[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 543 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 543

  Expressing support for designation of June as ``Home Safety Month''.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 12, 2009

  Mrs. Halvorson (for herself, Mr. Dingell, Mr. Massa, Mr. Hill, Ms. 
Matsui, Mr. Hall of Texas, Mr. Hinchey, Mrs. Maloney, Mr. McGovern, Ms. 
Bean, Mr. Connolly of Virginia, Mr. Israel, Mr. Meeks of New York, Mr. 
 Teague, Mr. Lipinski, Mr. Davis of Illinois, and Mr. Wolf) submitted 
the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy 
                              and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Expressing support for designation of June as ``Home Safety Month''.

Whereas unintentional injuries in the home result in nearly 20,000 deaths and 
        21,000,000 medical visits on average each year;
Whereas the top 5 causes of unintentional home injury deaths are falls, 
        poisoning, fires/burns, choking/suffocation, and drowning/submersion;
Whereas falls are the leading cause of home injury death among older adults in 
        the United States, and the total direct costs associated with both fatal 
        and non-fatal falls is more than $19,000,000,000 annually for 
        hospitalization, emergency department visits, and outpatient care;
Whereas poisonings are the second leading cause of home injury death in the 
        United States, resulting in nearly 5,000 deaths per year;
Whereas fire and burn injuries are the third leading cause of home injury death 
        and almost two-thirds (65 percent) of reported home fire deaths resulted 
        from fires in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms;
Whereas deaths due to unintentional choking and suffocation injuries are the 
        fourth leading cause of home injury death in the United States and 
        nearly 25 percent of all choking and suffocation deaths occur in the 
        home;
Whereas deaths due to drowning are the fifth leading cause of home injury death 
        in the United States and an average of more than 10,000 events occur in 
        the home each year that require medical care, emergency department 
        treatment, and result in days away from work or school;
Whereas children and older adults have increased rates of unintentional home 
        injury, compared with all other age groups;
Whereas citizens are encouraged to take a hands-on approach to home safety and 
        become aware of the simple and inexpensive steps they can take to reduce 
        the risk of injury in each area of the home; and
Whereas June would be an appropriate month to designate as ``Home Safety 
        Month'': Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) supports the designation of ``Home Safety Month'';
            (2) recognizes the contributions of home safety related 
        nonprofit organizations for their ongoing commitment to 
        ensuring families remain safe in their homes;
            (3) recognizes the contributions made by the Home Safety 
        Council to the efforts of ``Home Safety Month'' for recently 
        introducing a new and innovative online tool to help adults 
        identify the dangers present in and around the home, designated 
        as www.MySafeHome.org, and for promoting the Hands on Home 
        Safety Campaign, whose goal is to educate and empower both 
        families and businesses to take simple actions that will make 
        homes safe and minimize their risk for potential injuries, or 
        even death;
            (4) encourages adults, parents, and caregivers to take 
        greater actions to reduce unintentional injuries and educate 
        themselves on the importance of home safety, for themselves and 
        their loved ones;
            (5) encourages manufacturers to develop innovative safety 
        products and features to help lessen the number of home 
        injuries and accidents; and
            (6) encourages local and national government leaders to 
        support funding for critical home safety education programs to 
        reduce the risks from home injuries.
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