[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 152 (Tuesday, October 9, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H11339-H11340]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           DANNY KEYSAR CHILD PRODUCT SAFETY NOTIFICATION ACT

  Mr. RUSH. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 1699) to direct the Consumer Product Safety Commission to 
require certain manufacturers to provide consumer product registration 
forms to facilitate recalls of durable infant and toddler products.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 1699

       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 ``Danny Keysar Child Product 
     Safety Notification Act''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds the following:
       (1) Unintentional injuries are the leading cause of death 
     among children, and for every such injury that is fatal, 
     approximately 18 children are hospitalized and 1,250 are 
     treated by emergency departments for such injuries that are 
     nonfatal.
       (2) According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, an 
     average of 50 children under the age of 5 die each year in 
     incidents associated with nursery products, and about 16 of 
     these deaths each year are associated with cribs.
       (3) In 2003, an estimated 60,700 children under the age of 
     5 were treated in United States hospital emergency rooms for 
     injuries associated with nursery products, and there were 
     10,700 injuries to children under the age of 5 years 
     associated with strollers alone.
       (4) Of the 397 recalls issued by the Consumer Product 
     Safety Commission in fiscal year 2005, 109 (or 27 percent) 
     were children's products. Children's products were recalled, 
     on average, over 2 times per week, and accounted for 
     19,635,627 individual units.

     SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Consumer 
     Product Safety Commission.
       (2) Durable infant or toddler product.--The term ``durable 
     infant or toddler product''--
       (A) means a durable product intended for use, or that may 
     be reasonably expected to be used, by children under the age 
     of 5 years; and
       (B) shall include--
       (i) full-size cribs and nonfull-size cribs;
       (ii) toddler beds;
       (iii) high chairs, booster chairs, and hook-on chairs;
       (iv) bath seats;
       (v) gates and other enclosures for confining a child;
       (vi) play yards;
       (vii) stationary activity centers;
       (viii) infant carriers;
       (ix) strollers;
       (x) walkers;
       (xi) swings; and
       (xii) bassinets and cradles.

     SEC. 4. CONSUMER PRODUCT REGISTRATION FORMS.

       (a) Rulemaking.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Commission shall, pursuant to its 
     authority under section 16(b) of the Consumer Product Safety 
     Act (15 U.S.C. 2065(b)), promulgate a final consumer product 
     safety rule to require manufacturers of durable infant or 
     toddler products--
       (1) to provide consumers with a postage-paid consumer 
     registration form with each such product;
       (2) to maintain a record of the names, addresses, email 
     addresses, and other contact information of consumers who 
     register their ownership of such products with the 
     manufacturer in order to improve the effectiveness of 
     manufacturer campaigns to recall such products; and
       (3) to permanently place the manufacturer name and contact 
     information, model name and number, and the date of 
     manufacture on each durable infant or toddler product.
       (b) Requirements for Registration Form.--The registration 
     form required to be provided to consumers under subsection 
     (a) shall--
       (1) include spaces for a consumer to provide their name, 
     address, telephone number, and email address;
       (2) include space sufficiently large to permit easy, 
     legible recording of all desired information;
       (3) be attached to the surface of each durable infant or 
     toddler product so that, as a practical matter, the consumer 
     must notice and handle the form after purchasing the product;
       (4) include the manufacturer's name, model name and number 
     for the product, and the date of manufacture;
       (5) include a message explaining the purpose of the 
     registration and designed to encourage consumers to complete 
     the registration;
       (6) include an option for consumers to register through the 
     Internet; and
       (7) include a statement that information provided by the 
     consumer shall not be used for any purpose other than to 
     facilitate a recall of or safety alert regarding that 
     product.
     In issuing regulations under this section, the Commission may 
     prescribe the exact text and format of the required 
     registration form.
       (c) Record Keeping and Notification Requirements.--The 
     standard required under this section shall require each 
     manufacturer of a durable infant or toddler product to 
     maintain a record of registrants for each product 
     manufactured that includes all of the information provided by 
     each consumer registered, and to use such information to 
     notify such consumers in the event of a voluntary or 
     involuntary recall of or safety alert regarding such product. 
     Each manufacturer shall maintain such a record for a period 
     of not less than 6 years after the date of manufacture of the 
     product. Consumer information collected by a manufacturer 
     under this Act may not be used by the manufacturer, nor 
     disseminated by such manufacturer to any other party, for any 
     purpose other than notification to such consumer in the event 
     of a product recall or safety alert.
       (d) Study.--The Commission shall conduct a study at such 
     time as it considers appropriate on the effectiveness of the 
     consumer registration forms in facilitating product recalls. 
     Not later than 4 years after the date of enactment of this 
     Act, the Commission shall report its findings to Congress.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Rush) and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Stearns) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Illinois.


                             General Leave

  Mr. RUSH. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include 
extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Illinois?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. RUSH. Madam Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, H.R. 1699, the Danny Keysar Child Product Safety Act 
was introduced by the vice chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Commerce, 
Trade and Consumer Protection, Ms. Schakowsky, and Mr. Upton, a senior 
member of the Energy and Commerce Committee. The bill is named after 
16-month-old Danny Keysar, who tragically and senselessly died when his 
defective portable crib collapsed and strangled him to death. 
Unbeknownst to Danny's poor parents and caregiver, the crib was subject 
to a voluntary recall 5 years earlier.
  H.R. 1699 directs the Consumer Product Safety Commission to require 
manufacturers of certain nursery products to create a voluntary 
registry to facilitate the efficacy of recall of those products when 
they occur. Under the bill, when a consumer buys one of 12 types of 
everyday durable nursery products as defined by statute, such as cribs, 
high chairs, bath seats and strollers, the manufacturer must provide 
the consumer with a postage-paid postcard. Parents will have the option 
to fill out the postcard and register with the manufacturer by mail or, 
alternatively, by e-mail so that they can be immediately notified if 
the product is the subject of a recall. The information on these 
postcards cannot be used for marketing or any other purpose than to 
notify consumers of the recall. It's worth noting, Madam Speaker, that 
this registry is based on an existing successful program for child car 
seats maintained by the National Highway Transportation Safety 
Administration.
  It's also worth noting that this bill is extremely timely, given the 
recent recall of infant cribs made by the company Simplicity, because 
of the strangulation hazard the defective cribs posed to young 
toddlers. Moreover, numerous press reports have recently cited just how 
ineffective product recalls can be. Unfortunately, parents are often 
unaware of defective recall products, and they remain in homes posing 
danger to children, as was the case with Danny Keysar. Indeed, in 
recent years, the CPSC has increasingly issued expanded recalls of 
products that have already been the subject of recalls, because the 
Commission continues to be vigilant and to receive injury reports on 
defective products. H.R. 1699 will go a long way towards remedying this 
problem and empowering parents to become aware of infant product 
recalls immediately after they are our initiated.
  Madam Speaker, I urge all of the Members of the House to vote for 
this excellent bill.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. STEARNS. Madam Speaker, my colleagues, this bill aims to improve

[[Page H11340]]

the recall process of children's products such as toys and furniture by 
requiring the inclusion of a product safety registration card with each 
product at the point of sale. The program is modeled on the car seat 
registration program mandated by the National Highway Traffic Safety 
Administration, better known as NHTSA.
  Now, my colleagues, this legislation creates a new mechanism for 
keeping consumers informed of child product recalls. To the extent we 
can improve the recall process, we should, and we think it's a good 
idea. Parents should know as soon as possible, if they own a product 
that's dangerous to their child's safety.
  Children have been injured by the continued use of a recalled product 
simply because the parents were simply unaware of the product's 
dangerous nature. Our hope is that this registration program will 
render these type of accidents preventable.
  Now, my colleagues, of course children's products are often passed 
along to other friends or family members once their child is grown, 
outgrows its use. We all know that. We put it up in the attic, then we 
hear a friend at church says they have a new child and we bring down 
this particular product. So many products are donated to charity 
outlets for resale, or sold at secondhand stores, online or at yard 
sales. No registration program will reach these parents in the event of 
a recall. They'll have to depend upon media.
  This legislation will attempt to reach these legacy owners by 
permanently marking each product with the manufacturer's name, model 
number and other information used in consumer product recalls. A parent 
can simply research the item on the Internet or call the manufacturer 
to verify a product's safety if he or she gets this product either in a 
yard sale or it's given to them by a friend. This is good.
  To the extent this measure improves notification to parents of 
potentially dangerous products, all of us should support this bill. At 
the same time, we all know that nothing is more important to a child's 
safety than vigilant parental supervision. I hope the good intentions 
of this legislation proves effective for both the consumers who 
purchase the products and the companies who will have to maintain these 
databases.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. RUSH. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 5 minutes to the 
sponsor of this legislation along with Congressman Upton, the 
gentlewoman from Illinois, the vice chairman of the subcommittee, my 
friend, Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky.
  Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Madam Speaker, I'd first like to thank the chairman 
of the Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection subcommittee, Mr. Rush, 
for his support and help.
  I also want to thank Mr. Stearns for his support of the legislation, 
as well as full committee Chairman Dingell and Ranking Member Barton.

                              {time}  1600

  It is clear that our system for recalling dangerous products is 
simply broken. It is failing American families. The recall system 
relies on the media to pick up the story and spread the word, but many 
times the stories are not picked up and the news does not reach the 
owners of defective products. In fact, some estimate that the recall 
effectiveness rate for products under jurisdiction of the Consumer 
Product Safety Commission is a mere 16 percent. Notification targeted 
to owners of the product is rare, and many parents remain unaware of 
the dangers.
  And that's why I rise in strong support of H.R. 1699, the Danny 
Keysar Child Product Safety Notification Act, which I was proud to 
introduce with my good friend from Michigan, Congressman Upton. This 
bill will begin to close the significant gaps in the recall system by 
requiring that durable children's products such as cribs and strollers 
and high chairs come with a postage-paid postcard that parents or 
caregivers can mail in to be notified if a product is recalled for 
safety reasons.
  This legislation is a commonsense solution to a very real and 
pervasive problem. Unintentional injuries are the leading cause of 
death among children. According to the Consumer Product Safety 
Commission, an estimated 64,700 children under the age of 5 were 
treated in emergency rooms across the country for injuries associated 
with nursery products in 2003 at a cost of $2.5 billion, and that 
figure has almost certainly risen in the last 4 years. And even more 
tragically, an average of 50 children under the age of 5 die each year 
in incidents associated with nursery products, and about 16 of these 
deaths each year are associated with cribs.
  And this bill is a tribute to one such child. On May 12, 1998, 16-
month-old Danny Keysar was strangled to death at his licensed day care 
facility when a portable crib collapsed, turning the horizontal side 
rail into a V-shaped wedge that squeezed his throat and strangled him. 
Imagine what Danny's parents must have felt when they learned that the 
crib that killed their son, a Playskool Travel-Lite crib, had been 
recalled by the government and the manufacturer 5 years earlier.
  And, sadly, Danny's parents aren't alone. More than 1.5 million 
portable cribs like the one that killed Danny were made with a similar 
design by different manufacturers. The crib that took Danny's life had 
already killed four children. A 10-month-old New Jersey baby became the 
sixth child to be strangled to death by the Playskool crib just 3 
months after Danny died.
  Despite the recall, neither the day care center nor State inspectors 
who had been to the facility just a week before Danny's death knew that 
recalled products were being used there. And they are not to blame. It 
was not the State agency's mandate to inspect for recalled materials; 
and unless someone who worked in the center happened to catch the 
recall story on the news, there was virtually no way to know that the 
cribs they used were death traps. And, by the way, Illinois did change 
its law.
  But in case anyone might think this was an isolated incident, think 
again. In 2005 children's products were recalled on average two times a 
week. Just over 2 weeks ago, the Consumer Product Safety Commission 
issued the largest recall of full-sized cribs in the agency's history, 
recalling almost a million of the Nation's most popular cribs because 
of design flaws that have already killed at least three more children. 
And a week later, Kolcraft, the company that manufactured the Playskool 
crib that killed Danny Keysar, recalled 425,000 infant play yards 
following the death of a 10-month-old child.
  Congress needs to act to make sure that these kinds of senseless 
tragedies don't occur again. When Danny's parents, Linda Ginzel and 
Boaz Keysar, learned that the crib that had killed their son had been 
recalled in 1993, they turned their grief into action and founded Kids 
in Danger, a Chicago-based nonprofit that is dedicated to protecting 
children by improving children's product safety. It is because of their 
dedication that we are here today, and I am honored to represent them 
here today and thank them for their work. I hope with the passage of 
this legislation no more parents will have to endure what they did.
  I believe that H.R. 1699, which allows people to send in a card or e-
mail to make sure that the manufacturer will let them know, just as is 
done with car seats in the National Highway Transportation and Safety 
Administration, a provision that has been so successful that there has 
been a tenfold increase in recalls and recall repair rates have gone up 
by 56 percent, that at a cost of a handful of pennies per card, this 
legislation will save lives of children.
  I would appreciate support.
  Mr. RUSH. Mr. Speaker, this is a commonsense piece of legislation. It 
takes a giant step toward protecting our Nation's most important asset: 
our children.
  I urge Members of this body to pass this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Cohen). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Rush) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 1699, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.




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