Rush statement on new GAO Report that evaluates racial and ethnic differences in child death rates from consumer products

CHICAGO – Today U. S. Rep. Bobby L. Rush (IL-01) issued the following statement in response to yesterday's release of a report, that he requested, from the Government Accountability Office.  The report assesses the disparate impact of the incidence of death among minority children.

"Unfortunately, the GAO report confirms the validity of the concern that I, dozens of my constituents and several of my peers in Congress have raised about the lack of preventive information and other safety precautions being effectively communicated and made available to parents of children from low-income, minority communities," said Rush who serves as chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection.

"I strongly support the GAO's recommendations and urge the Consumer Product Safety Commission to collaborate with the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services to implement cost-effective ways to improve the CPSC's data collection, outreach and messaging, especially to non-English speaking communities, to prevent further injuries.  I firmly believe that a child's ethnic or economic station in life should not serve as yet another risk to their safety or, worse, their potential loss of life."

The report, "Better Data Collection and Assessment of Consumer Information Efforts Could Help Protect Minority Children," includes several important findings including recommending that the CPSC develop and implement cost-effective ways to enhance and assess the likelihood that safety messages are adequately communicated to all intended audiences.

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