Playing Both Sides on Toxic Toys

Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) (WDCpix)

Before voting last week to bolster safety inspections on imported toys and other children’s products, a number of Republican senators, including Minnesota’s Norm Coleman, first voted to water the proposal down.
The moves follow a series of alarms last year in which children were harmed after ingesting lead and other toxic substances found in children’s items made abroad. Those events prompted record toy recalls — and months-long public outrage. The Senate proposal — which would ban lead in children’s products, force mandatory testing on imported toys and create a public database where consumers can log complaints — passed easily last Thursday. House lawmakers had approved similar legislation in December.

Illustration by: Matt Mahurin

But the Senate debate was not without its partisan controversies. For example, one proposed amendment would have required taxpayers, at a court’s discretion, to pay the attorneys’ fees for corporations that win consumer safety suits brought by state attorneys general. Supporters of this “loser-pays” provision, sponsored by Sen. David Vitter (R-La.), argued it would prevent frivolous lawsuits. But critics, including many Democrats and consumer interest groups, say it would have discouraged states from pursuing companies that may be violating public protection laws.
“There’s a good chance it would make them shy about bringing certain cases,” said David Arkush, director of Public Citizen’s Congress Watch. “It produces an enormous [financial] risk, and AG offices just can’t afford it … The point is that it could discourage these cases from ever happening.”
Though the Vitter amendment failed 56 to 39, it drew support from most Republicans — including several facing tough reelections. Aside from Coleman, Sens. Susan Collins (Maine) and John Sununu (N.H.) also voted for the industry-friendly provision.
The three lawmakers are facing some of the tightest Senate races of 2008, and the Vitter vote is representative of the political tightrope lawmakers sometimes walk between their corporate contributors and the voting public, particularly in an election year. By supporting the Vitter amendment, consumer advocates said, conservative lawmakers maintained their close ties to the business community. But by voting for the final bill, they also burnished their image as public protectors.
“No one wanted to be seen voting against this thing,” Arkush said. “The question [for Republicans] was: How much can we shape in advance the bill we’re going to approve?”
Another amendment, proposed by Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.), would have provided businesses with additional protections in consumer product suits, limiting the power of states to use outside council. Cornyn’s amendment failed 51 to 45, largely along party lines. Coleman, Collins and Sununu all supported the provision.
Support for the final bill was hardly so partisan. It passed by 79 to 13, with 33 Republicans in support, including Coleman, Collins and Sununu.
“In light of the number of recalls we’ve seen in the past year, this is pretty hard legislation to oppose,” said Ami Gadhia, policy counselor at Consumers Union, which supported the bill but opposed the Vitter and Cornyn amendments.
Senate and House negotiators now have work to do to iron out the differences between their consumer safety bills. The House in December passed its own version, including language giving the court discretion to award attorneys fees — a provision similar to the failed Vitter amendment.
Coleman has a good track record in the eyes of the business community. Last year, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce named him among its Spirit of Enterprise recipients, a distinction bestowed on lawmakers based on their pro-business voting record. In return, industry has been kind to Coleman. In this election cycle, the freshman senator has collected roughly $1.5 million from various business interests, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a campaign contribution watchdog group.
Coleman’s offices did not return repeated calls and e-mails requesting comment, but recent events indicate he can use all the help he can get. A poll conducted last month by Rasmussen Reports found that Coleman’s opponent, former Saturday Night Live comedian Al Franken, has taken a thin lead in the contest.
Yesterday. Franken got another boost. His Democratic primary opponent, Mike Ciresi, dropped out of the race.