H. Res. 543 
In the House of Representatives, U. S., 
July 16, 2009. 
Whereas unintentional injuries in the home result in nearly 
20,000 deaths and 21,000,000 medical visits on average 
each year; 
Whereas the top 5 causes of unintentional home injury 
deaths are falls, poisoning, fires/burns, choking/suffo-
cation, and drowning/submersion; 
Whereas falls are the leading cause of home injury death 
among older adults in the United States, and the total 
direct costs associated with both fatal and non-fatal falls 
is more than $19,000,000,000 annually for hospitaliza-
tion, emergency department visits, and outpatient care; 
Whereas poisonings are the second leading cause of home in-
jury death in the United States, resulting in nearly 5,000 
deaths per year; 
Whereas fire and burn injuries are the third leading cause of 
home injury death and almost two-thirds (65 percent) of 
reported home fire deaths resulted from fires in homes 
with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms; 
Whereas deaths due to unintentional choking and suffocation 
injuries are the fourth leading cause of home injury 
death in the United States and nearly 25 percent of all 
choking and suffocation deaths occur in the home;
•HRES 543 EH 
Whereas deaths due to drowning are the fifth leading cause 
of home injury death in the United States and an aver-
age of more than 10,000 events occur in the home each 
year that require medical care, emergency department 
treatment, and result in days away from work or school; 
Whereas children and older adults have increased rates of un-
intentional home injury, compared with all other age 
groups; 
Whereas citizens are encouraged to take a hands-on approach 
to home safety and become aware of the simple and inex-
pensive steps they can take to reduce the risk of injury 
in each area of the home; and 
Whereas June would be an appropriate month to designate 
as ‘‘Home Safety Month’’: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) supports the designation of ‘‘Home Safety 
Month’’; 
(2) recognizes the contributions of home safety re-
lated nonprofit organizations for their ongoing commit-
ment to ensuring families remain safe in their homes; 
(3) recognizes the contributions made by the Home 
Safety Council to the efforts of ‘‘Home Safety Month’’ 
for recently introducing a new and innovative online tool 
to help adults identify the dangers present in and 
around the home, designated as www.MySafeHome.org, 
and for promoting the Hands on Home Safety Cam-
paign, whose goal is to educate and empower both fami-
lies and businesses to take simple actions that will make
•HRES 543 EH 
homes safe and minimize their risk for potential injuries, 
or even death; 
(4) encourages adults, parents, and caregivers to 
take greater actions to reduce unintentional injuries and 
educate themselves on the importance of home safety, 
for themselves and their loved ones; 
(5) encourages manufacturers to develop innovative 
safety products and features to help lessen the number 
of home injuries and accidents; and 
(6) encourages local and national government lead-
ers to support funding for critical home safety education 
programs to reduce the risks from home injuries. 
Attest: 
Clerk.