[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 35 (Thursday, March 15, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Page S2390]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. FEINSTEIN:
  S. 538. A bill to provide for infant crib safety, and for other 
purposes; to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, today, I am introducing legislation 
designed to eliminate injuries and deaths that result from crib 
accidents.
  While there are strict guidelines on the manufacture and sale of new 
cribs, there are still 25 to 30 million unsafe cribs sold throughout 
the U.S. in ``secondary markets,'' such as thrift stores and resale 
furniture stores. These cribs should be taken off the market, and 
either made safe, or destroyed.
  There are a number of reasons why unsafe cribs should be taken off 
the market.
  Each year, at least 50 children ages two and under die from injuries 
sustained in cribs. That is almost one child a week.
  The number of deaths from crib incidents exceeds deaths from all 
other nursery products combined.
  Over 12,000 children are hospitalized each year as a result of 
injuries sustained in cribs.
  To illustrate the need for this legislation, I want to share with you 
the story of Danny Lineweaver.
  At the age of 23 months, Danny was injured during an attempt to climb 
out of his crib. Danny caught his shirt on a decorative knob on the 
cornerpost of his crib and hanged himself.
  Though his mother was able to perform CPR the moment she found him, 
Danny lived in a semi-comatose state for nine years and died in 1993. 
This injury and subsequent death could have been prevented.
  Since Danny's accident, we have passed laws mandating safety 
standards for the manufacture of new cribs. But this is not enough.
  There are nearly four million infants born in this country each year, 
but only one million new cribs sold. As many as half of all infants are 
placed in secondhand, hand-me-down, or heirloom cribs, cribs that are 
sold in thrift stores or resale furniture stores. These cribs may be 
unsafe, and may in fact threaten the life of the infants placed in 
them.
  This legislation requires thrift stores and retail furniture stores 
to remove decorative knobs on the cornerposts of cribs before selling 
those cribs.
  Additionally, the bill prohibits hotels and motels from providing 
unsafe cribs to guests, or risk being fined up to $1,000.
  The Infant Crib Safety Act makes the sale of used, unsafe cribs 
illegal. I hope my colleagues will join me in putting a stop to 
preventable injuries and deaths resulting from unsafe cribs.
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