RUSH GAINS HISTORIC, UNANIMOUS HOUSE COMMITTEE VOTE FOR POSTPARTUM BILL AND FOUR CHILD SAFETY AND CONSUMER PROTECTION BILLS THAT HELP WOMEN AND FAMILIES

(Washington, D.C.) — After six years of determined work and leadership on Capitol Hill,

U. S. Rep. Bobby L. Rush, chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection, received a unanimous, bi-partisan vote from the full committee, today, to advance H.R. 20, the Melanie Blocker-Stokes Postpartum Depression Research and Care Act. This bill requires the National Institutes of Health to expand its research efforts with regard to depression during and after pregnancy. H.R. 20 was originally sponsored by Cong. Rush in light of the tragic death of Chicagoan Melanie Blocker-Stokes, who took her own life after the birth of her first child. The bill also provides for increased funding to execute a national public awareness campaign. Resources are also designated for local community health organizations that provide screening, counseling and education to women and families about this treatable illness.

"With this bill, my colleagues and I in this committee, and I believe ultimately in the full House, are saying to this nation that no woman need suffer in shame or silence if she's confronted with feelings of depression following the birth of a newborn, said Rush. "I am very, very proud of the good faith efforts—demonstrated by both Democrats and Republicans—to find common ground so that no mother, like Melanie's mom, need bury her daughter under conditions that should truly be joyous and life affirming. I now call on my colleagues in the full House and, eventually, in the Senate to find common ground to pass this legislation. Our hope is to transform this nation into one that recognizes that postpartum depression is not a badge of shame but, rather, a hurdle that can be overcome by new mothers with support, counseling and the early intervention of their families and loved ones.

Also approved in the full committee, today, were four bills that were considered in Rush's subcommittee that, combined, address important child safety and consumer protection issues that are vital to America's families. Given the continued spate of consumer product recalls, H.R. 2474, also sponsored by Rush, increases the maximum, civil penalty for violations under the Consumer Product Safety Act to $10 million, a provision that has been repeatedly cited by advocates and editorial writers around the country as a long overdue incentive for product manufacturers to comply with existing laws. This bill, along with H.R. 1699, the Danny Keysar Child Product Safety Notification Act, sponsored by Jan Schakowsky (9th-IL), strengthens laws governing the recall of assorted children's products, including cribs. H.R. 1699 requires that each durable infant and toddler product—high chairs, cribs, and strollers—come with a postage-paid, recall registration card. This will allow the manufacturers to directly contact each parent who bought their product should any problem arise that could put their child at risk. This parent alert system also includes e-mail notification provisions.

"I take great pride in the fact that in spite of the sharp differences many of my colleagues and I have on a range of issues, children's safety is not one of them, said Rush who also shepherded two other bills through his subcommittee—H.R. 1721, the "Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act which requires the installation of pool and spa drains with specified anti-entrapment standards, and H.R. 814, the "Children's Gasoline Burn Prevention Act, a bill that requires the CPSC to issue regulations mandating child-resistant closures on all portable gasoline containers. All five bills gained unanimous support, today, from the Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Following today's action, these bills now advance to the floor of the House for a full vote before moving to the Senate.

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