From the final day of a hyper-partisan and frustratingly ineffective 112th Congress came one piece of legislation, pushed successfully by Virginia lawmakers, that's worthy of applause.

Virginia Beach Rep. Scott Rigell sponsored a bill that reduces the chance of building or living with contaminated drywall. He and Virginia Sen. Mark Warner began trying to rectify a health hazard discovered in 2009 when thousands of homes, including hundreds in Hampton Roads, were found to have toxic drywall imported from China.

The Chinese drywall was used in the construction of nearly 4,000 homes in the U.S., the District of Columbia, American Samoa, and Puerto Rico between 2001 and 2009, when the go-go housing market demanded materials faster than companies could make them.

The imported Chinese drywall, however, soon began emitting a gas that corrodes metal. Studies have shown that the drywall ruins fire alarm systems, electrical distribution systems, gas piping and refrigeration coils.

It smells bad and sickens people.

The bill Rigell sponsored passed the House last summer. Warner shepherded the legislation through the Senate in November. With one amendment, it passed the House again late Tuesday on a 378-37 vote.

"This bill," Rigell said, "ensures that preventative standards are in place so no American family is faced with the hardship and heartache from contaminated drywall ever again."

Among its provisions: It requires all drywall used in the United States to bear a label noting the manufacturer so defective products can be traced. It establishes standards to limit the amount of sulphur in drywall and requires new guidelines for disposing of contaminated drywall.

Unfortunately, the bill does not help those previously affected by the imported drywall, which federal officials said should be removed.

And the Virginia Supreme Court has ruled out homeowners' attempts to get their insurance companies to pay for the damage. But the legislation should prevent the contaminated material from being recycled or reused as part of building or renovation projects.

The bill, which goes to the president for his signature, also urges Chinese manufacturers to make restitution to thousands of homeowners whose houses were contaminated. The manufacturers, some of which are state-owned, have refused to submit to the jurisdiction of U.S. courts.

Rigell, a Republican, noted the bipartisan cooperation across the delegation to pass the Drywall Safety Act. Warner, a Democrat, has worked with about 100 Virginia families whose homes were contaminated.

The bill, while important to everyone whose lives were damaged by the defective drywall, may serve another purpose: Showing what lawmakers, even in a broken Congress, can accomplish with dedication and hard work.