Schakowsky, Blumenthal & Colleagues Probe Fisher-Price Over Deadly Infant Rockers
“The prolonged period over which these deaths occurred, and the delay in getting this information to consumers—possibly resulting in more deaths—once again raises significant concerns with how your company values the safety of our children.”
WASHINGTON – Today, Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Chair of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce, and U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Chair of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security, led a group of 13 Members of Congress in demanding answers from Fisher-Price after rockers made by the company have been linked to at least 13 infant deaths between 2009 and 2021. Last week, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued a warning about the hazards posed by two types of Fisher-Price rockers linked to at least 13 infant deaths between 2009 and 2021.
"[W]e have questions about how Fisher Price handled product and death reports, and why this information failed to reach the CPSC sooner," wrote the Members of Congress in a letter to Fisher-Price parent company Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz. "It is also apparent that Fisher Price, even after CPSC was made aware of infant deaths, sought to delay release of this data to the public. CPSC Commissioner Richard Trumka, Jr. stated that CPSC ‘fought an uphill battle to release this information to warn parents and caregivers.' This is unacceptable."
In their letter, the Members of Congress emphasized the need to strengthen CPSC authority so that warnings about dangerous products and their recalls can be issued more swiftly, writing: "Fisher Price's actions, or inactions, make a perfect case for why CPSC's authority to issue recalls and warnings for consumers, independent of manufacturers, needs to be strengthened and reformed."
U.S. Representatives Bobby Rush (D-IL), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Ro Khanna (D-CA), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Jahana Hayes (D-CT), Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), Lori Trahan (D-MA), and Don Beyer Jr. (D-VA), and U.S. Senators Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), and Bob Menendez (D-NJ) signed on to the letter.
The full text of today's letter can be found here.
###