[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 112 (Wednesday, July 28, 2010)]
[House]
[Pages H6190-H6192]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
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CARBON MONOXIDE POISONING PREVENTION ACT
Mr. SARBANES. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 1796) to amend the Consumer Product Safety Act to require
residential carbon monoxide detectors to meet the applicable ANSI/UL
standard by treating that standard as a consumer product safety rule,
to encourage States to require the installation of such detectors in
homes, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 1796
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 ``Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
Prevention Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas produced
by burning any fuel. Exposure to unhealthy levels of carbon
monoxide can lead to carbon monoxide poisoning, a serious
health condition that could result in death.
(2) Unintentional carbon monoxide poisoning from motor
vehicles and the abnormal operation of fuel-burning
appliances, such as furnaces, water heaters, portable
generators, and stoves, in residential homes and other
dwelling units kills more than 400 people each year and sends
more than 20,000 to hospital emergency rooms for treatment.
(3) Research shows that purchasing and installing carbon
monoxide alarms close to the sleeping areas in residential
homes and other dwelling units can help avoid fatalities.
(4) Congress should promote the purchase and installation
of carbon monoxide alarms in residential homes and dwelling
units nationwide in order to promote the health and public
safety of citizens throughout the Nation.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act, the following definitions apply:
(1) The term ``approved carbon monoxide alarm'' means a
carbon monoxide alarm that complies with the standards
published, incorporated, or amended by the Commission with
respect to such alarms pursuant to this Act.
(2) The term ``carbon monoxide alarm'' means a device that
detects carbon monoxide and sounds a distinctive audible
alert before concentrations of carbon monoxide reach levels
that would cause symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning.
(3) The term ``Commission'' means the Consumer Product
Safety Commission.
(4) The term ``dwelling unit'' means a room or suite of
rooms used for human habitation, and includes a single family
residence as well as each living unit of a multiple family
residence (including apartment buildings) and each living
unit in a mixed use building.
(5) The term ``fire code enforcement officials'' means
officials of the fire safety code enforcement agency of a
State or local government.
(6) The term ``NFPA 720'' means the Standard for the
Installation of Carbon Monoxide Warning Equipment in Dwelling
Units issued by the National Fire Protection Association in
2008, and any amended or similar successor standard
pertaining to the proper installation of carbon monoxide
alarms in dwelling units.
SEC. 4. ADOPTION OF CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY RULES.
(a) Mandatory Standards.--Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, not later than 90 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Commission shall publish in the
Federal Register as mandatory consumer product safety
standards the American National Standard for Single and
Multiple Station Carbon Monoxide Alarms (ANSI/UL 2034) and
the American National Standard for Gas and Vapor Detectors
and Sensors (ANSI/UL 2075). Such mandatory consumer product
safety standards shall take effect 180 days after they are
published.
(b) Revision of Standards.--Beginning 1 year after the date
of enactment of this Act, if either standard described in
subsection (a) is revised through the applicable consensus
standards development process, Underwriters Laboratories
shall notify the Commission of the revision and the revision
shall be incorporated in the consumer product safety rule
unless, within 60 days of such notice, the Commission
determines that such revision does not carry out the purposes
of this Act and publishes the basis for such a determination
in the Federal Register.
(c) Rulemaking.--Notwithstanding any other provision of
this Act, the Commission may, at any time subsequent to
publication of the consumer product safety standards required
by subsection (a), initiate a rulemaking in accordance
[[Page H6191]]
with section 553 of title 5, United States Code, to amend
either standard to include any provision that the Commission
determines is reasonably necessary to ensure the safe and
effective operation of carbon monoxide alarms.
(d) Treatment of Standards for Purposes of Enforcement.--
For purposes of enforcement under the Consumer Product Safety
Act, the standards published by the Commission pursuant to
subsection (a), including any revision to such standards
pursuant to subsection (b) or (c), shall be consumer product
safety rules as defined in section 3(a)(6) of such Act (15
U.S.C. 2052(a)(6)).
SEC. 5. REPORT TO CONGRESS.
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this
Act, the Commission shall complete a study to evaluate
whether requiring a language or languages in addition to
English would improve the effectiveness of the label required
of manufacturers of portable generators by the Commission
under part 1407 of title 16, Code of Federal Regulations, to
warn consumers of carbon monoxide hazards.
SEC. 6. GRANT PROGRAM FOR CARBON MONOXIDE POISONING
PREVENTION.
(a) In General.--Subject to the availability of
appropriations authorized by subsection (f), the Commission
shall establish a grant program to provide assistance to
eligible States and local governments to carry out the carbon
monoxide poisoning prevention activities in subsection (d).
(b) Eligibility.--To be eligible for a grant under the
program, a State or local government shall--
(1) demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Commission that
a State or local government has adopted a statute, or a State
or local government agency has adopted a rule, regulation, or
similar measure with the force and effect of law, requiring
approved carbon monoxide alarms to be installed in accordance
with NFPA 720 in dwelling units; and
(2) submit an application to the Commission at such time,
in such form, and containing such additional information as
the Commission may require, which application may be filed on
behalf of any qualified State or local government by the fire
code enforcement officials for such State or local
government.
(c) Grant Amount; Priority.--The Commission shall determine
the amount of the grants awarded under this section, and
shall give priority to applications from States or local
governments that--
(1) require approved carbon monoxide alarms to be installed
in each existing dwelling unit--
(A) within which a fuel-burning appliance is installed,
including a furnace, boiler, water heater, fireplace, or any
other apparatus, appliance, or device that burns fuel; or
(B) which has an attached garage;
(2) propose to serve vulnerable populations such as
children, the elderly, or low-income households; and
(3) demonstrate greater than average losses of life from
carbon monoxide poisoning in the home.
(d) Use of Funds.--A State receiving a grant under this
section may use grant funds--
(1) to purchase and install approved carbon monoxide alarms
in the dwelling units of low-income families or elderly
persons, facilities that commonly serve children or the
elderly, including childcare facilities, public schools, and
senior centers, or student dwelling units owned by public
universities;
(2) to train State or local fire code enforcement officials
in the proper enforcement of State or local laws concerning
approved carbon monoxide alarms and the installation of such
alarms in accordance with NFPA 720;
(3) for the development and dissemination of training
materials, instructors, and any other costs related to the
training sessions authorized by this subsection; and
(4) to educate the public about the risk associated with
carbon monoxide as a poison and the importance of proper
carbon monoxide alarm use.
(e) Limitation on Use of Funds.--
(1) Administrative costs.--No more than 10 percent of any
grant funds may be used to cover administrative costs not
directly related to training described in paragraph (2) of
subsection (d).
(2) Public outreach.--No more than 25 percent of any grant
may be used to cover costs of activities described in
paragraph (4) of subsection (d).
(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized
to be appropriated to the Commission $2,000,000 for each of
fiscal years 2011 through 2015 to carry out this Act, such
sums to remain available until expended. Any amounts
appropriated pursuant to this paragraph that remain
unexpended and unobligated at the end of fiscal year 2015
shall be retained by the Commission and credited to the
appropriations account that funds enforcement of the Consumer
Product Safety Act.
(g) Commission Report.--Not later than 1 year after the
last day of each fiscal year for which grants are made under
this section, the Commission shall submit to Congress a
report evaluating the implementation of the grant program
authorized by this section.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Maryland (Mr. Sarbanes) and the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Gingrey)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Maryland.
General Leave
Mr. SARBANES. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous material in the Record.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Maryland?
There was no objection.
Mr. SARBANES. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
I rise today in support of H.R. 1796, the Residential Carbon Monoxide
Poisoning Prevention Act, sponsored by Representative Jim Matheson of
Utah.
Carbon monoxide poisoning kills more than 400 people each year and
sends more than 20,000 people to hospital emergency rooms for
treatment. Carbon monoxide can build up in your home in a furnace or
some other fuel-burning appliance if it isn't functioning properly.
What makes this gas particularly dangerous is that you can't see it
or smell it. At least with a fire, you can see the flames, smell the
smoke, or feel the heat. With carbon monoxide, in many cases, all you
start to feel is flu-like symptoms. You have no idea you are facing
something even more dangerous.
But there is a simple and effective way to combat carbon monoxide
poisoning: installing a carbon monoxide alarm in your home.
H.R. 1796 takes two important steps to promote the use of carbon
monoxide alarms in homes and other places:
First, this legislation makes the voluntary industry standards for
carbon monoxide alarms mandatory consumer product safety standards.
This means these lifesaving devices will be required to meet these
performance standards rather than allowing compliance to just be
voluntary. If we are going to encourage the use of a safety device,
then we must be sure that it meets and will continue to meet industry
performance standards. Putting in place mandatory standards means that
if a carbon monoxide alarm doesn't meet the relevant performance
standard, then it cannot be sold in the United States and it will be
subject to action by the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Secondly, this legislation authorizes a grant program to encourage
States to adopt laws to expand the use of carbon monoxide alarms in all
homes with fuel-burning appliances or attached garages. The
authorization for their program is very modest, just $2 million in each
of fiscal years 2011 through 2015. The funds will help States and local
governments with strong carbon monoxide alarm laws to carry out
training for enforcement of those laws, educate the public about the
dangers of carbon monoxide, and, most importantly, to purchase alarms
for low-income and elderly households and other places serving
vulnerable populations.
I want to thank my colleagues in the minority for working with us on
this legislation. I want to salute my colleague, Representative
Matheson. I would also like to thank the industry and other
stakeholders for offering their advice to help improve this legislation
and for their support of this measure.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GINGREY of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I rise not really in
opposition to H.R. 1796, the Residential Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
Prevention Act--in fact, parts of this legislation I am very much in
favor of, particularly regarding the encouragement in the grant program
to try to help people to know of what the gentleman from Maryland just
said in regard to the danger of carbon monoxide, which is colorless and
odorless. It causes far too many poisonings and, indeed, deaths. I
think, 170 Americans each year. One would be too many, Madam Speaker.
I question, somewhat, the necessity of making the standards for the
detectors going from a voluntary standard to a mandatory standard.
But in regard to encouraging widespread use of the detectors, not
only in places of business but, absolutely, in a home setting where a
lot of times you have got these generators because of a power outage or
camping equipment that, you know, is misused or malfunctions and it
leads to these tragedies that we are trying to avoid.
I absolutely commend my colleagues, and in particular my friend from
Utah, Jim Matheson, in bringing this bill forward. I was very
supportive in the committee markup.
Madam Speaker, I would like to take the opportunity to relate the
same story that I did in committee, a true
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story, unfortunately. When I was growing up, my parents owned what you
might refer to as a mom-and-pop motel, sort of like a Motel 6, except I
think we had 25 units and we charged $8 a night for one person and $10
a night for two, but that was a family business.
For a number of years, Madam Speaker, we didn't have a home. My
parents had an efficiency apartment in the office of the motel. Most of
the time we would have vacancies, so my two brothers and I would spend
the night in one of the motel rooms, and it would vary from night to
night.
I was about, I guess, 13 years old, one weekend in unit 1. Unit
number 1 was a unit with two double beds. It was a larger unit of our
25-unit motel, so we would always like to stay in unit number 1. On the
weekend, a cold winter night, my brother was 14, I was 13, and his best
friend was 14, and we stayed in unit number 1.
Well, the very next weekend, unit number 1 was rented, so we weren't
able to stay there. I remember going to mass on Sunday morning. My dad
was Methodist, my mom was a Catholic, and Mom took my two brothers and
me to mass.
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When we came back, unfortunately in the parking lot of that motel I
saw what I had never seen before, a beige-brown hearse--in fact, two or
three of them--in the parking lot of this motel.
Madam Speaker, what had happened is three soldiers that weekend
stayed in unit No. 1; they were 18-19 years old. They had crossed the
State line because you could drink beer in South Carolina when you were
18 years old, and you couldn't do it in Georgia, so we would get a lot
of weekend business from the military. These young soldiers got
asphyxiated that night with carbon monoxide poisoning. It was just such
a devastating thing to my dad. It just about caused him to lose his
mind, quite honestly, and his business, even though it wasn't his
fault. It was a faulty heater that the way the wind was blowing that
night, it blew the burnt fuel back into the room, and these three
soldiers, young boys, God bless them, lost their lives that night.
So when Representative Matheson brought this bill before the Energy
and Commerce Committee, as you know, Madam Speaker, as also a committee
member, man, it brought all of that back. It was 55 years ago that that
happened, and it was just like it was yesterday.
So I commend the gentleman, I absolutely do. I have some concerns
about changing from a voluntary standard to a mandatory standard; but
this is good work, this is good legislation, and for that reason I am
going to support it.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. SARBANES. Madam Speaker, our colleague from Georgia's story
really puts a punctuation mark on why this legislation is so critical.
I am pleased to yield such time as he may consume to the sponsor of
the legislation, Representative Matheson from Utah.
Mr. MATHESON. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise to talk about this
bill today.
This legislation, quite frankly, addresses an issue that has been
growing in awareness, but it still requires attention in order to
significantly reduce the number of easily preventable injuries and
deaths caused by carbon monoxide poisoning in the United States.
Annually, over 500 people die from carbon monoxide poisoning and an
additional 15,000 are hospitalized for carbon monoxide poisoning
sickness. Unfortunately, many of these individuals are already at risk,
the elderly and children.
In many cities and States, including my home State of Utah, local
governments have really addressed this issue. They are at the forefront
of an effort to pass legislation aimed at reducing carbon monoxide
poisonings in homes, and I hope this legislation will expand those
efforts.
The risks of this type of poisoning are real, yet the danger is
poorly understood. Carbon monoxide poisonings are often misdiagnosed as
stomach flu, and individuals can unknowingly spend hours inside homes
which have dangerously high levels of carbon monoxide. Nearly all of
these incidents could have been easily prevented with functioning
carbon monoxide alarms. This legislation aims to cut down on those
numbers while increasing awareness of the issues by taking three simple
steps: number one, it codifies accepted scientific standards for carbon
monoxide alarms into law; number two, it examines whether carbon
monoxide warnings on portable generators should be expanded; and,
number three, it establishes a grant program for States and local
governments to provide carbon monoxide alarms and raise awareness of
carbon monoxide poisoning.
Madam Speaker, I would also like to point out that this is a bill
that has gone through a legislative process. We held hearings. And from
the original bill that was introduced, the text has changed. That is
what we are here to do as legislators is we try to work through things.
And through the Energy and Commerce Committee, in bringing in witnesses
to learn more about this issue, we have perfected this bill and made it
better.
I really want to acknowledge the efforts of everyone on the Energy
and Commerce Committee, in a bipartisan way, trying to address this
issue as best we could. That is what we are supposed to do here in
Congress. There is a lot of bickering going on in Washington these
days, but here's an example where folks actually sat down and rolled up
their sleeves and tried to address an issue in a constructive way. So I
want to acknowledge that effort on both sides of the aisle, and I
encourage all my colleagues to support this bill.
Mr. GINGREY of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my
time.
Mr. SARBANES. Madam Speaker, again, we can't emphasize enough the
importance of this legislation. You've heard recounted here the tragic
stories of what happens when you don't have these kinds of mechanisms
in place and you don't have the education to support people in terms of
bringing this into their homes. And so I want to again congratulate
Representative Matheson for his efforts, thank my colleagues for the
bipartisan support of this measure, and urge its passage today.
Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Sarbanes) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 1796, 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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