Consumer Federation of America and the Danny Foundation Applaud the Introduction of Legislation to Reduce Infant Injuries and Deaths due to Unsafe Secondhand Cribs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 2, 2004
Contacts:
Rachel Weintraub, CFA
(202) 387-6121
Jack Walsh, Danny Foundation
(925) 683-6309

Senator Feinstein and Senator Fitzgerald Introduce Bill in the Senate Representative Tauscher and Representative Greenwood Introduce Bill in the House

Washington, DC - Consumer Federation of America (CFA) and the Danny Foundation applaud the introduction of legislation, The Infant Crib Safety Act (S. 2016/H.R. 3371) by Senators Dianne Feinstein and Peter Fitzgerald and Representatives Ellen Tauscher and Jim Greenwood to apply Consumer Product Safety standards to the commercial use or sale of dangerous secondhand cribs in order to protect infants.

"Parents and caregivers should never have to fear that the crib they are placing their child in may be hazardous and not meet current safety standards. Unfortunately, this is not now the case, especially with second hand cribs," stated Rachel Weintraub, Assistant General Counsel at Consumer Federation of America.

Currently, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission mandatory standards and industry voluntary standards apply only to new cribs sold on the market but fail to apply to the sale or commercial use of secondhand cribs; such uses are the cause of most crib-related injuries and deaths. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, every year, approximately 26 children die from injuries sustained in cribs and more than 11,500 children require hospital treatment for crib-related injuries.

"This legislation is urgently needed to keep potentially unsafe second hand cribs out of the market place. We applaud Senators Feinstein and Fitzgerald and Representatives Tauscher and Greenwood for introducing this life saving bill. We look forward to working with them and others to make this bill law," stated Jack Walsh, Executive Director of the Danny Foundation.

The Consumer Federation of America is a nonprofit association of 300 consumer groups, representing more than 50 million Americans, that was established in 1968 to advance the consumer interest through research, education, and advocacy. www.consumerfed.org

The Danny Foundation is The Danny Foundation is a national nonprofit organization established after the tragic injury of Danny Lineweaver of Alamo, California, who at the age of 23 months, was fatally injured while he was trying to climb out of his crib. Danny caught his shirt on a decorative knob on the corner post of his crib and hanged himself. Though his mother was able to perform CPR the moment she found him, Danny lived in a semi-comatose state for nine years and died in 1993. www.dannyfoundation.org