Good afternoon everyone.

Linda, it has been 14 years since you and Boaz lost your sweet little Danny. A picture of his smiling face sits in my office, which I look at almost every day.

It has been a long and difficult journey, but after 14 years of advocacy by you and your husband, I am proud to stand with you to announce that a new, mandatory play yard standard was approved today by the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

This is a moment when we can truly honor Danny. We are honoring Danny by making it the law of the land that all importers, manufacturers and distributors of play yards must comply with a strict federal standard—a standard that will prevent the deadly side rail collapse that took Danny’s life and the lives of nearly 20 others.

This law will go into effect in December and will give parents and caregivers such peace of mind when they are placing their babies to sleep in a safe new play yard.

Having a tougher play yard rule in place is so important. It is important not only because of the loss of precious life and injuries associated with these products, but also because there have been more than 20 recalls of play yards over the past 25 years involving millions of units.

Play yards and other products used to put babies and toddlers down to sleep really should be the safest products in the home.

Linda, her husband Boaz, and Nancy Cowles worked for years to push for a law requiring the voluntary juvenile product standards in the United States to be made mandatory.

Congresswoman Schakowsky, a true champion in the Congress for the safety of children, drafted and sponsored the “Danny’s Law” requirements in the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008.

And under my leadership, CPSC has been working tirelessly to establish strong federal safety standards for durable juvenile products.

Since I became Chairman in June 2009, we have established the strongest crib safety standards in the world, and established stringent mandatory standards for baby walkers, baby bath seats, bed rails, and toddler beds.

In the works at the Commission are new rules for bassinets and cradles, strollers, and infant carriers.

My commitment and CPSC’s commitment to fully implementing “Danny’s Law” is unwavering.

“Danny’s Law” has made CPSC a stronger agency and made countless homes safer for children to live in.

It will take years for CPSC to complete the task of creating federal standards for all of the key juvenile products. But, I believe the end result will be greater consumer confidence in the marketplace, fewer defective juvenile products, lives saved, and injuries prevented and lives saved.

We did not let anything derail us at CPSC from reaching this important milestone today.

The process of creating this play yard rule has been an extensive one and I want to recognize the career staff at CPSC who worked month after month, along with consumer advocates and industry engineers, to develop a strong safety standard.