WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) – chairman and member of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Manufacturing, Trade and Consumer Protection – sent a letter urging the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to take action to better protect children from injuries and deaths caused by consumer products while at home during the pandemic.

Reports indicate that doctors across the nation are witnessing a marked increase in children being treated for injuries suffered at home. These injuries include broken bones—often caused by injuries on bikes and trampolines—burns and accidental poisonings. In addition, calls to poison control centers made on behalf of children who have swallowed cleaning products and disinfectants have increased over 20 percent during the pandemic, with children 5 and younger accounting for the largest number of cases.

“Even before the pandemic began, unintentional injuries were the leading cause of death for children in the United States,” the senators wrote. “These injuries lead to approximately 12,000 child deaths and 9.2 million emergency department visits each year. The incidence of at-home injuries suffered by children has only increased since the pandemic began.

“For this reason, we introduced the bipartisan COVID–19 Home Safety Act of 2020, which directs the CPSC to provide Congress with information regarding the incidence of injuries and deaths from consumer products suffered by vulnerable populations—including children—and work with the media to distribute information to help educate families and increase child safety in the home. While we understand that the CPSC is taking action to educate consumers about home safety, more must be done to protect children during the pandemic.”

Earlier this month, Sens. Moran and Klobuchar introduced legislation to protect consumers from injuries and deaths during the coronavirus pandemic. The COVID-19 Home Safety Act requires the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to launch a comprehensive study on injuries and deaths caused by consumer products during the coronavirus pandemic and passed the Senate Commerce Committee this week.

In July, Sens. Moran and Klobuchar led a letter urging the FTC to protect seniors from contact tracing scams following reports that scammers were posing as contact tracers in an attempt to financially exploit consumers and steal their personal identifying information, such as Social Security numbers and credit card numbers. The letter also urged the FTC to commit to taking action to better educate and assist seniors in recognizing legitimate contact tracing and understanding their recourse options should they fall victim to these scams.

In May, Sens. Moran and Klobuchar introduced legislation to protect seniors from scams during the coronavirus pandemic, which passed the Senate Commerce Committee this week. The Protecting Seniors from Emergency Scams Act directs the Federal Trade Commission to report to Congress on scams targeting seniors during the coronavirus pandemic and make recommendations on how to prevent future scams during emergencies. In March, Klobuchar and Moran led a bipartisan letter with 32 colleagues urging FTC Chairman Joseph Simons to protect seniors from coronavirus-related scams, better inform consumers about scams, and assist victims in understanding their recourse options to ensure that seniors are protected from those attempting to financially exploit them during the pandemic.

The full letter can be found here or below.

Dear Acting Chairman Adler:

We write to express our concerns regarding the increase in home injuries and accidental poisonings suffered by children during the pandemic and to request that the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) take steps to ensure that children are kept safe from injuries while at home.

As families continue to work and learn from home during the pandemic, reports indicate that doctors across the nation are witnessing a marked increase in children being treated for injuries suffered at home. These injuries include broken bones—often caused by injuries on bikes and trampolines—burns, and accidental poisonings. Calls to poison control centers made on behalf of children who have swallowed cleaning products and disinfectants have increased over 20 percent during the pandemic, with children 5 and younger accounting for the largest number of cases. Poison control centers have also reported thousands of cases of hand sanitizer poisoning in children 12 and younger.

Even before the pandemic began, unintentional injuries were the leading cause of death for children in the United States. These injuries lead to approximately 12,000 child deaths and 9.2 million emergency department visits each year. The incidence of at-home injuries suffered by children has only increased since the pandemic began.

For this reason, we introduced the bipartisan COVID–19 Home Safety Act of 2020, which directs the CPSC to provide Congress with information regarding the incidence of injuries and deaths from consumer products suffered by vulnerable populations—including children—and work with the media to distribute information to help educate families and increase child safety in the home. While we understand that the CPSC is taking action to educate consumers about home safety, more must be done to protect children during the pandemic.

We urge the CPSC to take action to better educate and inform families about how to protect their children at home and collaborate with the media to share this critical information with parents. We also respectfully request that you respond to the following questions:

1. What steps is the CPSC taking to help prevent incidents of child injury at home during the pandemic?

2. What data has the CPSC collected on the number of children involved in at-home accidents since the pandemic began?

3. What actions has the CPSC taken to collaborate with the media and other federal and state agencies to help educate parents about the risk of child injuries at-home during the pandemic and ways that parents can mitigate this risk?

4. Does the CPSC need additional resources to investigate the increase in child injuries during the pandemic and take appropriate measures to help educate parents about how to better protect their children at home?

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. We look forward to your response.

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