[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 108 (Tuesday, June 22, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H2948-H2950]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        STOP TIP-OVERS OF UNSTABLE, RISKY DRESSERS ON YOUTH ACT

  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 1314) to require the Consumer Product Safety Commission to 
promulgate a consumer product safety rule for free-standing clothing 
storage units to protect children from tip-over related death or 
injury, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 1314

       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 ``Stop Tip-overs of Unstable, 
     Risky Dressers on Youth Act'' or the ``STURDY Act''.

     SEC. 2. CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY STANDARD TO PROTECT AGAINST 
                   TIP-OVER OF CLOTHING STORAGE UNITS.

       (a) Clothing Storage Unit Defined.--In this section, the 
     term ``clothing storage unit'' means any free-standing 
     furniture item manufactured in the United States or imported 
     for use in the United States that is intended for the storage 
     of clothing, typical of bedroom furniture.
       (b) Consumer Product Safety Standard Required.--
       (1) In general.--Except as provided in subsection (c)(1), 
     not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this 
     Act, the Consumer Product Safety Commission shall--
       (A) in consultation with representatives of consumer 
     groups, clothing storage unit manufacturers, craft or 
     handmade furniture manufacturers, and independent child 
     product engineers and experts, examine and assess the 
     effectiveness of any voluntary consumer product safety 
     standards for clothing storage units; and
       (B) in accordance with section 553 of title 5, United 
     States Code, promulgate a final consumer product safety 
     standard for clothing storage units to protect children from 
     tip-over-related death or injury that includes--
       (i) tests that simulate the weight of children up to 60 
     pounds;
       (ii) objective, repeatable, and measurable tests that 
     simulate real world use and account for any impact on 
     clothing storage unit stability that may result from 
     placement on carpeted surfaces, drawers with items in them, 
     multiple open drawers, or dynamic force;
       (iii) testing of all clothing storage units, including 
     those under 30 inches in height; and
       (iv) warning requirements based on ASTM F2057-17, or its 
     successor at the time of enactment, provided that the 
     Consumer Product Safety Commission shall strengthen the 
     requirements of ASTM F2057-17, or its successor, if 
     reasonably necessary to protect children from tip-over-
     related death or injury.
       (2) Treatment of standard.--A consumer product safety 
     standard promulgated under paragraph (1) shall be treated as 
     a consumer product safety rule promulgated under section 9 of 
     the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2058).

[[Page H2949]]

       (c) Subsequent Rulemaking.--
       (1) In general.--At any time subsequent to the publication 
     of a consumer product safety standard under subsection 
     (b)(1), the Commission may initiate a rulemaking, in 
     accordance with section 553 of title 5, United States Code, 
     to modify the requirements of the consumer product safety 
     standard described in subsection (b)(1) if reasonably 
     necessary to protect children from tip-over-related death or 
     injury.
       (2) Revision of rule.--If, after the date of the enactment 
     of this Act, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
     revises its Clinical Growth Charts, the consumer product 
     safety standard described in subsection (b)(1) shall, on the 
     date that is 180 days after such revision, be revised to 
     include tests that simulate the weight of children up to the 
     95th percentile weight of children 72 months in age, as 
     depicted in the revised Centers for Disease Control and 
     Prevention Clinical Growth Charts, unless the Commission 
     determines the modification is not reasonably necessary to 
     protect children from tip-over-related death or injury.
       (3) Treatment of rules.--Any rule promulgated under 
     paragraph (1) or revision made pursuant to paragraph (2) 
     shall be treated as a consumer product safety rule 
     promulgated under section 9 of the Consumer Product Safety 
     Act (15 U.S.C. 2058).

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. Pallone) and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey.


                             General Leave

  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on H.R. 1314.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New Jersey?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak in support of H.R. 1314, the STURDY Act. 
I want to begin by thanking Consumer Protection and Commerce 
Subcommittee Chair Schakowsky for championing and reintroducing this 
critical piece of legislation, which will help protect children from 
deadly furniture tip-overs.
  Tip-overs remain one of the top five hidden hazards in the home. 
According to new data from the Consumer Product Safety Commission, 
between 2000 and 2019, tip-over incidents have been linked to more than 
450 child fatalities and tens of thousands more injuries.
  Every 46 minutes a child is injured in a tip-over incident. The 
victims tend to be young children who are curious and creative, eager 
to climb and play make-believe with the world around them. But dressers 
pose a deadly danger, and their crushing weight can lead to tragedy in 
just minutes.
  These incidents often happen silently, too. Parents who have lost 
children from furniture tip-overs report never hearing the dresser 
falling because the child's body had absorbed the brunt of the impact 
or a child was pinned in such a way that he or she couldn't even scream 
or cry out.
  The current voluntary furniture stability standards are woefully 
inadequate and have not stopped children from dying from unstable 
dressers. In March, Consumer Reports reported on two tip-over 
incidents, including one death that happened within 1 week of each 
other, highlighting the ongoing and urgent need for this lifesaving 
legislation.

                              {time}  1515

  Our children deserve a strong, mandatory standard that keeps them 
safe from such a common household danger. Right now, the current 
voluntary standard only applies to dressers 30 inches or taller, 
despite multiple fatalities and injuries involving shorter dressers.
  Also, the voluntary testing doesn't incorporate the upper weight 
range for children affected by tip-overs. It also ignores real-world 
dynamics, such as the movement of drawers and different flooring 
surfaces that a dresser might be resting on.
  The STURDY Act would finally establish a strong mandatory furniture 
stability safety standard and protect children from being crushed under 
the weight of their bedroom furniture. This legislation will save 
lives, and that is why I call on my colleagues to support this measure.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill directs the Consumer Products Safety 
Commission to issue a consumer product safety standard for clothing 
storage units to protect children from tip-over related injuries, as 
the chairman stated.
  The CPSC has recognized this as one of the top five potential hidden 
hazards in the home, with an average of one child fatality every 2 
weeks from falling furniture and appliances. It is good to restate it 
because people need to know.
  We support this bill moving forward with House passage today. I thank 
the chairwoman of the subcommittee, my colleague, Ms. Schakowsky, for 
championing this bill; along with Mr. Cardenas and all of the members 
of the Energy and Commerce Committee for their efforts.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 1314, and I reserve 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the 
gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Schakowsky), the chairwoman of the 
subcommittee and sponsor of this bill. I am sure many have noticed 
today that many of these bills that protect consumers, particularly 
children, have been championed by Ms. Schakowsky.
  Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Pallone for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, since 2000, more than 460 children have died from 
furniture tip-overs, and the Consumer Product Safety Commission has 
reported that tip-overs cause an average of 25,500 emergency room-
treated injuries every year as children are crushed, trapped, or stuck 
by furniture.
  These deaths and injuries should never have happened in the first 
place, but they continue to happen because current furniture stability 
standards are both inadequate and only voluntary. We can't continue to 
allow the furniture industry to regulate itself. It hasn't worked and 
it has come at a cost of children's lives.
  That is why I have reintroduced the legislation, the STURDY Act, H.R. 
1314, which would strengthen and make mandatory furniture stabilization 
standards for clothing storage units.
  No parent should have to worry about their children being injured, or 
worse, by a piece of furniture.
  I want to give a special shout-out to the organization Kids In Danger 
that has been advocating for this for a long time, and for the moms who 
came to this Congress and told the stories of their lost children 
because of these tip-overs. Their stories have moved everyone who has 
heard them.
  It is time now that we act. We can do something to help prevent these 
furniture tip-overs that put our Nation's children in danger.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this legislation.
  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairwoman Schakowsky for 
championing this very important bill. The best ideas come from the 
people, from our constituents.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of this bill swiftly, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I also urge my colleagues to support this 
legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, as a senior member of the Judiciary 
Committee and the founder and Co-Chair of the Congressional Children's 
Caucus, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1314, the ``Stop Tip-Overs of 
Unstable, Risky Dressers on Children Act,'' or ``STURDY Act,'' which 
directs the Consumer Product Safety Commission to adopt a stronger, 
mandatory stability standard for clothing storage units within one year 
of enactment, following the streamlined rulemaking process that it has 
used for numerous children's products.
  A tip-over can involve a piece of furniture, often a dresser or other 
type of clothing storage unit, falling onto a small child.
  These dangerous episodes can lead to a trip to the emergency room, or 
even death.
  A child is sent to the emergency room because of a tip-over incident 
every 60 minutes, and on average, 1 to 2 children die every month.
  Children age 2 to 5 are at the highest risk--their motor abilities 
allow them to navigate the home by themselves and their intellectual 
development makes them curious about objects that might be out of 
reach.
  In June 2016, IKEA recalled 29 million dressers and chests due to a 
tipover hazard;

[[Page H2950]]

at least 8 children died in tragic tip-over accidents and hundreds of 
children have been injured by IKEA furniture.
  Mr. Speaker, relying upon a voluntary standard for dressers is not 
enough to protect our children from tip-overs.
  The voluntary standard only tests whether a dresser or drawer will 
tip with 50 lbs. hanging from an open drawer.
  This standard has not proven stringent enough to reduce tip-overs, 
and it also only applies to dressers over 27 inches.
  Even as weak as it is, dressers do not have to meet this voluntary 
standard.
  That is why the STURDY Act is needed; it will help prevent the deaths 
of children from tip-overs.
  Specifically, the STURDY Act:
  1. Mandates testing on all clothing units;
  2. Requires testing to simulate the weights of children up to 72 
months old;
  3. Requires testing measures to account for scenarios involving 
carpeting, loaded drawers, and the dynamic force of a climbing child;
  4. Mandates strong warning requirements; and
  5. Requires the CPSC to issue the mandatory standard within 1 year of 
the STURDY Act's enactment.
  I strongly support H.R. 1314, the Stop Tip-Overs of Unstable, Risky 
Dressers on Youth Act, and urge all Members to join me in voting for 
its passage.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 1314.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. ROSENDALE. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to section 3(s) of House Resolution 
8, the yeas and nays are ordered.
  Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on this motion 
are postponed.

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