[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 85 (Thursday, May 16, 2024)]
[House]
[Page H3280]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      PREVENTING YOUTH POISONINGS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Ohio 
(Mr. Carey) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. CAREY. Madam Speaker, I rise today to urge Senate action on a 
bill that will prevent deadly chemicals from falling into the hands of 
our children.
  Our Youth Poisoning Protection Act passed the House last night with 
overwhelmingly bipartisan support, Democrats and Republicans working 
together on what we need to be doing. This must become law.
  It is a parent's worst nightmare, this faceless stranger over the 
internet teaching your children how to take their own lives, and your 
child, in a moment of vulnerability, listens to them.
  That is exactly what happened to Kristine Jonsson, a very vibrant 16-
year-old from Hilliard, Ohio, in my district. She was very open with 
her parents as it related to her mental health struggles, but it was 
behind closed doors on some ridiculous internet forum that she found 
sodium nitrate.
  With the coaching of these online predators, Kristine was able to 
purchase sodium nitrate through an online service and actually have it 
shipped to her front door without the knowledge of her parents.
  Sodium nitrate is a chemical that is used in the preservation of meat 
and fish, but it is, in fact, a chemical, when it is highly 
concentrated, that can be over 100 times more powerful--one spoonful--
more powerful and deadly than any chemical.
  Thanks to these online forums like the one that Kristine saw, the 
number of suicide deaths using sodium nitrate is steadily increasing. 
In recent years, the share of sodium nitrite usage as a method of self-
poisoning has grown nine times over.
  By passing this bill, what we did bipartisanly with the Democrats and 
the Republicans in the House, we need to have it passed in the Senate. 
The Youth Poisoning Prevention Act would prevent commercial sales of 
highly concentrated sodium nitrite so it can never fall into the hands 
of these vulnerable youth.

                              {time}  1030

  I want to thank my colleagues, Representative Trahan of 
Massachusetts, as well as my Senator from Ohio, J.D. Vance, and Tammy 
Duckworth from Illinois for partnering in this important effort.
  Again, this is the stuff that we as Members of Congress need to be 
doing. With their support and all of yours we are one step closer to 
preventing these senseless tragedies.

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