Today, the U.S. House passed a number of important children’s product safety bills that would protect children from hazardous products by an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote of 325 to 103. The Stop Tip-overs of Unstable, Risky Dressers on Youth (STURDY) Act (H.R.1314), sponsored by Rep. Jan Schakowsky (IL-9) will direct the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to create and finalize a mandatory standard to help prevent tip-over incidents involving dressers and other clothing storage furniture. According to the CPSC, a child is sent to the emergency department every 60 minutes following a furniture tip-over incident, and one to two children die every month.

The House passed The Safe Sleep for Babies Act of 2021 (H.R.3182), sponsored by Rep. Tony Cárdenas (CA-29) and Rep. Schakowsky and which will protect infants from sleep-related deaths by prohibiting the manufacture, sale, and distribution of padded crib bumpers and infant inclined sleep products. Crib bumpers and inclined sleepers are inherently unsafe products that have led to dozens of infant deaths and are inconsistent with the American Academy of Pediatrics’ safe sleep guidelines. The House has previously passed both The STURDY Act and The Safe Sleep for Babies Act.

The House also passed the Pandemic Effects on Home Safety and Tourism Act (H.R.3752), sponsored by Rep. Cárdenas which will require the CPSC to study the effect of the COVID–19 pandemic on injuries and deaths associated with consumer products and to direct the Secretary of Commerce to study and report on the effects of the COVID–19 pandemic on the travel and tourism industry in the United States.

KID is now calling on the U.S. Senate to immediately pass these bills and for President Biden to sign them into law to prevent children from dying and getting injured from hazardous products.

“It is heartening to see these vital safety bills be passed on a bipartisan basis in the House,” stated Nancy Cowles, Executive Director of KID. “Safe sleep, stable furniture, and attention to hazards that increased during the pandemic will ensure a safer future for our children. Thanks to the sponsors of these lifesaving bills.”

View KID’s joint statement with Consumer Federation of America and Public Citizen here.