[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 67 (Wednesday, May 25, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[Congressional Record: May 25, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
CHILD SAFETY PROTECTION ACT--CONFERENCE REPORT
Mr. MITCHELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate
proceed to the immediate consideration of the conference report
accompanying H.R. 965, the Toy Safety Act; that the conference report
be adopted, the motion to reconsider laid upon the table, and that any
statements relating thereto appear in the Record as if read.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. HOLLINGS. Mr. President, I am pleased the Senate is considering
the conference report on H.R. 965, the Child Safety Protection Act.
This legislation is designed to promote child safety by reducing the
number of accidental deaths and injuries to children.
According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission [CPSC], between
January 1991 and September 1992, 31 children died from toy-related
causes, with almost one-half of that number, 14, from choking. The CPSC
estimates that in 1992 alone there were 177,200 toy-related injuries
serious enough to be treated in hospital emergency rooms, with almost
one-half of the injuries to children under 5 years of age. The CPSC
also reports that each year there are approximately 1,200 bicycle-
related deaths, and that head trauma is responsible for 70 percent of
the deaths.
The Child Safety Protection Act, if enacted, should have a positive
impact on these statistics, with the numbers of children's deaths and
injuries expected to show a decline. The legislation incorporates two
complementary child safety measures introduced in the Senate by
Senators Bryan and Gorton. Companion legislation in the House was
introduced by Congresswoman Cardiss Collins. The bill requires warning
labels on certain toys that may present a choking hazard to children
under 3 years of age and requires the CPSC to issue safety standards
for bicycle helmets. In addition, an incentive grant program is
established, to be administered by the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration, to encourage the use of approved bicycle helmets by
children.
The conferees on H.R. 965 have worked over the past few months to
craft a measure that will not only achieve the primary goal of enhanced
child safety, but also is supported by all interested parties.
Mr. President, I commend the sponsors of this legislation, and I urge
my colleagues to support this important child safety measure.
Mr. DANFORTH. Mr. President, I am pleased to support the conference
report on H.R. 965, the Child Safety Protection Act. This is important
safety legislation which will reduce the incidence of children under
age three choking on toys, and I commend Senator Gorton for his
leadership on this issue. In addition, the conference report includes a
title to promote bicycle helmet use by children. This title is based on
S. 228, the Children's Bicycle Helmet Safety Act of 1993, which Senator
Bryan and I introduced on January 27, 1993. On May 25, 1993, the
Commerce Committee reported this measure by voice vote.
The need to address bicycle safety is clear. A study conducted for
the Centers for Disease Control [CDC], which was published in December
1991 in the Journal of the American Medical Association, provides
revealing data about the magnitude and severity of head injuries
suffered by cyclists. The study found that, between 1984 and 1988,
nearly 3,000 people died from head injuries while cycling, and over
900,000 suffered head injuries. This represents 62 percent of all
bicycling deaths, and 32 percent of bicycling injuries that required
treatment in hospital emergency rooms. The Consumer Product Safety
Commission [CPSC] estimates that bicycle-related deaths and injuries
cost society $7.6 billion annually.
The statistics regarding children are even more compelling. The CDC
study found that 41 percent of head injury deaths and 76 percent of
total head injuries occurred among children under age 15. According to
the National Head Injury Foundation, the cost of supporting a child who
has suffered a severe head injury, on average, is $4.5 million over
that individual's lifetime. For the family of a child killed or injured
in a bicycle accident, the tragedy is immeasurable.
Their losses are made more tragic by the fact that so many of them
could have been prevented by taking one simple step: wearing a
protective bicycle helmet. A 1989 study published in the New England
Journal of Medicine found that use of a bicycle helmet reduces the risk
of all head injuries by 85 percent and injuries to the brain by 90
percent. According to the CDC study, universal use of bicycle helmets
would have prevented 2,600 deaths and 757,000 injuries between 1984 and
1988. Unfortunately, few riders wear helmets. In the case of children
cyclists, it is a tragic fact that only 5 percent of these vulnerable
riders wear helmets, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Several local governments have taken steps to increase helmet use.
For example, Howard and Montgomery Counties in suburban Maryland have
enacted laws requiring children to wear bicycle helmets. I applaud
their actions, but more needs to be done. This bill establishes a grant
program within the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to
promote helmet use. These grants could be used by State or local
governments or nonprofit organizations in any of three ways. First, the
grant could be used to assist those unable to afford a helmet, which
costs about $40, to purchase one. In addition, it could be used for the
creation of a helmet ``bank,'' which would allow parents of limited
means to obtain helmets for their children and to exchange old helmets
for those in a larger size as their children grow. Second, the funds
could be used to educate children about the need to wear bicycle
helmets. Finally, the grant could be used to assist in the enforcement
of a mandatory bicycle helmet law for children. The grants would cover
80 percent of the costs of these programs. The bill specifically states
that grantees are to be given broad discretion in establishing programs
that effectively promote increased helmet use.
The bill also includes a provision requiring the CPSC to establish
uniform safety standards for bicycle helmets. Included in these
standards are provisions that address the risk of injury to children.
The purpose of this requirement is to replace the existing voluntary
standards with a single provision approved by the CPSC.
The failure to wear a bike helmet can have tragic results. The grant
program established in this measure takes a reasonable approach by
allowing State and local officials to decide how their communities can
best address this problem. This proposal will bring together State and
local governments, parents, teachers, and others responsible for
children, to protect against injuries and to save lives. The total
funding of $9 million over 3 years would be offset by preventing only a
few serious head injuries per year. This bill will prevent hundreds of
such tragedies. Moreover, since the grants come out of existing funds
in NHTSA's budget, the bill will not add to the deficit. According to
the National SAFE KIDS Campaign, an organization of health, consumer,
educational, and law enforcement groups dedicated to improving child
safety, this legislation will reduce substantially the leading cause of
death for children 15 and under--accidental injury.
Last Congress, I introduced S. 3096, a bill similar to S. 228. S.
3096 passed the Senate, but the House failed to act prior to
adjournment. Mr. President, the need to enact this measure is clear,
and the time to act is now. I urge my colleagues to support the
conference report on H.R. 965.
Mr. METZENBAUM. Mr. President, I rise today to address the Senate on
the conference report on the Child Safety Protection Act that is
pending at the desk.
The conference report includes provisions to make toys safer for
children and establish final safety standards for bicycle helmets.
Unfortunately, it does not include language to prevent one of the
more gruesome causes of death for toddlers aged 8 to 15 months.
Each week, a toddler falls into a 5 gallon bucket such as this and
drowns.
In fact, since 1985, over 400 children have drowned in 5 gallon
buckets.
It is a needless tragedy that can and should be prevented.
Last year I introduced legislation that would have required labeling
for 5 gallon buckets and the development of a performance standard by
the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
The labeling requirements would alert parents to the dangers of
leaving a bucket with water in the vicinity of young toddlers.
The development of a performance standard would require manufacturers
to reconfigure the buckets to reduce the risk of these horrible
drownings.
When the Senate passed the Child Safety Protection Act last November,
the chairman of the Consumer Subcommittee included my bill.
I had negotiated with the manufacturers of 5 gallon buckets to
require a labeling standard and the development of a performance
standard.
The manufacturers agreed to my language, and the bill passed by
unanimous consent. Let me rephrase that.
Every single Member of this body agreed to pass a bill that would
protect toddlers from drowning in 5 gallon buckets. and yet, when the
bill went over to the House for consideration, the bucket manufacturers
balked.
They reneged on the agreement and claimed that they never agreed to a
performance standard.
But if you look at the Record from November 20, it is in black and
white that the Senate language included a performance standard. Not one
vote was cast against its inclusion. Not one voice was heard in
opposition.
The manufacturers had signed off. They agreed with me that labeling
and a performance standard would be included in the law.
Plain and simple, the manufacturers backed out of the deal. They
reneged.
Let me read you a list of the major manufacturers who made a deal to
save the lives of children and then used their lobbyists to renege:
Bennett Industries, Letica, Nampac, Plastican, and the Ropak Corp.
They don't give a dame about toddlers whose lives will be lost
because they broke their word.
The Chair of the House Subcommittee that considered the bill could
not persuade her Republican colleagues to recede to the Senate's
position on this matter.
Accordingly, these protections for toddlers were dropped in
conference. The bucket manufacturers had won.
The lives of the toddlers that will be lost because they broke their
word is a blot on their reputations. Their action is shameful.
Frankly speaking, it is a terrible price to pay for not abiding by an
agreement.
No wonder voters across the country consider politicians out of
touch.
When it came time to passing a bill that would have saved lives, the
corporate lobbyists persuaded a few Members to kill it.
It is certainly an ugly chapter in the 103d Congress.
But let me be clear about the underlying legislation and the efforts
by the Chairman of the Consumer Subcommittee.
This bill contains important provisions that are going to protect
children in their everyday lives.
I am frank to say that if it did not, I would have spoken at length
in opposition to the conference report.
The Senator from Nevada [Mr. Bryan] pushed for the Senate language in
conference, and fought to protect children. I certainly appreciate his
efforts, and hope that he will continue to protect consumers in future
congresses.
Fortunately, he will have the assistance of Consumer Product Safety
Commissioner Ann Brown.
Under the leadership of Ann Brown, the CPSC has awakened from the
extended slumber it was in during the Reagan and Bush Administrations.
In recent months, the CPSC has taken action on lead in crayons and
dangerous bunkbeds.
And for families with young children, the CPSC has taken meaningful
steps toward protecting against needless drownings.
Just last week, the CPSC voted unanimously to issue an advance notice
of public rulemaking to develop a performance standard for 5 gallon
buckets.
Although this is a preliminary step, it does set the course for CPSC
to address these needless drownings.
I am confident that Ann Brown and the rest of the Commission will
move quickly to act on an issue that the Congress as a whole has failed
to address.
I certainly commend the Commission for its prompt action.
I yield the floor.
Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, 2 weeks ago was National Safe Kids Week.
Children from all across America came to Washington, D.C. to tell their
legislators how important it is that we do something to prevent tragic
childhood accidents and deaths. Today, Congress is taking just such a
step in passing the Child Safety Protection Act.
Childhood injury is the number one killer and health threat facing
children under 14 years old. Every year, one out of four children is
injured seriously enough to require medical attention. The trauma and
heartbreak that a family suffers when a child is seriously injured or
dies are incomprehensible.
We can and must do something. The costs of prevention are small
compared to the costs of accidents. Each year, childhood injury costs
our Nation $13.8 billion. But every $15 bike helmet purchased saves $30
in direct health care costs and $420 in indirect costs. For an
individual accident victim that $15 bike helmet can save a child from a
life confined in a wheel chair or a nursing home. A $15 bike helmet can
make the difference between a full and long life or no life at all.
In March of last year, I introduced the Child Safety Protection Act,
an identical measure to the House-passed bill introduced by
Congresswoman Cardiss Collins. The bill mandated safety warning labels
on certain toys that contain dangerous small parts and required
national mandatory performance standards for bicycle helmets.
According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, between January
1980 and July 1991, 284 children under the age of 10 years choked to
death. Of these deaths, 186 involved children's products, including
balloons, marbles, small balls, and other toys. Between January 1, 1992
and September 30, 1993, 30 children died from toy-related causes, with
almost half of that number (14) caused from choking. In addition, the
Commission estimates that in 1992 alone, there were 177,200 toy-related
injuries serious enough to be treated in hospital emergency rooms, with
almost one-half of the injuries to children under 5 years old.
Bicycle related death and injuries are also a very serious problem.
Between 1984 and 1988, 2,985 bicyclists in the United States died from
head injuries and 905,752 suffered head injuries that required
treatment in hospital emergency rooms. Eighty-five percent of all head
injuries suffered by bicyclists could be prevented by using bicycle
helmets.
The conference report that the Senate has before it today differs in
some respects from my original legislation, from the bills that passed
the House and Senate last year, and from previous bills introduced in
the Senate by my colleague, Senator Dodd. It is a compromise measure
that results from many hours of discussions that we have had with many
interested parties. I would like to thank my colleagues and their
staffmembers who have been a part of these negotiations including the
chairman of the Consumer Subcommittee, Senator Bryan, whom I have
worked with on so many consumer protection measures; Senator
Rockefeller; Senator Danforth, who was a tireless advocate for the
bicycle helmet grant program; Senator Dodd; Senator Lieberman; and
Senator Metzenbaum. Most especially, I would like to thank
Congresswoman Collins who initiated this legislation and saw to it that
we finally reached our mutual goal of finding a means to lessen the
likelihood of childhood injuries.
Our bill calls for a clear and conspicuous label to be placed on the
principal display panel of toys that contain small parts and that are
intended for a child between 3 and 6 years old. Our legislation
specifies what that label will say so that parents will clearly
understand that the toy poses a safety hazard for children under 3
years of age. The bill also provides for an exemption for certain boxes
which are in these languages and which are 15 square inches or less.
For those boxes, the bill specifies a shortened warning label which
must be displayed on the principal display panel along with an arrow or
other indicator which directs the consumer to the full warning. The
legislation also specifies warning labels for balloons, for small balls
and for marbles.
The legislation also increases the minimum size allowed for a small
ball that is intended for a child under 3 from 1.25 inches to 1.75
inches. This will minimize the choking risk associated with small
balls. The legislation also includes additional reporting requirements
to the CPSC when a manufacturer, distributor, retailer, or importer
learns of certain choking incidences that involve the products affected
by this legislation. Additionally, the legislation because of unique
circumstances discussed in the conference report provides for
preemption of future toy labeling laws by States or political
subdivisions. An exception is made until January 1, 1995, when the
Federal law becomes effective, for a State which already has a law in
effect on October 2, 1993. Connecticut is the only State which has such
a law. Finally, our legislation requires national mandatory performance
standards for bicycle helmets and establishes a grant program to
promote their use.
Mr. President, this bill is a fair and balanced measure. It will help
make our world a little safer for our country's most vulnerable
citizens--our children and our grandchildren. I urge the Senate to
adopt this important legislation and send it to the President to sign
into law.
Mr. BRYAN. Mr. President, as chairman of the Commerce Committee's
Consumer Subcommittee, I am pleased to present for Senate consideration
the conference report to H.R. 965, the Child Safety Protection Act.
This legislation will protect our children by preventing many of the
needless deaths and injuries that occur every year as a result of
certain children's products. I would like to commend the original
sponsors of the legislation--Senator Gorton and our House colleague,
Congresswoman Cardiss Collins--for not only introducing this important
child safety measure, but also for their diligent efforts to make
passage of the bill a reality. I would also like to recognize Senator
Metzenbaum for his sincere commitment to child safety issues and for
his valuable insights to the committee as we moved forward on this
legislation.
The Senate bill, S. 680, was unanimously approved by the full
Commerce Committee on November 9, 1993, and was passed by the full
Senate on November 20, 1993. The conference report that we are
considering today incorporates the provisions of S. 680 as reported,
with minor changes, and also incorporates provisions from S. 228,
pertaining to bicycle helmet safety, which I introduced last year along
with my colleague Senator Danforth, and which was approved by the
Commerce Committee on May 25, 1993. The legislation thus requires the
Consumer Product Safety Commission [CPSC] to one, take action to make
toys safer for children through the use of warning labels and other
means; and two, begin a rulemaking proceeding to establish a final
safety standard for bicycle helmets.
In addition, the bill establishes a safety grant program within the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration [NHTSA] to provide
incentives for States to encourage the use of bicycle helmets by
children. These provisions were modified slightly during conference,
and the report reflects the following three modifications: one, with
respect to the grants awarded by NHTSA, the grantee must contribute 20
percent, either in moneys or in-kind; two, a grantee that establishes a
helmet bank or similar program to encourage helmet use by children may
make such helmets available to only those children who may not be able
to afford such helmet; and three, the NHTSA Administrator is required
to make a report to the Congress regarding the effectiveness of the
grant program.
Each year, approximately 30 children die from toy-related causes, and
thousands more are injured. In 1992 alone, 177,200 children were
treated in hospital emergency rooms for toy-related injuries. H.R. 965
attempts to remedy this situation by providing information to parents
and others about possible hazards that certain toys may present to
small children. The bill requires warning labels on certain toys
intended for children over 3 years of age which nonetheless pose a
choking hazard to children under 3 years of age. The legislation
strikes an appropriate balance by warning parents of possible dangers
in certain toys for very small children, but allowing such toys to be
marketed and sold to older children.
The legislation also directs the CPSC to begin a rulemaking
proceeding to establish a final safety standard for bicycle helmets.
Each year in the United States, hundreds of bicyclists die from head
injuries, and thousands more are seriously injured. A child who suffers
a severe head injury, on average, will cost society $4.5 million over
that child's lifetime. The legislation would replace the voluntary
standards for bicycle helmets currently in existence with a single
uniform safety standard approved by the CPSC. Under the rulemaking, the
CPSC is specifically directed to address the risk of injury to
children.
Finally, under the NHTSA safety grant program designed to encourage
helmet use, recipients could qualify for funds in a variety of ways,
including the adoption of a requirement that children wear bicycle
helmets or the development of programs to educate children and their
families on the importance of wearing helmets. Thus, the legislation
would not only promote helmet use by children to prevent injuries, but
would also ensure that such helmets are indeed safe and effective for
that purpose.
Our bill is critically needed child safety legislation. House and
Senate conferees have worked diligently to craft legislation that is
appropriately balanced and not unduly burdensome, while at the same
assuring needed safeguards to protect our Nation's children. I strongly
urge my colleagues to support this measure, so that we may have this
legislation on the President's desk by Memorial Day. Enactment of this
legislation will go a long way towards making children's lives safer,
not only this summer, but every season in the future.
So the conference report was agreed to.
(The conference report is printed in the House proceedings of the
Record of May 11, 1994.)
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