Sponsors (3)
The bill funds a targeted public-education campaign that can reduce child-seat injuries by improving consumer awareness, but it does not provide replacement seats and may fail to reach or materially help the lowest-income or high-risk communities while creating some cost and uncertainty for states and taxpayers.
Parents and caregivers (and therefore children) will be better able to identify and avoid counterfeit or noncompliant car seats and booster seats, reducing the risk of injury in crashes.
A dedicated $1.5 million in federal funding ensures the outreach campaign can produce and distribute materials and sustain public education efforts until the funds are expended.
Improved public awareness should lower demand for illicit or unsafe child-restraint products and support compliance with federal safety standards, protecting consumers.
Low-income families and other resource-constrained caregivers will still lack access to replacement or subsidized compliant child seats because the campaign provides education but not direct material assistance.
If outreach is limited or insufficient, high-risk communities (including low-income and rural areas) may not receive the campaign's information, reducing the program's safety benefits for those most in need.
Inserting new language into state highway safety program authorities could create uncertainty for states and stakeholders about new requirements, deadlines, or benefits, making planning and compliance harder.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Requires DOT to run a public education campaign about counterfeit/noncompliant child restraints, authorizes $1.5M, and amends a highway-safety provision (amendment text not provided).
Introduced February 25, 2026 by Laura Gillen · Last progress February 25, 2026
Requires the Department of Transportation to run a public education campaign, within one year of enactment, warning about counterfeit or noncompliant child restraint systems (car seats and booster seats) and offering ways to identify and avoid them. The bill authorizes $1,500,000 for this education effort, with funds available until spent. Also establishes the statute's short title and proposes an amendment to a highway safety program provision in title 23 U.S.C.; the exact language of that amendment was not provided in the text available for review.