[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 75 (Saturday, May 26, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5800-S5801]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. FITZGERALD (for himself and Mr. Dorgan):
  S. 980. A bill to provide for the improvement of the safety of child 
restraints in passenger motor vehicles, and for other purposes; to the 
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
  Mr. FITZGERALD. Mr. President, late last year, Congress passed the 
Transportation Recall Enhancement Accountability and Documentation, or 
TREAD Act. That new law includes a bill I authored, the Child Passenger 
Act of 2000, which requires the Department of Transportation to update 
its standards on child safety seats for infants and toddlers. Today, I 
rise to introduce another bill, which represents the next step in our 
effort to ensure that all of our Nation's children are adequately 
protected in motor vehicle crashes.
  The purpose of this bill is to encourage greater use of booster 
seats, and thereby reduce the number of traffic fatalities and injuries 
to young children. Booster seats are seat belt positioning devices that 
are designed to protect children who have outgrown their car seats but 
are still too physically small to fit properly in an adult-sized safety 
belt.
  Safety advocates have coined the term ``forgotten child'' to describe 
the average occupant of a passenger vehicle who is at least 4 years 
old, but usually less than 8 or 9 years old, and less than 4'9" tall. 
According to the National Highway traffic Safety Administration, or 
NHTSA, only about 6 percent of children between the ages of 4 and 8 
years currently use booster seats when riding in motor vehicles. Too 
often, the child in this category has outgrown his child safety seat 
and is inappropriately placed in an adult-sized safety belt without a 
belt-positioning booster, or worse still, left completely unrestrained.
  Three-point shoulder and lap belts, even those in the back seat where 
it's recommended that children sit, currently are not made or tested 
for children. Children who are graduated at 40 pounds or so directly 
from their child safety seat to adult seatbelts can suffer serious 
harm, say researchers. In some crashes, the seatbelts don't restrain 
the child. In others, they do, but the shoulder belt that cuts across 
the small child's neck, and the lap belt that rides high over her 
abdomen, cause severe internal injuries to the liver, spleen, 
intestines and spinal cord. Medical doctors have characterized such 
injuries as ``lap belt syndrome.''
  Parents obviously want to do what is best for their children. Safety 
restraint use for children under a year old is 97 percent, and 91 
percent for children ages one to four. These high usage rates are due 
in part to the education and outreach that has occurred through the 
Occupant Protection Incentive Grants Program, enacted in 1998. The 
authorization for that annual, $7.5 million grant program is about to 
expire. The legislation that I am introducing would extend the program 
for an additional two years.
  To an even greater extent. These high restraint usage rates for 
infants and toddlers are due to the enactment of mandatory child 
restraint usage laws in all 50 states. There is no similar uniform 
requirement for booster seat use, and there are very serious gaps in 
state laws regarding child restraint generally. For example, some 
states require seatbelts only for children sitting in the front seat, 
and others only require children to wear seatbelts if they are younger 
than 5 or 6 years. According to NHTSA, for children between age five 
and fifteen, restraint use is only 68.7 percent, and NHTSA data for 
1998 shows that over 47 percent of fatally injured children ages four 
to seven are completely unrestrained.
  Education is critical to closing this safety gap. A recent survey of 
1,000 parents and care givers conducted by NHTSA and DaimlerChrysler 
revealed that about 96 percent of parents and caregivers did not know 
the correct age for which a child no longer requires a booster seat or 
child safety seat.
  We know booster seats save lives, yet the overwhelming majority of 
states don't require them. Only three states, Arkansas, California, and 
Washington, have adopted mandatory booster seat laws. Recent attempts 
to pass meaningful legislation in other states, including my home state 
of Illinois, have failed.
  One obstacle that is holding back the states from adopting stronger 
laws is the lack of a Federal performance standard for booster seats 
for children who weigh more than 50 pounds. The legislation I am 
introducing today would give the Secretary of Transportation two years 
in which to come up with a new performance standard for booster seats. 
That standard would, of course, cover all children in booster seats, 
including those who are heavier than 50 pounds.
  In addition, this bill provides strong incentives for states to adopt 
responsible highway safety laws. It would extend grant money to states 
if they adopt seat belt laws for all children under the age of 16 as 
well as booster seat laws for some of these children.
  Many passenger cars have only a lap belt in the rear, center seating 
position

[[Page S5801]]

of the vehicle, which generally means that you cannot install a booster 
seat there. Yet safety advocates say that the rear, center seating 
position is generally the safest place for a child to be in the event 
of a crash. To close this safety gap, my bill also would require the 
installation of lap and shoulder belts in each of the rear seats of 
newly manufactured passenger vehicles offered for sale in the United 
States. That new requirement,which may be phased in over a three-year 
period, is based on a recommendation of the National Transportation 
Safety Board.
  In closing, comprehensive medical data evidencing the benefits of 
booster seats is still being developed; and a lot of states have yet to 
adopt adequate safety belt laws. I believe that the safety of the 
``forgotten'' child is extremely important, and we need to consider all 
of the tools at our disposal to advance it. I therefore urge my 
colleagues to support this important measure.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                 S. 980

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Child Passenger Protection 
     Act of 2001''.

     SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENT OF SAFETY OF CHILD RESTRAINTS IN 
                   PASSENGER MOTOR VEHICLES.

       (a) In General.--Not later than 12 months after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation 
     shall initiate a rulemaking proceeding to establish a safety 
     standard for booster seats used in passenger motor vehicles. 
     The standard shall apply to any child occupant of a passenger 
     motor vehicle for whom a booster seat, used in combination 
     with an adult seat belt, is an appropriate form of child 
     restraint.
       (b) Elements for Consideration.--In the rulemaking 
     proceeding required by subsection (a), the Secretary shall--
       (1) consider whether or not to establish injury performance 
     criteria for children under the safety standard to be 
     established in the rulemaking proceeding;
       (2) consider whether or not to establish seat belt 
     positioning performance requirements for booster seats;
       (3) consider whether or not to establish a separate Federal 
     motor vehicle safety standard for booster seats or 
     incorporate booster seat requirements into an existing 
     Federal motor vehicle safety standard; and
       (4) review the definition of the term ``booster seat'', as 
     that term is defined in Standard No. 213, set forth in 
     section 571.213 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, to 
     determine if it is sufficiently comprehensive.
       (c) Completion.--The Secretary shall complete the 
     rulemaking proceeding required by subsection (a) not later 
     than 24 months after the date of the enactment of this Act.

     SEC. 3. REPORT ON DEVELOPMENT OF CRASH TEST DUMMY SIMULATING 
                   A 10-YEAR OLD CHILD.

       Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of 
     this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall submit to the 
     Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 
     Senate and the Commerce of the House of Representatives a 
     report on the current schedule and status of activities of 
     the Department of Transportation to develop and certify a 
     dummy that simulates a 10-year old child for use in testing 
     the effectiveness of child restraints used in passenger motor 
     vehicles.

     SEC. 4. REGULATIONS ON MANDATORY USE OF LAP AND SHOULDER 
                   BELTS.

       (a) In General.--Not later than 24 months after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation 
     shall complete a rulemaking proceeding to amend Standard No. 
     208, set forth in section 571.208 of title 49, Code of 
     Federal Regulations, in order to--
       (1) require each seat belt assembly in the rear seats of a 
     passenger motor vehicle to be a lap and shoulder belt 
     assembly; and
       (2) apply that requirement to passenger motor vehicles 
     beginning after the production year in which the regulations 
     are prescribed in compliance with the implementation schedule 
     under subsection (b).
       (b) Implementation Schedule.--The requirement prescribed 
     under subsection (a)(1) may be implemented through a phase-in 
     schedule prescribed by the Secretary which schedule may be 
     similar to the phase-in schedule set forth in paragraph 
     S.14.1.1 of section 571.208 of title 49, Code of Federal 
     Regulations, except that the requirement shall apply to not 
     less than--
       (1) 50 percent of a manufacturer's production of passenger 
     motor vehicles for the first production year to which the 
     requirement applies;
       (2) 80 percent of a manufacturer's production of passenger 
     motor vehicles for the second production year to which the 
     requirement applies; and
       (3) 100 percent of a manufacturer's production of passenger 
     motor vehicles for the third production year to which the 
     requirement applies.

     SEC. 5. TWO-YEAR EXTENSION OF OCCUPANT PROTECTION INCENTIVE 
                   GRANTS PROGRAM.

       Section 2003(b)(7) of the Transportation Equity Act for the 
     21st Century (23 U.S.C. 405 note; 112 Stat. 328) is amended 
     by striking ``and 2001'' and inserting ``through 2003''

     SEC. 6. INCENTIVE GRANTS FOR USE OF SAFETY BELTS AND CHILD 
                   RESTRAINT SYSTEMS BY CHILDREN.

       (a) In General.--Subchapter II of chapter 301 of title 49, 
     United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
     following:

     ``Sec. 30128. Grant program for improving child occupant 
       safety programs

       ``(a) Authority To Make Grants.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Secretary of Transportation may make 
     grants under this section as follows:
       ``(A) A basic grant to any State that enacts a child 
     restraint law by October 1, 2003.
       ``(B) A supplemental grant to any State described by 
     subparagraph (A) if the child restraint law concerned is an 
     enhanced child restraint law.
       ``(2) Limitation on number of grants in any state fiscal 
     year.--Not more than one grant may be made to a State under 
     this section in any given fiscal year of the State.
       ``(3) Commencement.--The authority of the Secretary to make 
     grants under this section shall commence on October 1, 2003.
       ``(b) Amount of Grants.--
       ``(1) Basic grant.--The amount of a basic grant made to a 
     State under this section shall be equal to two times the 
     amount received by the State under section 2003(b)(7) of the 
     Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (23 U.S.C. 405 
     note) in fiscal year 2003.
       ``(2) Supplemental grant.--The amount of any supplemental 
     grant made to a State under this section shall be equal to 
     three times the amount received by the State under section 
     2003(b)(7) of that Act in fiscal year 2003.
       ``(c) Use of Grant Funds.--A State shall use any amount 
     received by the State under this section only to enhance the 
     safety of child occupants of passenger motor vehicles.
       ``(d) Definitions.--In this section:
       ``(1) Child restraint law.--The term `child restraint law' 
     means a State law that prescribes a penalty for operating a 
     passenger motor car (as defined in section 30127(a)(3) of 
     this title) in which any occupant of the car who is under the 
     age of 16 years is not properly restrained by a safety belt 
     or otherwise properly secured in a child restraint system 
     that meets applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standards 
     prescribed by the National Highway Traffic Safety 
     Administration.
       ``(2) Enhanced child restraint law.--The term `enhanced 
     child restraint law' means a child restraint law that 
     prescribes a separate or additional penalty for operating a 
     passenger car unless all of the vehicle occupants for whom a 
     booster seat, used in combination with an adult seat belt, is 
     an appropriate form of child restraint, are properly using a 
     child restraint system that meets applicable Federal motor 
     vehicle safety standards prescribed by the National Highway 
     Traffic Safety Administration.''.
       (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the 
     beginning of that chapter is amended by inserting after the 
     item relating to section 30127 the following new item:

``30128. Grant program for improving child occupant safety programs.''.

     SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) Child restraint.--The term ``child restraint'' means a 
     specially designed seating system (including booster seats 
     and child safety seats) that meets applicable Federal motor 
     vehicle safety standards prescribed by the National Highway 
     Traffic Safety Administration.
       (2) Manufacturer.--The term ``manufacturer'' has the 
     meaning given that term by section 30102(a)(5) of title 49, 
     United States Code.
       (3) Motor vehicle.--The term ``motor vehicle'' has the 
     meaning given that term by section 30102(a)(6) of title 49, 
     United States Code.
       (4) Passenger motor vehicle.--The term ``passenger motor 
     vehicle'' means--
       (A) a ``passenger car'' as defined in section 30127(a)(3) 
     of title 49, United States Code; and
       (B) a ``multipurpose passenger vehicle'' as defined in 
     section 30127(a)(2) of title 49, United States Code.

     SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of 
     Transportation such sums as may be necessary to carry out 
     this Act, including the making of grants under section 30128 
     of title 49, United States Code, as added by section 6.

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