NYTimes touts need for product safety law

In an editorial titled “How Quickly They Forget,” the New York Times (2/24, A26) questions efforts to undo safety regulations regarding children’s products. The Times notes the House’s decision to slash funding from a product-safety reporting website, a result of the 2008 Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. House Republicans are also railing against requirements for third-party testing of children’s products for lead. The Times calls the business community’s arguments about litigation and costs associated with testing “predictable,” countering that the costs “must be set against the enormous costs incurred by families and society when a child is poisoned or hurt by a dangerous toy. Exposing older children to such risks should also be unacceptable.” Citing the 2007 recall of “of millions of hazardous children’s products imported from China,” the Times asks, “Why would anyone want to make that same mistake again?”