KID joins 83 consumer and health organizations calling on Congress to pass STURDY Act.
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
March 18, 2021
Dear Senator/Representative,
The STURDY Act would 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 furniture industry’s current voluntary standard has not done nearly enough to reduce tip-overs and stem this terrible toll on American families. Moreover, at least one child has died from a tip-over involving a dresser that met the voluntary standard. This voluntary standard lacks key provisions to make furniture sufficiently stable. The STURDY Act would require stronger product testing and safety requirements, and would prevent child fatalities and injuries.
Under this bipartisan bill, the CPSC would be required to issue a mandatory safety standard for the stability of dressers and other clothing storage units within one year of enactment. The new rule would require testing to simulate the weights of children up to 72 months old; require testing measures to account for scenarios involving carpeting, drawers with items in them, multiple open drawers, and the dynamic forces of a climbing child; and mandate strong warning requirements. These provisions would significantly improve on the current voluntary standard by better representing the real-world risks children face from furniture tip-overs. Parents and caregivers need a strong mandatory standard to protect children from furniture tip-overs, and the STURDY Act would direct the CPSC to implement one quickly.
We urge you to support the STURDY Act by becoming a co-sponsor of the bill, encouraging its consideration, and voting in its favor. Together, we can help prevent any more children from dying or being injured from furniture tip-overs.
Sincerely,
National Organizations:
American Academy of Pediatrics
Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs
Brain Injury Association of America
Center for Justice & Democracy
Child Injury Prevention Alliance
Children’s Advocacy Institute
Columbia University Center for Injury Science and Prevention
Consumer Federation of America
Consumer Reports
Cribs for Kids, Inc.
First Focus Campaign for Children
Injury Free Coalition for Kids
Jahmeyka Project Inc
Kids In Danger
Maddie’s Message
Meghan’s Hope
MomsRising
National PTA
Parents Against Tipovers
Public Citizen
Safe Kids Worldwide
Safe States Alliance
Shane’s Foundation, NFP
State and Local Organizations:
Alaska PIRG
American Academy of Pediatrics, Hawaii Chapter
Anchoring for Allie
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago
Another Day, Another “Chance”
Beaumont Health-Royal Oak
California Chapter 1, American Academy of Pediatrics
Charlie’s House
Columbia Consumer Education Council
Conner’s Legacy Foundation, Inc
Consumer Federation of America -NJ
Consumer Federation of California
Consumer Federation of California
Empire State Consumer Project
HarperSmiles Inc.
Illinois Action For Children
MN Emergency Medical Services for Children Program
American Academy of Pediatrics New York Chapter 2
American Academy of Pediatrics New York Chapter 3
Rhode Island Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics
Safe Kids Anderson County, SC
Safe Kids Cleveland County
Safe Kids Cowley County, Kansas
Safe Kids Delaware
Safe kids Fargo-Moorhead, ND
Safe Kids Fayette County
Safe Kids Grand Forks, ND
Safe Kids Greater Augusta led by the Children’s Hospital of Georgia
Safe Kids Greater Cleveland, OH
Safe Kids Greater Dayton, OH
Safe Kids Greater Sacramento
Safe Kids Greater Tampa, FL
Safe Kids Hawaii
Safe Kids Indiana
Safe Kids Larimer County, CO
Safe Kids Los Angeles West, CA
Safe Kids Loess Hills, IA
Safe Kids Minot
Safe Kids Middlesex County, NJ
Safe Kids Minnesota
Safe Kids Missoula Coalition
Safe Kids Montana
Safe Kids New Jersey
Safe Kids North Carolina
Safe Kids Northwest Metro Minneapolis, MN
Safe Kids Orange County, California
Safe Kids Palm Beach County
Safe Kids Rhode Island
Safe Kids Santa Clara/San Mateo
Safe Kids SE Wisconsin
Safe Kids Tulsa, OK
Safe Kids Utah
Safe Kids Wilkes County
Safe Kids Wisconsin
Safe Kids Wood and Clark County
Sudden Infant Death Services of Illinois, Inc.
The LifTed, LLC
UMass Memorial Health Care
UNC Trauma Center
Virginia Citizens Consumer Council
Wisconsin Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]