Below is Schakowsky’s July 25th Congressional Record statement on H.R. 2911, The Infant and Toddler Durable Product Safety Act:

Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing a bill that would help prevent needless death and injury of young children.  My bill would require that infant and toddler products are tested before they reach the marketplace.  This bill is long overdue.  

Many consumers believe that, because a product is on a shelf, it is safe.  This is not always true.  In most cases, manufacturers are not even required to test the safety of children’s products, including baby carriers and high chairs, before putting them on the market.  As a consequence, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), an average of 65 children under the age of five die each year in incidences associated with nursery products.  Furthermore, an estimated 69,500 children under the age of five were treated in U.S. hospital rooms in 2001 for injuries associated with nursery products. 

Unfortunately, issuing a voluntary recall once one or more children have been hurt often becomes 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, this bill would not only require the CPSC to issue mandatory safety standards for infant and toddler products, but it would require the testing and certification of these products by an independent third party.

Parents should not have to worry that the products they buy will threaten their children’s health and safety.  Nor should parents have to wait until they hear on the news that the carrier or crib or high chair that they use has been recalled before they become aware that their child could be in danger.  Children’s products were recalled, on average, nearly two times per week in 2002 and they accounted for over 11 million individual units. Instead of using recalls as the answer, we should require that the CPSC take steps to ensure that products do not present safety hazards to our children.

I would like to recognize and thank Kids In Danger, an organization in Chicago dedicated to protecting children, for their invaluable input and expertise on children’s product safety.  It is past due that we give parents the security they deserve and children the safety they need.  This bill will accomplish those goals.