We need your help to pass the STURDY Act and stop furniture tip-over. Here's why and how, in 3 easy steps!

The dresser that killed Meghan. Made by Ragazzi as part of a Nursery set (with matching crib). It took 2 adults to move it. Meghan weighed 28 pounds.

A call to action 
Ok my village.  The time is now!  I need each and every one of you to help us get the STURDY Act through the U.S. Senate. I can't do it without your help and I need a LOT of help!

This bill is the fastest and most likely way to ensure that a mandatory and effective furniture safety and stability standard is created and enforced. This is an urgent appeal, as time is of the essence and we only have a few months to make this happen, which means we need to mobilize and use our collective voices now!  Are you in?

What is the STURDY Act and why do you want me to contact my senator about it?
This blog will tell you what the STURDY Act is, why this is so important, why I need your help, and how easy it is to do provide that help! I've made it as quick and easy as possible! I'll even tell you how to find out who your Senators are, how to reach them, and what to say and write if you aren't sure how to do any of those things.

I promise, it will be easy and take very little time for you to help me keep my promise to Meggie to #stoptipovers!

What is the STURDY Act?
The STURDY Act stands for Stop Tip-Overs of Unstable Risky Dressers on Youth.  It requires that the CPSC issue a mandatory rule (furniture safety standard) within one year of it's enactment that would mandate:

• Testing on all clothing storage units, regardless of height
• Require that testing to simulate the weight of a child 72 months of age
• Require testing that accounts for the way children interact with furniture in the real world.  Testing that would include loaded drawers, multiple open drawers, accounting for the impact of carpeting on stability, and simulating the dynamic forces a climbing child would cause
• Mandate strong warning requirements and labels

Why do we need it to become law?

• Because the current voluntary furniture safety standard is not stringent enough. 
• The voluntary standard means it's optional to follow the voluntary safety standards, manufacturers do not have to comply with it, and many don't. 
• Until ALL manufacturers must follow the same safety standards by law, and there are repercussions (legal and financial) for not complying, it won't happen.  
• The furniture industry as a whole (not all manufacturers, but many), is resistant to making these changes to the voluntary standard.  Why?
  • It's been 19 years and it hasn't happened yet.  If they wanted to, it could have been achieved years ago
  • They are afraid it will cost them money and reduce profit margins to make these changes to the way they produce furniture currently
  • Some don't believe there is a big enough problem to warrant a change to the voluntary standard, let alone a stronger mandatory one. They claim there is not enough data, AKA, not enough dead and injured children to warrant change
  • The manufacturers who are or want to do the right thing are afraid their competition will out-sell them if the "bad actors" don't have to comply, which will impact profits, so they are reluctant to make the standard any stronger
  • Many manufacturers actually want a mandatory standard to level the playing field and force everyone to follow the same rules, but we want it to be stronger and more effective than the current voluntary safety standard is.  But until it's required by law, they are highly unlikely to do the right thing because it will cost them more to produce the furniture which means lower profits for the companies

The industry knows right now, how to make furniture more stable and less likely to tip.  They have the ability to test furniture to the standard the STURDY Act would require, and some already do!. But they are few and far between. Without a law and accountability, the "bad actors" continue to put children's lives at risk. 

Because it's only optional/voluntary right now, until it's required by law, and instability is engineered out of furniture by design, and clothing storage furniture is tested to a minimum effective safety standard that is universal and mandatory, children will continue to be injured and killed by dressers and other pieces of furniture.  It's that simple. The statistics over the last 20 years have proven this time and time again. 

If you've not read my previous blog posts about why we need the STURDY Act and the problems with the CPSC's authority and the voluntary furniture safety standard process, please do take the time to read them for the background history that explains why the STURDY Act is so vital to significantly reducing the number of injuries and deaths to children from tip-overs.  These are also great links to include when you write to your Senator! You can find them here:

The STURDY Act:  Why we need Congress to do now, what the CPSC and ASTM furniture safety sub-committee have not been able to do

Preventing Furniture Tip-Overs: The Data Dilemma

What's wrong with the current system for developing stronger furniture safety standards?

Broken: Deadly Dressers.  A review and understanding of the scope of furniture tip-overs

Why do I need ALL of you to contact your Senators and ask them to support the STURDY Act?

• Because the more people they hear from, the more likely they are to move this bill forward.  Without their constituents letting them know this issue is important to them, they won't take it up for a vote.  They may not even know it exists!
• Because they will only "listen" to their constituents, meaning people who live in their state and can vote for them. 
• The more people our Senators hear from, and the more compelling our calls and letters, the more attention they will pay to this bill and the more likely it will be that they they will co-sponsor it, present it to the full committee for a hearing and discussion, and hopefully pass to the full Senate and on to the President for signature into law.  
• Because we need every U.S. Senator to become aware of the STURDY Act, understand why it's so important, and ask that they co-sponsor it,
  • We especially need those who are members of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the sub-committee on manufacturing, trade, and consumer protection to co-sponsor it.
    • ​It's vitally important that we contact the Republican members of that committee and of the entire Senate for that matter, to educate them and ask that they co-sponsor and support this bill. 
    • For that reason, if you are from, or know someone who is from the following states, I especially need your help!  Mississippi, South Dakota, Missouri, Texas, Nebraska,Kansas, Arkansas, Colorado, Tennessee, West Virginia, Utah, Wisconsin, Indiana, Florida, Washington state, Minnesota, Hawaii, New Mexico, Michigan, Montana, Arizona, and Nevada.
• Because by contacting every Senator we can, by as many people as we can, is the best chance we have of getting the subcommittee to schedule a hearing and the best chance of making a significant impact on the numbers of children injured and killed by dressers and other clothing storage furniture.

Whether your Senators are Republican, Democratic, or Independent, my goal is that with your help, all of them will become aware of the issue of furniture tip-over, the STURDY Act, and be compelled to co-sponsor and support it in the next two months. 

Why do we need your help?
On September 17th, 2019, the STURDY Act passed the U.S. House of Representatives with bipartisan support (HR 2211) and was referred to the Senate committee on science, commerce, and transportation, where it had first been introduced by Senator Robert Casey on June 19th, 2019. 

The Senate had made it clear that they will not even consider any bill that does not have a Republican co-sponsor and Republican support. I can assure you that tip-overs are not a partisan issue.  Furniture falls equally on both Democratic and Republican children (and adults!).  This is an issue of child safety, not one of politics or partisanship. The STURDY Act will save lives.  We need to ensure the Senators all understand this about the STURDY Act.

Senators need to hear from YOU, their constituents, to not only be made aware of the issue of tip-over, but that you want them to take action to stop it by supporting, co-sponsoring, and passing the STURDY Act in the Senate in this session of Congress (this year).

At the very least, the chair could at least have a hearing on the bill, to learn more and do their due diligence for the greater good of their constituents! I can write to every Senator in the U.S. but only the ones from my state will likely listen to me, since others can't get my vote.  This is why I need your help! 

Here's how you can help!
It's quick and it's easy and there are 3 ways you can help.  Choose one, or better yet, choose all 3! 

1. Write to your senator, either by email or the old fashioned way, with a letter through the mail.  Email is faster and will get read more quickly, but doing both is ideal.  If you email, you can use the contact form on their Website or email an aide directly. I have contact information for every senator, so feel fee to message me if you can't find it and need help!
2. Call your Senator's Washington, DC office and ask to speak to their legislative aide.  This is important, even if you write to them, you should call them, too. To follow up on your email and/or letter, and to ensure your request reaches a human! It can take weeks for those emails and letters to get read, and while they are important, a phone call is an immediate way to alert your Senator about the issue, why it's important to you, and why you want them to support and co-sponsor the STURDY Act. It also gives them a heads up to be looking for that email or letter and hopefully peak their interest enough to want to learn more and follow up. 
3. Call your Senator's local district office closest to you and request a meeting with them when they are in their home state (or, if you'll be in D.C, in their D.C. office) or they may offer you a meeting with a legislative aide if a meeting with the Senator can't happen in the next few months.  This is an important and powerful way to use your voice on any issue, but especially this one.  Personal face to face connections are the most effective way to get support and make an impact.  My own Representative has told me that many times. 
4. Share this quick and easy (literally takes one minute) way to send a form letter to your Senator on your social media accounts with a brief explanation as to how one minute of their time can save lives. While a call and personal letter are more effective, sending a form letter request that literally takes a minute, is better than nothing!  Click on the link in pink!  You'll need to enter your name, email, phone #, home address, and zip code (these details are required by Congress to verify and ensure your letter goes to your state Senators) End Deadly Tip-Overs: Send a letter to your Senator asking them to support the STURDY Act and it takes literally one minute! 

How do I find out who my Senators are and how to contact them?
Go to www.senate.gov/senators/contact and use the drop down menu to choose your state.  That will bring you to a listing of your state's senators, their D.C. address and phone number, and a link to contact them. 

Once you know who your senators are, you can also Google their name and find their Website, if there is not a link from the senate.gov page. Their official Website will have their local office locations and contact information as well as other information you might find helpful or interesting about them, like what other bills they support and their public schedule.

What do you say when you call or write your Senator?
I've made it easy for you!  If you are not sure what to say or write, I've provided a sample letter and script here.  Feel free to use it as a guide if you need to. Using a personal why/story is much more effective than just asking them to support and co-sponsor a bill they know nothing about.  Since you most likely will be talking to an aide unless you secure a face to face meeting, you need to educate them when you call and write.

When you call:

• Call your Senator's Washington, D.C. office phone # and ask for the legislative aide.  If they are not available, then it's fine to leave a message on their voice mail after speaking with the aide that answers the phone about why you are calling. Go through this entire script if you can with each person you speak with!
• Get the aides name, phone extension, and email address if possible so you can follow up.  Make note of the date you called, too.  
• Send me a message via Facebook or at [email protected] to let me know which senators you have contacted please, and message me again if you get any response or follow up from them at all at a later date, too! I'd like to keep track for my own reference should I have the opportunity to testify before the Committee.
• Here's a script you can use:

" Hi, my name is _________________ and I'm from ______________________ (town, state).  I'm calling today to ask Senator _______________'s support of the STURDY Act, bill S1902.  It stands for Stop Tip-Overs of Unstable Risky Dressers on Youth.  Did you know that every 24 minutes a piece of furniture tips over in the U.S. and that every 37 minutes a child is sent to an emergency room with injuries from a fallen piece of furniture? About every 11 days a child dies from those injuries. We know that from 2000-2018, there were 556 deaths due to tip-overs, and 459 of them were children, which means while most of these injuries and deaths happen to children, they can happen to adults, too! Have you ever heard of this danger before?

<if yes, engage in conversation about how they knew.  If no, then share your personal connection, or Meghan's story and how it impacted you, and why preventing tip-over is so important to you.  Maybe because you have young children and until you heard Meghan's story, you had no idea, maybe your child or even you had a near miss and didn't realize how lucky you were, maybe you had a dresser that's been recalled or you saw the documentary BROKEN.  Whatever your connection is, share it and it's ok to be emotional!> 

This bill would require that the CPSC issue a mandatory rule (furniture safety standard) within one year of it's enactment that would mandate:

• Testing on all clothing storage units, regardless of height
• Require that testing to simulate the weight of a child 72 months of age
• Require testing that accounts for the way children interact with furniture in the real world.  Testing that would include loaded drawers, accounting for the impact of carpeting on stability, and simulating the dynamic forces a climbing child would cause
• Mandate strong warning requirements and labels

The STURDY Act passed the House in September with bipartisan support, and is now in the Senate Committee on Commerce Science and Transportation.  I know there is a lot on the Senator's plate right now, but this is an issue that affects every single one of their constituents.  Furniture tip-over is not a partisan issue, it's a safety issue.  Furniture falls on Republican and Democratic children equally, and their parents are equally devastated when it happens.  The Senator is in a position to save lives and protect their most vulnerable constituents, our children. 

In the course of your day today, 70 people will be victims of a tip-over.  38 will be rushed to an ER.  One of them may die from their injuries, or suffer a catastrophic, life-changing injury. It could be a child you know and love. All of them could be prevented, if the STURDY Act were law.  

As the voice of the people in the Senate, Senator___________ has the opportunity and the power to protect children from this danger in every home, right now.  I respectfully ask that the senator take the time to learn more about this issue and strongly consider co-sponsoring the STURDY Act to send a message to your constituents and your colleagues that protecting their children is a top priority for you. 

I am happy to send you additional information/links to the bill, and resources that you may find helpful for yourself and Senator _____________ as they consider their support of this important safety legislation. What is the best email address for me to send that to? My contact information is ___________________ (name, phone/email). Could I please have your name and contact information as well?  

Thank you so much for your time and it's my sincere hope that Senator _____________ supports this important and lifesaving bill and signs on as a co-sponsor."

If you write:

• Send your letter or email to their Washington D.C. office address and to the attention of their legislative aide.  If you don't know who their legislative aide is you can call and ask for that person's name and email address or just put "Attention: Legislative Aide" in your email subject line or on your envelope. This helps get your letter into the right person's hands faster.  Know that it can take weeks or your letter to actually reach someone's desk.
• You can find a generic letter here.  All you need to do is personalize it with your Senator's contact information, your contact information, and ideally a brief, personal story explaining why this issue and bill is important to you. You can share how Meghan's story impacted you, your own story of a tip-over or near miss, or that of someone you know personally, and why you want them to represent your voice by co-sponsoring this bill. These areas that need you to edit/change are highlighted in yellow.  You will need to copy and paste the letter, personalize it, eliminate the highlighting, and then you can send it via email or regular mail.  Or even better, both! 
• You can of course, also write your own letter, too. You don't need to use the template I provided! 
• You can/should also refer to the STURDY Act by it's name and bill # which is S1902, the STURDY Act Fact Sheet, and attach both to any emails you send and print a copy to mail if you are mailing the old fashioned way. 
• You can also refer them to Meghan's Hope, Consumer Reports (search furniture tip-over) and Parents Against Tip-Overs if they have any questions or would like additional information 

Up the ante, and encourage your friends and families to do the same! 
Please encourage your families and friends in your state and other states to also contact their Senators and ask them to co-sponsor and support the STURDY Act. Share this blog post along with an explanation of why you want your friends and family to take a few minutes to use their voice to protect kids from tip-overs and prevent any other family from knowing my pain.  People are far more likely to click on a link and take action, as well as share it with others, if you include your personal reasons for asking them to. 

There is tremendous power in numbers and the more people they hear from, the more aware they will become about tip-overs, the more likely they will be to support and co-sponsor the bill, and the more likely they will be to give this bill a chance to be heard and discussed in the committee, and hopefully, become law by the end of this session of Congress.

Otherwise, it will die there at the end of this year without ever being recognized or discussed when this session of Congress ends, as will countless more children, until an effective mandatory furniture safety standard is a reality, and without the STURDY Act becoming law, that is far less likely to happen. 

Thank you for your help and your support!  If you have any questions or need any assistance, please message me at [email protected].