Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise to urge my colleagues to support this en bloc amendment, which includes mine and Representative Porter's amendment to improve booster seat safety. In December, my Oversight Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy released a concerning report on the safety of booster seats for children. Booster seatmakers have been marketing their booster seats as safe for 30-pound children, a standard not recommended by experts. And these makers have been left largely unregulated when it comes to side- impact testing. Some makers gave passing grades to booster seats because the seat maintained its structural integrity. Meanwhile, the dummy was damaged. And we all know what a damaged dummy equates to: The severe spinal cord or other injuries to a child. We expect the products we buy to be tried and true, but, sadly, that is not the case with booster seats. And when it comes to our children, we cannot continue to stand idly by. My amendment would require NHTSA to revise their recommended minimum weight for a booster seat to 40 pounds, and would require booster seatmakers to produce labels that display recommendations clearly for parents.”