[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 74 (Friday, June 7, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E997]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 INTRODUCTION OF THE ``SAFE SLEEPWEAR AND BURN PREVENTION ACT OF 2002''

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                           HON. JOHN SHIMKUS

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, June 6, 2002

  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join my colleague, 
Representative Ed Towns, in introducing the ``Safe Sleepwear and Burn 
Prevention Act of 2002.'' This legislation is important to thousands of 
children and their parents who face the dangers of sleepwear-related 
fires every day.
  This legislation accomplishes three things. First, it repeals an ill-
advised exception to our children's fire safety regulations created by 
the Consumer Product Safety Commission in 1996. This exception 
completely exempted sleepwear for infants age 0-9 months from the fire 
safety requirements. Second, the legislation repeals a similar 
regulatory exemption created for so-called ``tight-fitting'' sleepwear. 
Finally, our bill closes an egregious loophole in current law, which 
allows manufacturers of garments used by children to sleep in to avoid 
all fire safety requirements simply by labeling the garment as 
``daywear'' rather than ``sleepwear.''
  We owe a debt of gratitude to the Shriners Hospitals for Children for 
bringing this situation to our attention. Following the CPSC's 1996 
decision, doctors at the Shriners Hospitals, which treat over 20 
percent of all serious pediatric burn injuries in the United States, 
began to notice an alarming increase in the number of children 
suffering from sleepwear-related burn injuries. In the two years 
following the Commission's decision, the Shriners documented an 
alarming 157 percent increase in the number of children with fire-
related injuries.
  Last Congress, our subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer 
Protection held a hearing on this issue and received testimony from the 
Shriners and the American Burn Association, which represents all the 
Nation's burn centers and burn health care professionals. The evidence 
is compelling, and Congress must act quickly to ensure a burn-safe 
environment for children.
  This legislation will reverse the Commission's ill-considered 
relaxation of the fire safety regulations and require that all garments 
used with regularity as sleepwear by children age 0-7 years must meet 
fire safety requirements. Mislabeling a garment as daywear or claiming 
that it is not intended to be used as sleepwear will no longer be an 
excuse for not meeting fire safety requirements, especially for the 
youngest and most vulnerable of our children.
  We are also fortunate that we now have the technology available to 
create such a fire-safe environment for just pennies per garment. These 
new technologies are inexpensive, safe, do not wash out and do not 
alter the texture of the garment. We simply have no excuse for not 
ensuring that all garments used as sleepwear take advantage of this new 
technology.
  Mr. Speaker, this legislation will truly create a safer environment 
for children. We can prevent thousands of horrific burn injuries and 
lessen the severity of those that do occur by adopting this 
legislation. The agency charged with protecting our children has failed 
in its duty to do so, and now Congress must act.

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