[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 52 (Monday, March 26, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E647]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


 INTRODUCTION OF THE INFANT AND TODDLER DURABLE PRODUCT SAFETY ACT AND 
         THE DANNY KEYSAR CHILD PRODUCT SAFETY NOTIFICATION ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. JANICE D. SCHAKOWSKY

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 26, 2007

  Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Madam Speaker, today I am once again introducing two 
bills that would help prevent needless deaths and injuries of young 
children: the Infant and Toddler Durable Product Safety Act and the 
Danny Keysar Child Product Safety Notification Act. These bills would 
help us protect infant and toddlers from dangerous products, both 
before they arrive on the shelves--and after they end up in homes.
  The Infant and Toddler Durable Product Safety Act would require 
infant and toddler products to receive a federal seal of approval 
before they are sold. This bill is long overdue.
  Currently, most consumers believe that, because a product is on a 
shelf, it is safe. A Coalition for Consumer Rights' survey in Illinois 
found that 75 percent of adults believe that the government oversees 
pre-market testing for children's products; 79 percent believe that 
manufacturers are required to test the safety of those products before 
they are sold. For most products, neither is true.
  In fact, there are no mandatory safety standards for the majority of 
the children's products being sold today. The majority of the standards 
that are in place are ``voluntarily'' set by the very industries 
looking to make profits. They are also allowed to police themselves 
about whether the standards are enforced.
  Let me stress what that means: although there may be voluntary 
standards in place, there are no requirements that all potential 
hazards are addressed in those standards. For instance, the voluntary 
standards for bassinets set by the industry did not have height 
requirement for the sides or any test to make sure the baby couldn't 
fall out. Only because of the tenacity of advocates like Kids in 
Danger, was one finally set. There are also no consequences for the 
manufacturer if the standards are not met, and no requirements for 
products to be tested to see if the standards are met. This is true 
even for baby carriers, cradles, play pens, and high chairs. For the 
few products that do have mandatory federal standards, because there 
are no testing requirements, the standards are meaningless.
  Although the Consumer Products Safety Commission--the CPSC--requires 
no testing and manufacturers mayor may not perform their own tests, do 
not be mistaken, children's products are tested. They are tested in our 
own homes, with our children and grandchildren as test dummies. The 
cost of those tests can be a panicked child, amputated fingers, 
fractured skulls, or a dead child.

  Unfortunately, a trip to the emergency room or the morgue is often 
the only way to know if a product is unsafe. This is unacceptable.
  Parents and caregivers must have assurance that when they buy a 
product, it will be safe. Therefore, the Infant and Toddler Durable 
Product Safety Act would not only require the CPSC to issue mandatory 
safety standards for infant and toddler products, it would require the 
testing and certification of these products by an independent third 
party before they are allowed to be sold to anyone.
  To protect children should unsafe products make it into their homes--
as is currently happening--we also have to make sure that we can get 
the hazards out as soon as possible. The Danny Keysar Child Product 
Safety Notification Act would help us do that by requiring that all 
children's durable products sold have recall registration cards 
attached to them and that manufacturers directly contact those who fill 
them out should there be a recall.
  Although there is a shocking number of recalled products, our current 
recall system is failing. Actual notice of a recall is dependent on 
news outlets picking up the story and spreading the word. Notification 
targeted to owners of the products is rare, and many parents remain 
unaware of the dangers even when products are recalled. In fact, many 
families still have the dangerous products listed in this report in 
their homes because they have not happened to turn on the television at 
the right time or read the right newspaper. We need to make sure that 
notification is directed at the families that have bought these faulty 
products so they don't have to rely on chance to hear the news.
  My colleague, Rep. Fred Upton, and I named our bill that would help 
solve this problem the Danny Keysar Child Product Safety Notification 
Act because his story is a tragic example of the inadequacy of our 
current recall practices.
  Danny Keysar, the precious 17-month old son of Linda Ginzel and her 
husband, Boaz Keysar, died when the Playskool Travel-Lite portable crib 
he had been napping in at his babysitter's home collapsed. The rails of 
the crib folded into a ``V''-shaped wedge when he stood up, trapping 
his neck. He was strangled to death. It was May 12, 1998, five years 
after the CPSC had ordered it off the shelves because it was so 
dangerous.
  Word of its hazard had not reached Danny's parents, the caregiver 
with whom he was staying, or a state safety inspector who visited the 
home just eight days before Danny's death. Had the Child Product Safety 
Notification Act been in effect, there would have been a much greater 
chance of saving Danny's life--and the 11 children who have since died 
from the TravelLite.
  We know that recall registration cards work. My bill is modeled after 
the National Highway and Transportation Safety Administration's recall 
system for car seats. Since NHTSA started requiring car seats to have 
registration cards in 1993, the number of families registering 
increased by at least tenfold. In fact, 53 percent of parents who 
obtained cards mailed in the cards. Recall repair rates have gone up by 
56 percent--all for a mere 43-cents per item. This bill will give 
families a much greater chance to repair, return, or discard any 
dangerous products that have made it into their children's nursery.
  It is past due that we give parents the security they deserve and 
children the safety they need. I urge my colleagues to support these 
two bills.

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