[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 3] [Senate] [Pages 3466-3467] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]THANKING SENATORS AND STAFF Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, I am here today to thank the many Senators and staff who worked on this sweeping consumer protection reform. This is going to mean so much for so many children across this country. It is going to make a difference, and we are really never going to know it. I can tell you from the parents I have met who have had to deal with their kids ingesting Aqua Dot that morphed into a date-rape drug, or another whose child swallowed a charm that was 39-percent lead, those mothers came to the Capitol because they did not want it to happen to anyone else. Today, we told them we are listening to them, and we are making a difference in the lives of families throughout the country. The difference started with the Commerce Committee and the very good staff we have on that committee. Before I acknowledge them, I wish to acknowledge my own staff. I am so proud of the work they did. Tamara Fucile took this issue on as a personal matter. Her children actually had some of the Thomas the Train sets. I cannot tell you to how many hearings she carried those trains, chewed on by her own children, and I would hold them up to show Senators this was a real thing. I thank Tamara, and I also thank her children for parting with their toys, although they are recalled toys. Kate Nilan has been doing a wonderful job with our office working on these consumer issues. In the last week, Kate was very involved in making sure that our amendment, which banned industries paying for travel, industries that [[Page 3467]] the consumer protection agency is supposed to be regulating, the amendment that Senator Menendez and I did got voted on in this body 94 to 0. It is because of the good work of Kate Nilan in putting that amendment together and working out the procedural issues. I thank both of my staff members for their fine work on this bill. Tamara was also very involved in the lead standard. She originally worked with me when we said: Why would we not have a Federal lead standard for toys? Why would we have State-by-State standards and some States do not have them and they are different all over the place? We finally have an aggressive lead standard that basically bans lead in children's toys, the first year allowing some trace levels and going down after that. That was Tamara's good work. I wish to acknowledge the Commerce staff who worked hard on this bill from the beginning: David Strickland was there every step of the way, as well as Alex Hoehn-Saric for his work, and Price Feland, a member of Senator Pryor's staff, as well as staff of Senator Durbin who got involved in this issue early on when Senator Durbin and I met in Chicago with a number of the toy retailers and manufacturers that were concerned about this and knew something had to change in Washington in terms of the funding for this agency, as well as the tools they have to do their jobs. Senator Nelson has played such an instrumental role when it came to making sure we had third-party verification, as well as the durable goods standard in the bill; then, of course, Senator Stevens and Senator Collins, who assisted in getting bipartisan support for the bill, and Senator Pryor, who managed it during this week flawlessly. We are very excited about the change today, that I can go home tonight and tell my 12-year-old daughter--who, I have to tell you, was rather embarrassed about this whole thing when her mom was involved when it was about SpongeBob SquarePants, but when the Barbies started getting recalled, she came into the kitchen and said: Mom, this is really getting serious. So I am going to be able to go home today and tell her we did something good in the Senate. I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll. The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll. Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. ____________________