Congressional Record United States Th of America PROCEEDINGS and DEBATES of the 109 CONGRESS, FIRSTSESSION
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 109 CONGRESS, FIRSTSESSION Vol. 151 WASHINGTON, TUESDAY, APRIL 12, 2005 No. 42 House of Representatives The House met at 12:30 p.m. and was on top of her in the early morning Purchasing furniture ties or brack- called to order by the Speaker pro tem- while the rest of her family was sleep- ets. These should be screwed into both pore (Mr. BARRETT of South Carolina). ing. the wall, into a beam, and the fur- Meghan was a beautiful young girl f niture itself. If a wood beam is not ac- full of confidence and life. She leaves cessible, use mollies or toggle bolts to DESIGNATION OF SPEAKER PRO behind her twin brother Ryan, older give added strength; TEMPORE brother Kyle, and her parents Ralph Placing TVs on low, stable units with The SPEAKER pro tempore laid be- and Kimberly. Despite their sadness large bases and as far back as possible fore the House the following commu- and pain, Meghan’s parents are moving in the shelf. Secure all TV sets to the nication from the Speaker: forward, spreading a message to other wall. Devices are sold for this purpose; parents around the country. They are Anchoring freestanding bookcases, THE SPEAKER’S ROOMS, raising awareness about the impor- HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES no matter how large or small, to the Washington, DC, April 12, 2005. tance of preventing furniture tip-overs walls; I hereby appoint the Honorable J. GRESH- that can result in injury or death to Not placing heavy or other items of AM BARRETT to act as Speaker pro tempore children. interest to a child on top of the fur- on this day. Sadly, Meghan is not the first child niture or higher than a comfortable J. DENNIS HASTERT, to die from falling furniture, but the reach for the smallest child so as not Speaker of the House of Representatives. Becks hope that they can help prevent to entice them to climb for it; f this tragedy from happening to another Putting heavy items on the lowest child. The Consumer Product Safety shelf or drawer; MORNING HOUR DEBATES Commission estimates that 8,000 to And sharing this information with 10,000 children are injured each year The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursu- everyone you know. from furniture that falls or tips or ant to the order of the House of Janu- In addition, there are things the fur- from items on top of furniture or ary 4, 2005, the Chair will now recog- niture and retail industries can do, and shelves that fall off onto the child. An nize Members from lists submitted by the Becks have developed some excel- average of six children tragically die the majority and minority leaders for lent ideas. They include: each year, as Meghan did. morning hour debates. The Chair will Encouraging all stores that sell fur- alternate recognition between the par- Through a Web site titled Meghan’s Hope, her parents are bringing together niture to also provide literature on fur- ties, with each party limited to not to niture safety and to sell the safety exceed 30 minutes, and each Member, fellow American families who have suf- fered pain from the loss or injury of a straps; except the majority leader, the minor- Encouraging all furniture manufac- ity leader, or the minority whip, lim- child to spread the word about fur- niture safety. The mission of Meghan’s turers to voluntarily include warning ited to not to exceed 5 minutes. labels on furniture and information on The Chair recognizes the gentleman Hope is to make available resources and information regarding furniture the dangers of furniture tip-overs, rec- from Massachusetts (Mr. MCGOVERN) ommending that the buyer secure the for 5 minutes. safety. Via the Web site, parents from piece to the wall with the proper re- f around the country have a place to straining devices. Ideally, the manu- share stories, thoughts and ideas with facturer would provide this informa- EXPRESSING DEEP SADNESS AT tion with the furniture until safety THE TRAGIC DEATH OF MEGHAN one another. Thanks to Ralph and Kimberly Beck’s efforts, awareness is standard legislation is developed; AGNES BECK AND THANKING Encouraging stores that sell child THE BECK FAMILY FOR THEIR rising; and more parents are taking note of the importance of securing fur- safety products to also sell furniture EFFORTS ON BEHALF OF CHIL- safety straps. Many do not carry them, DREN’S SAFETY niture around the house. The Web site offers several helpful including large department stores and Mr. MCGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I rise suggestions for families. These include: home improvement stores; today with deep sadness at the tragic Securing furniture to the walls to And encouraging physicians and death of Meghan Agnes Beck of Ster- prevent tip-overs. This includes dress- child safety instructors to discuss fur- ling, Massachusetts. Meghan died on ers, bookcases, entertainment cabinets, niture safety with parents. December 18, 2004, at the young age of TVs, toy boxes, large appliances, or Mr. Speaker, through this terrible 3 years old. She died from injuries sus- any piece of furniture with shelves or loss, the Beck family has shown great tained as a result of her dresser falling drawers that can be climbed on; strength and determination to spread b This symbol represents the time of day during the House proceedings, e.g., b 1407 is 2:07 p.m. Matter set in this typeface indicates words inserted or appended, rather than spoken, by a Member of the House on the floor. H1853 . VerDate Aug 31 2005 05:46 Nov 16, 2006 Jkt 059060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 7634 Sfmt 0634 E:\RECORDCX\T37X$J0E\H12AP5.REC H12AP5 CCOLEMAN on PROD1PC71 with CONG-REC-ONLINE H1854 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE April 12, 2005 their message. As parents we have an to mention the fact that terrorists The Cargo Theft Prevention Act pro- awesome responsibility to protect our have a proven record of using trucks to poses to finally give law enforcement children, and we must not take this re- either smuggle weapons of mass de- officials and lawmakers the common- sponsibility lightly. While I am deeply struction or as an instrument of deliv- sense tools they need to combat the saddened by the loss of Meghan Beck, I ery. costly and growing crime of cargo commend the entire family for their ef- Make no mistake about it, cargo theft. I urge my colleagues to support forts in spreading their message. theft is a big business, and business is this legislation. I urge my colleagues to visit the booming. f Becks’ Web site at But despite the incredible costs and THE WASHINGTON LOBBYISTS www.meghanshope.org. There they can high stakes involved, we still have not learn more about the important issue been able to come up with an effective The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursu- of furniture safety and what can be way to fight cargo theft. The trouble ant to the order of the House of Janu- done to prevent more tragedies from is, cargo theft is not well-known or a ary 4, 2005, the gentleman from Ohio occurring. high-profile issue. And one of the rea- (Mr. BROWN) is recognized during morn- I know that our colleague, the gen- sons that cargo theft does not receive ing hour debates for 5 minutes. tlewoman from Pennsylvania (Ms. the attention it deserves is because Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, it SCHWARTZ), is also concerned about very little information exists con- is springtime, and Major League Base- this issue; and I look forward to work- cerning the problem. For example, ball is coming to Washington. The ing with her closely to see what Con- there currently is no all-inclusive data- thing is, though, I am not sure they got gress can do to help. base that collects, contains, or proc- the name right. They are calling the I am certain that the entire House of esses distinct information and data re- team the Washington Nationals. Not a Representatives joins me in sending garding cargo theft. bad name, but I always thought the their deepest condolences to the Beck In order to combat the growing prob- name should reflect the true character family and in thanking them for their lem of cargo theft, I have introduced of a city. The right choice is obvious: effort on behalf of our children’s safe- legislation, the Cargo Theft Prevention the new team’s name should be the ty. Act, which proposes commonsense so- Washington Lobbyists. The Washington Lobbyists and their f lutions to this widespread crime. My legislation would require the creation Republican allies would play under new rules of the game. FIGHTING CARGO THEFT of just such a database, providing a Rule number one: pay to play. You The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursu- valuable source of information that cannot step on the field unless you ant to the order of the House of Janu- would allow State and local law en- ante up. But in the land where cash is ary 4, 2005, the gentleman from Florida forcement officials to coordinate re- king, that is just the start. For a mod- (Mr. STEARNS) is recognized during ports of cargo theft. This information est added contribution, a batter can morning hour debates for 5 minutes. could then be used to help fight this shrink the strike zone, replace the tra- Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise theft in everyday law enforcement and ditional hardball with a more respon- today to tell my colleagues and the estimating, and very importantly, esti- sive tennis ball, or move the pitcher country about a problem that has mating the exact cost of this crime.