[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 130 (Tuesday, October 17, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1816]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   H.R. 5164: TRANSPORTATION RECALL ENHANCEMENT, ACCOUNTABILITY, AND 
                           DOCUMENTATION ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. EDWARD J. MARKEY

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 17, 2000

  Mr. MARKEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to offer a few brief additional 
comments on the so-called ``TREAD Act,'' which passed the House last 
week in order to clarify the intent of one key provision that was added 
after committee consideration.
  The legislation as it arrived on the floor included a provision 
addressing child restraints. This was a provision that Representative 
Shimkus (R-IL) had promoted and a subject in which we engaged in a 
colloquy at the Commerce Committee markup on the bill. I am very 
pleased that this provision was added to the legislation as it was 
deliberated on the House floor.
  Mr. Speaker, it has become increasingly apparent that child 
restraints are too often marketed for children who are larger and 
heavier than the anthropomorphic test dummies used by National Highway 
Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in the sled tests that the agency 
utilizes. This was highlighted for the Commerce Committee members 
through the work performed by Consumer Reports magazine. Its 
independent testing demonstrated that child restraints tested with a 
child at the highest weight recommended by the manufacturer of that 
product failed. The House added the provision dealing with child 
restraints to the TREAD Act specifically to encourage NHTSA to allow 
child restraints to be marketed for children at specific weights only 
if the restraint has been tested at that weight, even its this means 
adding weights to a dummy during testing.
  Although NHTSA's standard specifies that child restraints be tested 
at an impact of 30 mph, the Consumer Reports investigation uncovered 
that tests are regularly conducted at speeds as low as 27.6 mph. This 
3-mph differential mean that only 81 percent as much energy is going 
into the crash. Again, the Consumer Reports' testing indicated child 
restraint failures when testing was carried out at 30 mph.
  As a result, I strongly encourage NHTSA to require testing be carried 
out at speeds of 27.9 to 30.3. American families will be better served 
by such testing and I thank the Speaker for the opportunity to include 
these views in the Congressional Record as part of the legislative 
history on this particular provision of the TREAD Act.

                          ____________________