Editorial: Getting the Lead Out

Congress is far too busy creating all-new disasters to worry about one of the biggest ones left over from 2008. If lawmakers are serious about stopping further damage to the economy, however, they’ll act quickly to clean up a lead-testing law that already is poisoning a number of industries with fatal amounts of regulation and uncertainty.

The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act swept through Congress on nearly unanimous votes last year and took effect Feb. 10. Passed in response to the vast recall of Chinese-made toys tainted with lead paint, the law imposes strict lead-content standards on children’s products and requires rigorous third-party testing to verify compliance.