KID joins consumer, health, and medical groups in calling on Senators to pass STURDY Act.

September 9, 2020

Dear Senator:

As organizations dedicated to children’s health and safety, we write to express our strong support for S.1902, the Stop Tip-overs of Unstable, Risky Dressers on Youth (STURDY) Act.

The STURDY Act would direct the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to create a mandatory clothing storage unit standard to help prevent furniture tip-overs. According to the CPSC, a child is sent to the emergency department every 56 minutes following a furniture tip- over incident. Stronger product testing and safety requirements could prevent fatalities and serious injuries.

This bipartisan bill is critically important because it would establish a strong mandatory standard for furniture stability. The STURDY Act would require the CPSC to create a mandatory rule that would: cover all clothing storage units, including those 30 inches in height or shorter; require testing to simulate the weights of children up to 72 months old; require testing measures to account for scenarios involving carpeting, loaded drawers, multiple open drawers, and the dynamic force of a climbing child; mandate strong warning requirements; and require the CPSC to issue a mandatory safety standard within one year of enactment. We need a strong mandatory standard to protect children from furniture tip-overs, and the STURDY Act includes those critically needed provisions.

We urge you to support the STURDY Act by becoming a co-sponsor and voting in favor of the bill as it moves through the Senate.

Sincerely,

Alaska PIRG
Alliance for Strong Families and Communities American Academy of Pediatrics
Anchoring for Allie
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago Another Day, Another “Chance”
Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs Brain Injury Association of America
Charlie’s House
Children’s Advocacy Institute
Consumer Federation of America
Consumer Federation of California
Consumer Reports
Cribs for Kids, Inc.
First Focus Campaign for Children
Kids In Danger
KidsAndCars.org
Maddie’s Message
Meghan’s Hope
MomsRising
National PTA
Parents Against Tip-overs
Public Citizen
Safe Kids Illinois and Chicago
Safe Kids Worldwide
Safe States Alliance
Shane’s Foundation, NFP
Society for the Advancement of Violence and Injury Research (SAVIR)
Sudden Infant Death Services of Illinois, Inc.
The Lifted, LLC
The Ounce of Prevention Fund
Virginia Citizens Consumer Council