109th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6141
To direct the Consumer Product Safety Commission to require certain
manufacturers to provide consumer product registration forms to facilitate
recalls of durable infant and toddler products.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 21, 2006
Ms. SCHAKOWSKY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce
A BILL
To direct the Consumer Product Safety Commission to require certain
manufacturers to provide consumer product registration forms to facilitate
recalls of durable infant and toddler products.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `Child Product Safety Notification Act'.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Unintentional injuries are the leading cause of death among children,
and for every such injury that is fatal, approximately 18 children are
hospitalized and 1,250 are treated by emergency departments for such injuries
that are nonfatal.
(2) According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, an average of
50 children under the age of 5 die each year in incidents associated with
nursery products, and about 16 of these deaths each year are associated
with cribs.
(3) In 2003, an estimated 60,700 children under the age of 5 were treated
in United States hospital emergency rooms for injuries associated with
nursery products, and there were 10,700 injuries to children under the
age of 5 years associated with strollers alone.
(4) Of the 397 recalls issued by the Consumer Product Safety Commission
in fiscal year 2005, 109 (or 28 percent) were children's products. Children's
products were recalled, on average, over 2 times per week, and accounted
for 19,635,627 individual units.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
(1) COMMISSION- The term `Commission' means the Consumer Product Safety
Commission.
(2) DURABLE INFANT OR TODDLER PRODUCT- The term `durable infant or toddler
product'--
(A) means a durable product intended for use, or that may be reasonably
expected to be used, by children under the age of 5 years; and
(i) full-size cribs and nonfull-size cribs;
(iii) high chairs, booster chairs, and hook-on chairs;
(v) gates and other enclosures for confining a child;
(vii) stationary activity centers;
(xii) bassinets and cradles; and
(xiii) children's folding chairs.
SEC. 4. CONSUMER PRODUCT REGISTRATION FORMS.
(a) Rulemaking- Not later than 270 days after the date of enactment of this
Act, the Commission shall, pursuant to its authority under section 16(b)
of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2065(b)), promulgate a final
consumer product safety standard under section 7 of such Act (15 U.S.C.
2056) to require manufacturers of durable infant or toddler products--
(1) to provide consumers with a postage-paid consumer registration form
with each such product;
(2) to maintain a record of the names, addresses, email addresses, and
other contact information of consumers who register their ownership of
such products with the manufacturer in order to improve the effectiveness
of manufacturer campaigns to recall such products; and
(3) to permanently place the manufacturer name and contact information,
model name and number, and the date of manufacture on each durable infant
or toddler product.
(b) Requirements for Registration Form- The registration form required to
be provided to consumers under subsection (a) shall--
(1) include spaces for a consumer to provide their name, address, telephone
number, and email address;
(2) include space sufficiently large to permit easy, legible recording
of all desired information;
(3) be attached to the surface of each durable infant or toddler product
so that, as a practical matter, the consumer must notice and handle the
form after purchasing the product;
(4) include the manufacturer's name, model name and number for the product,
and the date of manufacture;
(5) include a message explaining the purpose of the registration and designed
to encourage consumers to complete the registration;
(6) include an option for consumers to register through the Internet;
and
(7) a statement that information provided by the consumer shall not be
used for any purpose other than to facilitate a recall of or safety alert
regarding that product.
In issuing regulations under this section, the Commission may prescribe
the exact text and format of the required registration form.
(c) Record Keeping and Notification Requirements- The standard required
under this section shall require each manufacturer of a durable infant or
toddler product to maintain a record of registrants for each product manufactured
that includes all of the information provided by each consumer registered,
and to use such information to notify such consumers in the event of a voluntary
or involuntary recall of or safety alert regarding such product. Each manufacturer
shall maintain such a record for a period of not less than 6 years after
the date of manufacture of the product. Consumer information collected by
a manufacturer under this Act may not be used by the manufacturer, nor disseminated
by such manufacturer to any other party, for any purpose other than notification
to such consumer in the event of a product recall or safety alert.
(d) Study- The Commission shall conduct a study at such time as it considers
appropriate on the effectiveness of the consumer registration forms in facilitating
product recalls. Upon the conclusion of such study, the Commission shall
report its findings to Congress.
END
