 And we are live in 321 morning and welcome to this public meeting of the consumer product safety commission. Today, we are considering a staff draft final rule to improve the safety of clothing storage units. This is an important role and a major moment in the commission's efforts to establish safety requirements to prevent clothing storage unit to voters. Many people here in CPSC and outside the agency were tirelessly to get us to this point and I appreciate all their work. We're going to start with any questions for the staff. If there are any, we have several staff members present the event. There are questions with ours with us are Kristen Talcott project manager division of human factors directorate of engineering sciences. Meredith Kelsch turning the regulatory affairs division general counsel's office also in attendance. Our Alex must go so associate executive director director for economic analysis. Dwayne Boniface, assistant executive director, Jason Levine, executive director, Austin Schlich, general counsel and Alberta Mills. Commission secretary each commissioner will have up to 5 minutes for questions comments and after questions are complete. We'll consider any amendments. Once again, I remind everyone that while it's perfectly permissible to voice our personal issues, personal opinions on legal issues. It is not appropriate to discuss any legal advice given to us by the general counsel's office outside of executive session. The legal advice we receive must remain confidential that we're going to turn to the questions for staff. I don't have any at this. I don't have any commissioner Felman. Do you have questions? Thank you, Mr chairman. I do not have any questions at this time. Commissioner Trump, thank you, Mr. Chair. I have none and commissioner Boyle and thank you. I have none either. Hearing no questions, staff is excused and we will begin consideration of the package that's before us. Now, I'm going to entertain any amendments to the draft post rule that is before us. Go in order. Commissioner Felman, you have an amendment. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I do have an amendment and would ask that we call up. C O P F 1 for consideration is there a second is amendment. I second the amendment having heard a second will now move to consideration of this amendment. Other commissioners will ask any questions or. Make any comments, respect this amendment provide an opportunity to. Commissioner Felman to close if you want to start by giving us 3 minutes on an explanation on the amendment. I appreciate it. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. So today we are proposing major changes to the final rule beyond what was initially. Released for public comment and in issued notice on and given the significance of the changes and what I believe is the almost certain likelihood that this rule is going to be challenged in court. I would urge my colleagues to adopt my amendment, which in my view would help mitigate some of these risks. I want to make it clear I've supported and continue to support action to improve safety, whether it's commission action on a final rule, or whether it's action in response to congressional direction in. 2019, for example, I supported expediting this rule making to move forward with the NPR when other commissioners would have continued down the path of an action. And my amendment to proceed with the NPR was adopted in the F by 2020 performance budget and later became part of that year's operating plan. An absent that direction, I believe it's possible that CPSC would still be studying this matter with no resolution in sight. However, as I said at the time, it was my hope that stakeholders, including families of victims and furniture manufacturers and others would work together to find a consensus solution. And now I'm pleased to see that we have multiple paths forward available to us to solve this problem so that no other families are going to face the horrific loss that accompanies this particular. risk. And it appears based on the conversations that I've had with the families and with Congress that the study act may in fact be that consensus solution. It's already received unanimous support in the United States Senate. And if consensus legislations at hand, we're going to be in a stronger position moving forward under that authority given the work that all involved with put to put options on the table. I'm concerned that that we not move forward without first addressing what I believe are the obvious legal vulnerabilities that would subject this rulemaking to reversal or delay in implementation. If it were to get challenged in court. I think that issuing a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking as my Max would serve a dual purpose improving the legal foundations of our final rule and giving us time to see what happens in Congress with study. I've heard from stakeholders on all sides of the issue that for the 1st time in a long time, there's consensus around the version of study that passed the US Senate again unanimously. So, Mr. Chairman, I'd like to ask unanimous consent also to enter into the record a letter that I received signed by parents against tip overs and kids in danger. The home furnishing alliance consumer reports. The American Academy of Pediatrics and others encouraging the immediate passage of the study. But also offering some mixed reviews about the effectiveness of our proposal. Can you share the letter? Because I don't think we. I will send her on the copy of it for the record. But I've also heard directly from victims, families supported the study act because they believe that a federal law. Enacted by Congress and signed by the president would be stronger than the agency's rulemaking by itself. And of course, that's true, especially given what we now know about final agency action in this that we're debating today that does contain some obvious and known vulnerabilities. So, while this issue has been going on for far too long, I think that taking a small amount of time now to improve the rules final rules legal foundation is going to be worth it. So, thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would I would ask for your and the rest of my colleagues support on this amendment. Thank you, commissioner at this point in time, we're going to turn to questions or comments from the commissioners and I recognize myself. For 5 minutes and Commissioner Feldman, I appreciate your concern and your desire to probably get a strong rule this rule has been under development for 5 years. And CBC staff has put forward a robust mandatory safety standard that they project will save lives. You know, the differences between the final rule and the MPR proposal and relatively minor grow out of the notice and comment process seeking further notice this time. I believe it's necessary and would end up delaying implementation of the mandatory standard that's really designed to prevent furniture tip over injuries and deaths. And given that, I really think we need to move forward quickly. And so I personally can't support the amendment very next Commissioner Trump. I don't know if you have questions or comments. I do. Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you, Commissioner Feldman. It's always great to think ahead to how rules might be challenged and I often find myself doing that exact same thing. Fortunately, this is not a rule to which I can envision any credible challenge and the rules been meticulously put forward. It's well reasoned, well researched and well supported. It is the solution to match the problem. So, in this instance, I don't share your concerns in your proposed amendment. You pointed out 4 items that are different in the final rule than in the NPR. Not only are each of those 4 items logical outgrowth of the NPR and each are minor, but we're actually talking about areas where we've scaled back items in response to industry comments to accommodate them. We solicited comments on these items. We received comments on these items and we didn't make them more onerous. We granted accommodations based on those comments. We gave industry a carve out for lightweight dressers because they don't pose the same risk. That was a huge burden reduction because lightweight dressers account for 10% of the market. Industry complained about ambiguity in our testing procedures. So we eliminated all ambiguity and in our testing procedures and we switched the way that we simulate carpet from a tilted platform to a block as industry requested. And your amendment doesn't address the most significant departure that our final rule makes from the NPR, which is the drastic expansion of our effective date from the NPR that we had 30 days to 180 days, which is what we adopt here. That's the last thing I wanted to do is delay the benefits of this rule. But we did and we did that because we considered the industry comments and gave them some credits. And so the result is that industry is left with zero legitimate complaints. We've given accommodations everywhere. They said they needed them and we did that without compromising safety. So I can't picture us being on any more solid footing than we are. And for those reasons, I'm a no on the amendment, but I appreciate your thinking on it. Thank you, Commissioner Boyle. Thank you, Mr. Chair. And I also want to thank Commissioner Feldman for his amendment and complete agreement that a strong and legally supportable rule is essential here. But I believe that's what we have before us. I believe the comments that staff reviewed and responded to were thoughtful and put us on good legal footing. I do think what we have before us is a logical outgrowth of what we put it put forward in the NPR. And so I, along with the, I want to support my colleagues, Commissioner Feldman, Commissioner Trump, and chair home, Sarah saying that I support your thought on this. I agree that a legally supportable rule is what we all need. That's what we have before us and will not be able to support this amendment. Thank you. Thank you, Commissioner Feldman. Did you have any other things that you wanted to add? No, not at this time. I would go ahead and request the yes and nays. Hearing no further questions or comments, thank my fellow commissioners for their engagement on this amendment and move to vote on it. Commissioner Feldman. Yes. Commissioner Trump, I vote no. Commissioner Boyle, I vote no and I vote no as well. So the yeses are 1, the no nays are 3. The amendment is not adopted. Commissioner Feldman, did you have other amendments? Not at this time. No. Commissioner Trump, did you have amendments? I do not. Commissioner Boyle, do you have amendments? I do not have any amendments. Hearing no amendments, no more amendments. Move to approve the staff's final draft final rule and to direct publication. The same in the final register. Is there a second? Thank you. Thank you. We have a second can move to the vote. Commissioner Feldman, how do you vote? I vote now. Mr. Trump, enthusiastically, I vote yes. Commissioner Boyle, I vote yes and I vote yes as well. The yeses are 3, the noes are 1, the motion to approve staff's draft final rule for clothing store units passes the draft final rule has been approved and shall be published in the federal register. So, at this point in time, we have up to 10 minutes per commissioner for any closing remarks and I'm going to recognize myself for 10 minutes, 1st, 10 minutes. Over the last 20 years, nearly 200 children have been killed and many others injured from dressers fell on top of them. These tragedies have gone on far too long and the CPSC has been working to address this hazard. By warning commissioners about the warning consumers about the dangers from tip overs, encouraging the furniture be anchored to the wall, recalling unstable clothing storage units and over the past 5 years developing this mandatory safety standard. On a personal note, I started working on the issue of furniture tip overs about 15 years ago as a staffer on the senate commerce committee, and despite the work and dedication of parents who lost their children, changes come far too slowly. That's why I'm particularly pleased to be a member of this commission is taking a huge step forward today towards making furniture safer. So, the rule making could not have been done without the tremendous work of a team CPSC staff who put together the over 600 page package that provides the basis for this rule. And I would like to take the opportunity to thank the individuals who worked on this rule. Bear with me for a month. Those individuals are Kristen telcott. Meredith Kelsh. Adam Suki. Suwa Adwana Nakamura. Rana Balchicinna. Daniel Taxair. Benjamin Mordecai. Adam Howie. Jose Heda. Charles Smith. Susan Prosper. Amelia Herston. Frederick Millette. Hope Nesteroek. Brian Baker. David Miller. Tammy Massey. Michael Nelson. Caroline Paul. Mark Kumagai. Alex Moscozo. Dan Bice. Robert Franklin. Maxwell Sandborn. Zachary Goldstein. Lawrence Mella. Andrew Newens. Susan Boley. Gina Collins. And I apologize if I missed someone, but I did want to highlight the individuals who actually do the work that form the basis of the commission's actions. Nothing would be done without them and they deserve recognition and our thanks. I'd also like to take a moment to express my deep appreciation for the dedication and efforts of the members of parents against TIPO members who have drawn from their personal tragedies and made an admission to ensure that others not suffer the same loss and pain. And there are also so many others in the consumer product safety community. Like advocates and members of Congress who have worked tirelessly to push for a solution to this hazard problem. Our efforts today are just the beginning. We'll vigorously enforce this rule and continue our efforts to remind the public to anchor furniture they currently have in their homes. With that, I turn to my fellow colleagues for Eddie's David, they have. So, commissioner Feldman, do you have a statement? Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I want to echo your comments and thanking staff for the work that they put into this. I'm concerned that that what we're doing today is sacrificing a strong legal foundation for the sake of expediency. We've done too much work on this rule and invested too many resources to push through a final role that has known vulnerabilities. A rule that is stayed or overturned offers 0 consumer protections for over a decade. When I got to CPSC, the agency had been dithering on this rule making without pursuing any meaningful action to protect children from CSU tip overs. And only when I offered an amendment to get the ball rolling on a mandatory standard, did we see any movement from CPSC on this matter? Even then, when the commission had begun testing in earnest in support of an NPR, the agency shut down its laboratory and mothballed its work for delaying progress on this for almost a year. So, now we're rushing to finalize a rule that has obvious vulnerabilities and that's going to get challenged and quite possibly stayed or overturned. We could and should have worked to fix these problems and to do so now, especially when there's a stronger consensus path on the horizon in the form of sturdy, I do have concerns and we'll see where this goes. But I appreciate staff's work on getting this far. It is my hope that eventually we do get to a point where there is a strong rule in place that's durable and is able to succeed challenges. We will see how this plays out. Thank you, commissioner, commissioner Trump. Do you have a statement? Thank you families across the country have tragically lost children because of unsafe dressers tipping over. We know some of the parents who transformed their pain into energy and effort to prevent others from suffering their fate. And I'd specifically like to thank Janet McGee, Kim, a motto Lisa see for Megan DeLong and Brett Warren on behalf of the nation of grateful parents. Thank you. You fulfilled your mission and you've helped CPSC to fulfill ours today. We passed the strongest possible rule to prevent tip overs. Lives will be saved families will be spared from tragedy and I hope that it brings you some piece to know that you help get us to this solution. And as we reflect on this victory for safety, one lingering thought remains fixing this preventable problem should never have been this hard. The furniture industry knew about this problem for decades. And though the industry had the opportunity to eliminate the problem through its voluntary standards process, it refused to do that for decades. And even now, industry fights tooth and nail against this rule. So we have to ask ourselves why and the answer is as little as $6 or $17. That's it. I mean, that's the added cost of making a dresser that won't tip over. Somewhere in corporate boardrooms, people decided that children's lives weren't worth the extra few dollars that it was going to take. And they'd prefer to sell unsafe dressers and keep making that money. They let greed triumph over responsible decision making. The industry has made it abundantly clear that they will not do the right thing until they are forced to do the right thing. And today, we're finally forcing them to do that. This is a textbook example of a problem that will only be fixed by regulation. Today, we delivered that fix and I thank you to everyone who got us here. Thank you, commissioner to Mr. Boyle. Did you have a statement? Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair. First, I too want to thank all of the staff who worked tirelessly to bring this package to commission for their commitment over many years to protecting unsuspecting, all the consumers from the tip over hazards created by unstable dressers and other clothing storage units. This is a strong rule. This is an important rule. This rule will save lives. Nearly 200 devastating deaths and countless injuries have occurred unstable dressers and other clothing storage units have fallen on young children and others. The impact this role will have on two distinct vulnerable populations is hard to overstate. Not only does it protect others and young children who are particularly at risk from a severe injuries and death caused by tip overs. It protects seniors who the data show also suffers significant injuries and death as a result of unstable CSUs. Saction is no doubt long overdue. The rule represents the culmination of over a decade of advocacy enforcement and consumer education by the agency. Consumers do not and naturally would not anticipate the potential for tip overs from these everyday items. The very ordinariness of CSUs familiar products that consumers do not expect to be dangerous and continued threat that they pose is what demanded this action today. Although I recognize the importance of working with voluntary standards bodies, we must impose mandatory requirements when those efforts are inadequate, not effective or timely. In the face of many years of foot dragging by industry, the commission is taking decisive action today and I am proud to support this important measure. It's time for furniture manufacturers, along with standards, making bodies to embrace the meaningful action required to make these clothing storage units safer. The final rule goes further than existing voluntary standards and accounts for real world scenarios. What is more, CPSC staff carefully reviewed public comments and made revisions to the notice of proposed rulemaking to account for industry and consumer concerns. These changes should provide an additional clarity moving forward, making it easier for manufacturers to expeditiously come into compliance. What we do at CPSC makes a difference because of our regulatory authority makes a difference today. We are making a difference in the lives of our most vulnerable consumers. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you commissioner and thanks again to all the staff for the hard work and for the efforts of all my fellow commissioners. With that, this concludes today's decisional meeting of consumer product safety commission.