Arrington-sponsored 'Reese's Law,' named after Lubbock toddler, passes House

In the span of just 49 days, Trista Hamsmith’s life forever changed. In October 2020, her daughter Reese swallowed a small button battery from a remote control. That December, Reese passed away in a Houston hospital at just 18 months old.

Reese was diagnosed with croup after she began coughing, choking and vomiting. But when she didn’t improve after a few days, a trip to the emergency room revealed the battery lodged in her esophagus. The battery burned through tissues and caused major damage to her throat, esophagus and vocal cords.

Now, with the Lubbock mom’s help, a bill introduced in Reese’s honor aiming to protect kids like her passed the U.S. House of Representatives Wednesday afternoon with overwhelming bipartisan support.

H.R. 5313, known as “Reese’s Law,” places greater safety regulations on the small batteries commonly known as button cell batteries or coin batteries and products containing them. The bill was introduced by Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Lubbock, Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Ill., and Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif.

The legislation outlines new consumer safety standards for products with button batteries, which are often found in remotes, car keys, toys and even greeting cards, including a requirement that battery compartments are secured in a way that a child cannot open it. Additionally, packages for button batteries and products that use them must have a clear warning label and packaging for the batteries must be child resistant.

From 2020:Lubbock family mourning toddler's loss after accidentally swallowing button battery

Even while Reese was in the hospital, Hamsmith knew something needed to change to prevent other children from experiencing what her daughter did. That’s what prompted Hamsmith to reach out to Arrington to jumpstart the legislative process just a few weeks after Reese’s death.

“I knew that something needed to be done. I never knew of the dangers of button batteries, and through my research, I found out that it was a growing problem and lots of other people didn’t know about it either,” Hamsmith said. “I had decided pretty quickly that I wanted to do something.

“The statistics are horrifying,” Hamsmith said, noting that a child swallows a button battery every three hours. Button battery ingestions have increased 93% since the COVID-19 pandemic began, she said, adding that 63% of those ingestions come directly from products with unsecured battery compartments.

“While I’m an ardent limited government and less regulation guy, it was evident to me … that these button batteries were uniquely dangerous,” Arrington said in his floor speech Tuesday.

Arrington added in a statement Wednesday, “Passage of this legislation will save families from enduring the tragedy that the Hamsmith family experienced, and I am humbled to play a small role in Reese’s Purpose,” which is an organization Hamsmith founded to educate parents about the dangers of the batteries.

“It’s bittersweet knowing that other children will be protected in the future,” Hamsmith said. “I wish Reese was here. I wish we weren’t put in a position to fight the battle that we’re fighting, but knowing other children will be protected is a good thing. No parent should have to go through what we have.”

The bill will now head to the Senate, where it is expected to receive similar bipartisan support.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: 'Reese's Law' sponsored by Arrington passes House