Statement of Congressman John D. Dingell, Chairman
Committee on Energy and Commerce

SUBCOMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, TRADE AND CONSUMER PROTECTION MARKUP ON CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY FOR CHILDREN:
H.R. 814, H.R. 1699, H.R. 2474, AND H.R. 1721

July 31, 2007

Chairman Rush, you have shown yourself to be a champion of children’s product safety. I very much appreciate all the work that the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection has done -- and will continue to do this session -- in this critical area.

The bills we consider today will help to protect children from injury or death by preventing a host of accidents, such as drowning and severe burns -- some so horrible that they are hard to talk about.

As I said last spring when the Subcommittee held hearings on children’s product safety, a country’s highest responsibility is to protect its children. Guided by your leadership, we are taking important steps to pass critical legislation that begins to fulfill that responsibility.

I also appreciate the bipartisan spirit in which this Subcommittee has approached children’s product safety and the four bills before us today. I want to thank Ranking Member Barton, Ranking Member Stearns, and my friends on the Minority side for working to improve the bills and agreeing to the amendments that we will consider today. We all share the goal of moving these bills through the legislative process as quickly as possible to ensure swift enactment of stronger laws to protect America’s children.

Once again, thank you Chairman Rush for holding this markup and your leadership on children’s safety.

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