I
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4368
To amend the Consumer Product Safety Act to provide for the flammability
testing and labeling of upholstered furniture which is sold in interstate
commerce.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MAY 3, 2000
Ms. DELAURO (for herself, Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania, Mr. ANDREWS, and
Mr. BOEHLERT) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Commerce
A BILL
To amend the Consumer Product Safety Act to provide for
the flammability testing and labeling of upholstered fur-
niture which is sold in interstate commerce.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Furniture Fire Safety
Act’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Fire statistics validate that upholstered fur-
niture is a major contributor to residential fires in
the same time period decreased to 17.9 percent of
the 1982 value.
(3) In the last few years, demographic studies
of fires in the United States have identified 3 vul-
nerable groups in the population who are at higher
risk for fire injury or death than the average citizen:
youth, lower-income families, and the elderly. Spe-
cifically, the incidence of child play fires involving
use of matches, candles, lighters, or other small open
flames is on the increase. Studies have validated
that the elderly are also more likely to be involved
in home fires for various reasons, including physical
or mental infirmity, inattention, or carelessness. In
addition, low-income consumers tend to buy less ex-
pensive furniture, which may be built with more ig-
nitable construction materials or may have no fire
retardancy quality control.
SEC. 3. AMENDMENT TO CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY
ACT.
The Consumer Product Safety Act is amended by
adding at the end the following:
‘‘UPHOLSTERED FURNITURE
‘‘SEC. 38. (a) IN GENERAL.—Upholstered furniture
which is sold in interstate commerce for use in a dwelling
unit shall be labeled and notice in accordance with sub-
sections (b) and (c) and shall meet the performance stand-
ard established under subsection (d).
‘‘(b) WARNING LABEL.—
‘‘(1) LABEL STATEMENT.—Each article of up-
holstered furniture containing any quantity of poly-
urethane foam sold or offered for sale in interstate
commerce which is manufactured by a manufacturer
who has not certified that the manufacturer is in
compliance with the standard under subsection (d)
shall have a label permanently attached to the arti-
cle, in plain view, stating the following:
‘‘WARNING
‘‘This label not to be removed except by the con-
sumer.
‘‘This product contains polyurethane foam and pre-
sents a severe fire hazard!
‘‘In case of fire, serious personal injury or death can
result from extreme heat, rapid oxygen depletion, and the
production of toxic gases.
‘‘Do not expose this product to any intense radiant
heat or open flames such as space heaters, open burning,
cigarettes, naked lights, matches, electrical sparks, or
other intense heat sources.
‘‘(2) SIZE AND TYPE.—The minimum size of
the label required in paragraph (1) shall be 2 inches
by 3 inches and the minimum size of the type shall
be 1⁄8 inches in height. All type shall be in capital
letters.
‘‘(c) NOTICE.—
‘‘(1) NOTICE
STATEMENT.—Upholstered fur-
niture conforming to the requirements of subsection
(d) shall have a notice label permanently attached to
the article, in plain view, stating the following:
‘‘NOTICE
‘‘This article is manufactured for use in dwelling
units and meets the flammability requirements for sale in
interstate commerce. However care should be exercised
near open flame and with burning cigarettes.
‘‘(2) SIZE AND TYPE.—The minimum size of
the notice required in paragraph (1) shall be 2
inches by 3 inches and the minimum size of the type
shall be 1⁄8 inches in height. All type shall be in cap-
ital letters.
‘‘(d) STANDARD.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall es-
tablish a performance standard under section 9
which shall be substantially equivalent to the test re-
quirement set forth in the most recent edition of the
State of California, Bureau of Home Furnishings
Technical Bulletin, Number 117, entitled ‘Require-
ments, Test Procedures and apparatus for Testing
the Flame Retardance of Filling Materials Used in
Upholstered Furniture’, and the most recent edition
of the State of California, Bureau of Home Fur-
nishings Technical Bulletin, Number 116, entitled
‘Test Procedures and Apparatus for Testing the
Flame Retardance of Upholstered Furniture’.
‘‘(2) DATE FOR ACTION BY THE SECRETARY.—
The Secretary shall issue a proposed performance
standard under paragraph (1) within 6 months of
the date of the enactment of this section and such
standard shall take effect 24 months after such
date.
‘‘(e) EXEMPTION.—The following articles of uphol-
stered furniture are exempt from subsections (b), (c), and
(d):
‘‘(1) Cushions and pads intended solely for out-
door use.
‘‘(2) Any article of upholstered furniture that is
smooth surfaced, contains no more than one-half
inch of filling material, and does not have a hori-
zontal surface meeting a vertical surface.
‘‘(3) Any article of upholstered furniture manu-
factured solely for recreational physical fitness pur-
poses such as weight lifting benches, gymnasium
mats and pads, and similar articles.
‘‘(f) STATE ACTION.—This section shall not be con-
strued to preempt any action taken by a State to establish
a more stringent standard than the standard required by
subsection (d).
‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—The following definitions apply
in the implementation of this section:
‘‘(1) DWELLING
UNIT.—The term ‘dwelling
unit’ means any building or portion thereof, that
contains living facilities, including provisions for
sleeping, eating, cooking, and sanitation for not
more than 1 family or a congregate residence for 10
or fewer persons to be used.
‘‘(2) FILLING
MATERIAL.—The term ‘filling
material’ means cotton, wool, kapok, feathers, down,
hair, liquid, foam, or any other material or sub-
stance, whether natural or manmade, or any other
prefabricated form, concealed or not concealed, used
or intended to be used in articles of seating fur-
niture.
‘‘(3) UPHOLSTERED
FURNITURE.—The term
‘upholstered furniture’ means any furniture, includ-
ing children’s furniture, movable or stationary,
which is made or sold with cushions or pillows, loose
or attached, or is itself stuffed or filled in whole or
in part with any material, is or can be stuffed or
filled in whole or in part with any substance or ma-
terials, hidden or concealed by fabric or any other
covering, including cushions or pillows belonging to
or forming a part thereof, together with the struc-
tural units, the filling material and its container and
its covering that can be used as a support for the
body of a human being, or the limbs and feet of a
human being when sitting or resting in an upright
or reclining position.’’.
Æ