District 6 State Sen. Julie Quinn (R-Metairie) is feeling positive after her trip to the nation’s capital last week on behalf of homeowners affected by toxic Chinese drywall.

“The trip was amazing,” said Quinn. “It was encouraging to learn that our federal legislators are intimately knowledgeable about the details of this problem.”

Quinn has called for immediate temporary housing assistance to the tune of $25 million, and said Gulf Coast Recovery coordinator Janet Woodka is “very receptive” to the idea. She has also asked Congress to pass legislation that will hold foreign companies liable for dangerous products. To that end Quinn met with U.S. Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) who have proposed legislation that will require foreign manufacturers to provide a domestic agent in an effort to hold them accountable.

“There is a big foreign trade issue here in that there are very few standards for foreign goods, other than food and drugs,” Quinn said. “In 2006, the year after the storm, sheetrock shipments from China quadrupled, so they clearly took advantage of a vulnerable population.”

Quinn also met with experts from the Federal Trade Commission and attended briefings of the Consumer Product Safety Commission. There the news was not as positive, in that it was learned that the sulfurous gases emitted by the drywall are leading to cross-contamination, therefore air quality testing alone will not be sufficient.

The CPSC is expected to issue a preliminary report by the end of October, and Quinn said she is hoping for a more comprehensive report that includes the findings of private-sector firms that have also conducted testing.

The most important thing for homeowners right now, Quinn said, is to register a complaint with the agency.

“President Obama is aware of the issue, and he will get involved once we see significant numbers, at least 10,000” said Quinn. “There are currently only about 1,500 complaints filed, so people need to register.”

Quinn and state Sen. A.G. Crowe hosted a town hall meeting in Mandeville last month that was standing room only, and a second meeting is set for Oct. 21 at the Northshore Harbor Center in Slidell at 6 p.m. Additional dates for St. Bernard, Plaquemines and New Orleans East will be announced in the near future.

To file a complaint with CPSC, go to www.cpsc.gov/ info/drywall/index.html. To file a complaint with Louisiana Attorney General, go to www.ag.state. la.us/ and click on “Consumer Complaints,” or call 1-800-351-4889. For updates on the Chinese drywall multi-district litigation (MDL #2047), go to www.laed.uscourts.gov., and click on “Drywall MDL.”