Proposed battery restrictions could crimp e-commerce, air travel

"Under existing regulations, a flight crew may not be made aware of a pallet containing thousands of lithium batteries on board the aircraft, yet a five-pound package of flammable paint or dry ice would be subject to the full scope of the regulations," said Minnesota Democratic representative and House Transportation and Infrastructure chairman, Jim Oberstar, in a statement. "That makes little sense,"

The full text of the Department of Transportation's proposal can be viewed online , and people may also leave comments.

Kerchner says that instead of stricter rules , we'd be better off with stricter enforcement of existing rules.

The proposed changes would affect everything from power tools to defibrillators and iPads. Even button battery-powered hearing aids would be impacted, he said.

And by making the U.S. stricter than the International Civil Aviation Organization that governs the rest of the world, Kerchner said, it will require manufacturers and shippers to make sweeping, costly changes to how they package, label and ship consumer electronics and computer goods.