[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 16 (Tuesday, February 15, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1430-S1431]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. DURBIN:
  S. 389. A bill to provide for fire safety standards for cigarettes, 
and for other purposes; to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Fire Safe 
Cigarette Act of 2005. Last year the State of New York enacted a bold 
new law. As of June 2004, all cigarettes sold in the State are tested 
for fire safety and required to self-extinguish.
  Nationwide the statistics regarding cigarette-related fires are 
startling. Cigarette-ignited fires account for an estimated 140,800 
fires in the United States, representing the most common ignition 
source for fatal home fires and causing 30 percent of the fire deaths 
in the United States. Such fires cause more than 900 deaths and 2,400 
injuries every year. Annually, more than $400 million in property 
damage is reported due to a fire caused by a cigarette. According to 
the National Fire Protection Association, one out of every four fire 
deaths in the United States are attributed to tobacco products--by far 
the leading cause of fatal home fires in the United States. Overall, 
the Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that the cost of the 
loss of human life and personal property from not having a fire-safe 
cigarette standard is approximately $4.6 billion per year.
  In my State of Illinois, cigarette-related fires have also caused too 
many senseless tragedies. In 1998 alone, the most recent year for which 
we have data, there were more than 1,700 cigarette-related fires, of 
which more than 900 were in people's homes. These fires led to 109 
injuries and 8 deaths.
  Tobacco companies spend billions on marketing and learning how to 
make cigarettes appealing to kids. It is not unreasonable to ask those 
same companies to invest in safer cigarette paper to make their 
products less likely to bum down a house. As of today cigarettes are 
designed to continue burning when left unattended. A common scenario is 
the delayed ignition of a sofa or mattress by a lit cigarette dropped 
by a smoker.
  The Fire Safe Cigarette Act of 2005 requires the Consumer Product 
Safety Commission to promulgate a fire safety standard, specified in 
the legislation, for cigarettes. The CPSC would also have the authority 
to regulate the ignition propensity of cigarette paper for roll-your-
own tobacco products. The Act gives the Consumer Product Safety 
Commission authority over cigarettes only for purposes of implementing 
and enforcing compliance with this Act and with the standard 
promulgated under the Act. It also allows states to pass more stringent 
fire-safety standards for cigarettes.
  Two decades ago Joe Moakley set out to ensure that the tragic 
cigarette-caused fire that killed five children and their parents in 
Westwood, MA was not repeated. He introduced three bills, two of which 
passed. One commissioned a study that concluded it was technically 
feasible to produce a cigarette with a reduced propensity to start 
fires. The second required that the National Institute of Standards and 
Technology develop a test method for cigarette fire safety, and the 
last and final bill, the Fire-Safe Cigarette Act of 1999, mandates that 
the Consumer Product Safety Commission use this knowledge to regulate 
cigarettes with regard to fire safety.

[[Page S1431]]

  Today I respectfully introduce this bill to bring fire-safe standards 
to all cigarettes sold in this country. I hope that the Commerce 
Committee will consider this legislation very soon and that my 
Colleagues will join me in supporting this effort. Now that New York 
serves as an example of success, it is time to establish a national 
standard to ensure that our Nation's children, elderly and families are 
protected.
  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. 389

       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 ``Cigarette Fire Safety Act of 
     2005''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       The Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) Cigarette ignited fires are the leading cause of fire 
     deaths in the United States.
       (2) In 1999 there were 807 deaths from cigarette ignited 
     fires, 2,193 civilian injuries from such fires, and 
     $559,100,000 in property damage caused by such fires.
       (3) Nearly 100 children are killed each year from cigarette 
     related fires.
       (4) For over 20 years former Member of Congress Joseph 
     Moakley worked on behalf of burn victims, firefighters, and 
     every individual who has lost a loved one in a fire. By 
     securing enactment of the Cigarette Safety Act of 1984 and 
     the Fire Safe Cigarette Act of 1990, Joseph Moakley completed 
     the necessary technical work for a cigarette fire safety 
     standard and paved the way for a national standard.
       (5) It is appropriate for the Congress to require by law 
     the establishment of a cigarette fire safety standard for the 
     manufacture and importation of cigarettes.
       (6) A recent study by the Consumer Product Safety 
     Commission found that the cost of the loss of human life and 
     personal property from not having a cigarette fire safety 
     standard is $4,600,000,000 per year.
       (7) It is appropriate that the regulatory expertise of the 
     Consumer Product Safety Commission be used to implement a 
     cigarette fire safety standard.

     SEC. 3. CIGARETTE FIRE SAFETY STANDARD.

       (a) In General.--
       (1) Requirement for standard.--Not later than 18 months 
     after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commission 
     shall, by rule, prescribe one or more fire safety standards 
     for cigarettes that, except as provided in this Act, are 
     substantively the same as the standards set forth by the 
     State of New York in Part 429 of Title 18 of the Official 
     Compilation of Codes, Rules and Regulations of the State of 
     New York, as promulgated on December 31, 2003 (in this Act 
     referred to as the ``New York standard''), including the 
     Appendix to such Part.
       (2) Cigarettes with unique characteristics.--In adapting 
     section 4(c) of such Part 429, if the Commission determines 
     that a cigarette, because of its unique or nontraditional 
     characteristics, cannot be tested in accordance with the test 
     method prescribed by the Commission, the manufacturer of such 
     cigarette may propose a test method and performance standard 
     for such cigarette. If the Commission finds the proposed 
     method and standard to be equivalent to the test method and 
     performance standard otherwise established by the Commission, 
     the Commission may approve the method and standard and the 
     manufacturer of such cigarette may employ such test method 
     and performance standard to certify the cigarette pursuant to 
     rules prescribed by this Act.
       (3) Commission.--In this Act, the term ``Commission'' means 
     the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
       (b) Procedure.--
       (1) In general.--The rule under subsection (a), and any 
     modification thereof, shall be prescribed in accordance with 
     section 553 of title 5, United States Code.
       (2) Modifications.--
       (A) Modification by sponsor.--If the sponsor of the testing 
     methodology used under subsection (a)(2) modifies the testing 
     methodology in any material respect, the sponsor shall notify 
     the Commission of the modification, and the Commission may 
     incorporate the modification in the rule prescribed under 
     subsection (a) if the Commission determines that the 
     modification will enhance a fire safety standard established 
     under subsection (a)(2).
       (B) Modification by commission.--The Commission may modify 
     the rule prescribed under subsection (a), including the test 
     requirements specified in subsection (a)(2), in whole or in 
     part, only if the Commission determines that compliance with 
     such modification is technically feasible and will enhance a 
     fire safety standard established under that subsection. Any 
     such modification shall not take effect earlier than 3 years 
     after the date on which the rule is first issued.
       (3) Inapplicability of certain laws.--
       (A) In general.--No Federal law or Executive order, 
     including the laws listed in subparagraph (B) but not 
     including chapters 5, 6, 7, and 8 of title 5, United States 
     Code, commonly referred to as the Administrative Procedures 
     Act, may be construed to apply to the promulgation of the 
     rule required by subsection (a), or a modification of the 
     rule under paragraph (2) of this subsection.
       (B) Included laws.--The Federal laws referred to in 
     subparagraph (A) include the following:
       (i) The Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2051 et 
     seq.).
       (ii) Chapter 6 of title 5, United States Code.
       (iii) The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 
     U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).
       (iv) The Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act 
     of 1996 (Public Law 104-121), and the amendments made by that 
     Act.
       (c) Effective Date.--The Commission shall specify in the 
     rule prescribed under subsection (a) the effective date of 
     the rule. The effective date may not be later than 24 months 
     after the date of the enactment of this Act.
       (d) Treatment of Standard.--
       (1) In general.--The fire safety standard promulgated under 
     subsection (a) shall be treated as a consumer product safety 
     standard promulgated under the Consumer Product Safety Act 
     (15 U.S.C. 2051 et seq.), except as provided in section 4.
       (2) Treatment of cigarettes.--A cigarette shall be treated 
     as a consumer product under section 3(a)(1)(B) of the 
     Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2052(a)(1)(B)) for 
     purposes of this Act and for purposes of sections 17 and 18 
     of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2066, 2067).

     SEC. 4. PREEMPTION.

       (a) In General.--This Act, and any cigarette fire safety 
     standard established or modified pursuant to section 3, may 
     not be construed to preempt or otherwise affect in any way 
     any law or regulation that prescribes a fire safety standard 
     for cigarettes--
       (1) set forth by the State of New York in the New York 
     standard; or
       (2) promulgated by any State that is more stringent than 
     the fire safety standard for cigarettes established under 
     this section.
       (b) Private Remedies.--The provisions of section 25 of the 
     Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2074) shall apply with 
     respect to the fire safety standard promulgated under section 
     3(a) of this Act.

     SEC. 5. SCOPE OF JURISDICTION OF CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY 
                   COMMISSION.

       Except as otherwise provided in this Act, the Commission 
     shall have no jurisdiction over tobacco or tobacco products.

     SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       (a) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated to the Consumer Product Safety Commission 
     for fiscal year 2006, $2,000,000 for purposes of carrying out 
     this Act.
       (b) Availability.--Amounts appropriated pursuant to 
     subsection (a) shall remain available until expended.
                                 ______