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."
