Scarlett's Sunshine on Sudden Unexpected Death Act
Floor Speech
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Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my strong support for H.R. 2271, the Scarlett's Sunshine on Unexpected Death Act. This legislation is critical to improving our understanding of sudden unexpected infant death.
Tragically, sudden unexpected infant death is the leading cause of death for infants from one month to one year of age.
As we discuss the Scarlett's Sunshine on Unexpected Death Act, I want to recognize all the parents who have turned their unimaginable grief into progress and whom I have had the immense pleasure of working with throughout the years.
This effort would not have been possible without parents like Laura Crandel, who tragically lost her daughter Maria, and John Kahan who lost his son Aaron to sudden unexpected infant death.
I have been working on the issue of sudden unexplained infant death and sudden unexplained death in childhood for years now. In 2014, I was fortunate enough to stand shoulder to shoulder with courageous moms like Laura as President Obama signed the Sudden Unexpected Death Data Enhancement and Awareness Act into law.
Today's bill builds upon these longstanding efforts by further strengthening our existing understanding of sudden unexpected deaths in infants and children, facilitating greater data collection and analysis to improve prevention efforts, and supporting grieving parents and families who have lost their son or daughter.
This bill takes a comprehensive approach to addressing one of the most tragic issues facing families today, and will help develop and deploy critical services to support them in their time of need. I am proud of the efforts in this bill to not only further the science but also support the families who have been impacted. While nothing can cure their pain, these programs will support families in their darkest hours.
I will continue to work on this issue until no more parents lose their child to SIDS, and I urge my colleagues to support this critical legislation.
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