Bill Pascrell: “it is a travesty when this Congress puts the interests of an industry over the interests of our citizens. I am ashamed…”

“it is a travesty when this Congress puts the interests of an industry over the interests of our citizens. I am ashamed that this is what is happening today. This rule not only subjects fire retardant standards for children's sleepwear to a point of order, but includes a special interest provision by the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Wicker) which would delay flammability standards for upholstered furniture. Mr. Speaker, this provision is not a good faith compromise. This is a provision which was drafted by the special interests, with no input from the Consumer Product Safety Commission or the National Association of State Fire Marshals. Yet, the staff of the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Wicker) felt they could tell other staffs that the fire marshals had accepted this compromise. Untrue. This is a serious problem here, just another example of misrepresenting this issue. We cannot put the upholstered furniture industry's interest above the public interest. I strongly urge my colleagues to oppose this rule and demand that the Consumer Product Safety Commission be allowed to continue their work on flammability standards and children's sleepwear. Say ``no'' to the $16 billion upholstery furniture industry. Say ``yes'' to saving lives and preventing fires.”