III 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 91 

Calling on the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Secretary of the 

Treasury, and the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to 

take action on issues relating to drywall imported from China. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 30, 2009 

Mr. NELSON of Florida (for himself and Ms. LANDRIEU) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Commerce, 

Science, and Transportation 

RESOLUTION 

Calling on the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the 

Secretary of the Treasury, and the Secretary of Housing 

and Urban Development to take action on issues relating 

to drywall imported from China. 

Whereas, between 2006 and late 2007, more than 

550,000,000 pounds of drywall and associated building 

materials were imported from China to the United 

States; 

Whereas not less than 300,000,000 pounds of drywall were 

imported from China to the State of Florida, enough to 

build approximately 36,000 homes; 


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•SRES 91 IS 

Whereas not less than 60,000,000 pounds of drywall were imported from China to the State of Louisiana, enough to 

build approximately 7,000 homes; 

Whereas media reports indicate that drywall imported from 

China was also used in homes in no fewer than 10 other 

States, including Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, 

South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia; 

Whereas testing by officials of the State of Florida found 

that drywall imported from China contains potentially 

hazardous levels of strontium sulfide, which, when exposed to moisture and humidity, can release hydrogen 

sulfide into the air; 

Whereas emissions from drywall imported from China have 

caused substantial safety hazards in homes containing 

such drywall, including corrosion in electrical wiring, 

which can result in a fire hazard, failure of air conditioning units, and the failure of other household electrical 

products; and 

Whereas preliminary testing shows that the drywall may also 

be responsible for certain health hazards: Now, therefore, 

be it 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that— 

2 (1) the Consumer Product Safety Commission 

3 should— 

4 (A) initiate a formal proceeding to inves5 tigate drywall imported from China during the 

6 period from 2004 through 2007; 


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•SRES 91 IS 

1 (B) prohibit the further importation of 

2 drywall and associated building products from 

3 China; 

4 (C) order a recall of hazardous Chinese 

5 drywall; and 

6 (D) use its existing authority under the 

7 Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 

8 2008 (Public Law 110–314; 122 Stat. 3016) 

9 and the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (15 

10 U.S.C. 1261 et seq.) to seek civil penalties 

11 against the drywall manufacturers in China 

12 that produced or distributed hazardous drywall 

13 and their subsidiaries in the United States to 

14 cover the cost of the recall effort and other as15 sociated remediation efforts; and 

16 (2) the Secretary of the Treasury and the Sec17 retary of Housing and Urban Development should— 

18 (A) use all available measures, including 

19 civil forfeiture authority, to ensure that the 

20 costs of homeowner assistance efforts are borne 

21 by the drywall manufacturers in China that 

22 produced or distributed hazardous drywall and 

23 their subsidiaries in the United States and not 

24 by the taxpayers of the United States; and 


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•SRES 91 IS 

1 (B) develop meaningful Federal tax incen2 tives to help offset the expense of costly drywall 

3 repairs for struggling homeowners already suf4 fering from depressed home values and negative 

5 economic conditions. 

Æ 


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