 years ago.

And you got it. The new law will significantly change product and toy safety in the United States, including:

• Virtually banning lead and certain phthalates in children’s products. These chemicals can seep into children’s systems where they remain for life, and are linked to serious health problems and cancer.
• Preventing deadly imports from entering our borders. More inspectors will be placed at ports, and recalled products will be banned from being shipped to other nations, where they often found their way back to U.S. store shelves.
• Making sure toys and kids' products are certified safe and meet rigorous standards before we buy them.  In the first four months of 2008 alone, CPSC has initiated 121 recalls of unsafe products, totaling nearly ten million products.
• Increasing the CPSC staff to 500 and hiking its budget over 50 percent during the next five years. The watchdogs get more teeth by hiking fines on violators from $5,000 to $100,000, with a maximum penalty of $15 million. Employees who blow the whistle on their crooked companies will be protected, and states will have the power to act quickly if new safety hazards arise.
• Giving shoppers better information about dangerous products more quickly. A public, searchable Web site will have information from consumers, hospitals and public safety agencies about injuries, illnesses and deaths related to products.

Considering that the CPSC itself estimates that dangerous products are related to 28,200 deaths and 33.6 million injuries each year--the challenge of making our store shelves safer is enormous. 

With your help, Consumers Union will continue to help ensure that the CPSC does its job, the new law is implemented correctly, and consumers get the best protections possible.

Thank you again for all your hard work! And let’s keep working together to create a healthier, safer and affordable marketplace for all of us.