Today, the Commission voted to finalize a new safety rule for adult portable bedrails that  will address 92% of deaths caused by entrapment and strangulation and save $300 million annually in costs to Americans.1 Seventeen people die every year, on average, after becoming  entrapped in portable bedrails. 80% of those victims are 70 or older, 70% are women, and 58%  suffer from at least one underlying medical condition like Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s. 50% of  these deaths occur in the home.2 

This rule will protect some of our most vulnerable citizens and should be used as a  blueprint for all future CPSC rulemakings. This is a rock-solid safety standard with undeniable  benefits to the American people.  

I was proud that the final rule includes my proposals to limit stockpiling of unsafe  products and to have the rule take effect a mere 30 days after we publish it, which is the shortest  time period generally allowed by law. When we have a solution, I view it as our duty to put it  into force as fast as possible so that we can start saving lives. And that’s just what we did here.  This is good government in action.  

¹Consumer Product Safety Commission, Final Rule: Safety Standard for Adult Portable Bed Rails, OS-165
² Id., OS-10 through OS-12