Representatives Krishnamoorthi & Porter Introduce Booster Seat Safety Act In Response To Their Investigation Which Revealed Misleading Safety Claims From Manufacturers

Statement

Today, Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, Chairman of the Oversight Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy, and Congresswoman Katie Porter introduced the Booster Seat Safety Act to address the dangers they revealed in their December 2020 report on the safety gaps in the booster seat industry. In their report, the members uncovered that leading booster seat manufacturers knew that booster seats are unsafe for children under 40 pounds but continued to market their use for children as light as 30 pounds. At the same time, a number of the companies touted that their booster seats had been side impact tested even though the manufacturers created their own testing conditions that set standards so low that the seats passed every time -- even when crashes would lead to catastrophic injuries. Motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of death among children in the United States.

The Booster Seat Safety Act would address these issues through implementing clear standards for booster seat labeling and safety testing. To address the misleading claims made by manufacturers and the risks associated with children under 40 pounds and 4 years of age using booster seats, the bill would mandate clear labeling of these safety recommendations. To address the issues surrounding booster seat side impact testing and the claims of manufacturers, the legislation requires the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to issue standards for the near-side and far-side side impact testing of booster seats while also providing guidelines for the creation of a new testing dummy specifically designed for six-year-old children.

"As Chairman of the Oversight Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy, I led the investigation into booster seat safety, and I was deeply concerned with the safety standard gaps present in the booster seat industry and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration." Congressman Krishnamoorthi said. "Our investigation highlighted the potential for serious injury and death due to inadequate booster seat safety standards. As parents, we expect all booster seats to be safe, but sadly, that is not the case. To help parents, Congress must regulate the booster seat industry to provide accurate safety recommendations and testing data on their products. As a parent of three children, I want nothing more than the complete safety of every child in America."

"Parents have enough to worry about; they shouldn't have to think twice about whether their kid's booster seat is safe," said Rep. Porter. "There's ample evidence that some of the top booster seat manufacturers have been putting young children at risk by deceiving families about the safety of their products. Rep. Krishnamoorthi and I launched a Subcommittee investigation to hold these companies accountable, and today we introduced common-sense legislation to better protect kids and prevent this kind of abuse in the future."

The Booster Seat Safety Act does the following:

Labeling
Requires manufacturers to place clear labels on booster seats, car seats, and combination car seats. Booster seat labels shall note the recommendations for children to be over 4 years old and over 40 pounds.
Provides that NHTSA recommend the minimum height required for booster seats or a method by which a booster seat manufacture determines the minimum height required for booster seats. Subsequently, requires that minimum height recommendation be included in the booster seat label created by this bill.
Side-Impact Crash Testing
Requires NHTSA to issue regulations on side-impact crash testing for booster seats, including both near-side impact and far-side impact testing.
Requires NHTSA to provide guidelines for the creation of a 6-year-old testing dummy for the side-impact crash testing.
"When travelling with their children, families want to do everything possible to keep their children safe and protect them from life-threatening injuries. The Booster Seat Safety Act would help protect young children and save lives by ensuring booster seats meet strong and consistent safety standards. The American Academy of Pediatrics commends Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) for his dedication to this issue and looks forward to the bill's advancement," said AAP President Lee Savio Beers, MD, FAAP.

Cathy Chase, President of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety (Advocates) said, "Motor vehicle crashes are among the leading causes of death for young children. Properly restraining a child according to their size and weight in the rear seat of a vehicle is vital to reducing the risk of injury or death when a crash happens. Advocates applauds Representatives Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) and Katie Porter (D-CA) for introducing the Booster Seat Safety Act which improves age, size and weight guideline labeling for the use of booster seats to provide clarity for parents and caregivers. It also requires the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to address critical safety gaps in our nation's crash testing program for booster seat effectiveness during side impact crashes, among other upgrades. Children are our most precious passengers. We can and must advance commonsense countermeasures to ensure that they are protected in crashes."

"From seatbelts to airbags, Allstate has been a longtime advocate for making our roads safer for drivers and passengers alike," said Saat Alety, Allstate's Director of Federal Legislative and Regulatory Affairs. "We're proud to support the Booster Seat Safety Act to help better educate parents and better protect their children. We thank Rep. Krishnamoorthi for his ongoing commitment to a safer society."

"To keep our youngest passengers safe, they must be properly secured in age and size-appropriate car seats. The National Safety Council has long advocated for and educated countless people toward this end. We applaud Cong. Krishnamoorthi's leadership on this issue and are pleased to support this legislation to ensure that size and weight requirements are clearly communicated to caregivers and that improvements are made to car seat testing standards." -- Tammy Franks, Senior Program Manager, Mobility Safety, National Safety Council

"Expanding booster seat crash safety tests and improving booster seat labeling will save lives and prevent serious injury," said Vaun Cleveland, Director of Federal Affairs, National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies. "The Booster Seat Safety Act is an example of lawmakers identifying a problem and drafting thoughtful legislation that will have an immediate impact on child safety."

Endorsing Organizations: American Academy of Pediatrics, Center for Auto Safety, Consumer Federation of America, Safe Kids Worldwide, Allstate, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, National Safety Council, Nationwide, Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD), Kids In Danger, American Property Casualty Insurance Association, Families for Safe Streets, State Farm, Amica Mutual Insurance Company, Kids and Car Safety, Society for the Advancement of Violence and Injury Research, National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC), American Family Insurance, California Coalition for Children's Safety and Health (CCCSH), Consumer Reports

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