Children's Product Safety
I introduced H.R. 2211, the "Stop Tip-overs of Unstable, Risky Dressers on Youth Act" or the "STURDY Act," to direct the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to issue a consumer product safety standard for clothing storage units to prevent them from tipping over onto children.
We need commonsense gun safety legislation to address America’s gun violence epidemic. Last week, I joined Vice President Kamala Harris, Moms Demand Action, and other gun safety advocates at Everytown for Gun Safety’s annual conference to demand greater action on gun control. Gun safety laws are vital to saving lives in our community and nationwide, and I am so thankful to the advocates in my district who are helping lead the charge. The conference took place the same day that Illinois’ Supreme Court upheld our ban on the sale of assault weapons. I am proud of my home state.
Last week, Republican chaos resulted in an early start to the August work period, leaving 11 appropriations bills to be discussed when we get back to Washington next month. To pass the budget on time, all these bills must be signed into law by the end of September. Unfortunately, many of my Republican colleagues would rather facilitate a government shutdown than support pragmatic policies in these must-pass bills.
As a longtime consumer advocate, I have worked very closely with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), which is tasked with keeping the public safe from consumer products that pose an unreasonable risk of injury or death. In addition to its own work, the CPSC relies on online marketplaces, like Meta, to keep consumers safe by preventing the posting for sale of products that are known to be dangerous.
I hope you and your family are taking time to enjoy the holiday season! With so much going on right now, it helps to take a step back and reflect on all the good things in the world.
This past week, we held leadership elections for the 118th Congress. I would like to congratulate Minority Leader-designate Hakeem Jeffries, Whip-designate Katherine Clark, and Chairman-designate Pete Aguilar. I have the utmost confidence in our new leaders, who truly epitomize the great diversity of our nation.
Welcome to the 118th Congress! In all my years in Congress, I have never experienced a week quite like last week. Instead of fighting for the American people, Republicans spent the week fighting against each other. Now that we finally have a Speaker of the House, and I have officially been sworn in for the 118th Congress, I can finally continue my work on behalf of Illinois’ 9th Congressional District.
There is no doubt in my mind that President Joe Biden will go down in history as one of the most consequential presidents of all time. In his one term in office, President Biden created more jobs than any previous administration in the same time span. He lowered prescription drug prices and capped insulin for Medicare beneficiaries at $35 a month. He made the largest ever investment in our climate. He fought for every American – he advocated for workers’ rights, and championed LGBTQ+ and women’s rights. I thank President Biden for his decades of unrelenting service.