Citizens: contact your representatives and let them know that their mistakes are only dishonorable if they won’t admit them, and the law is only flawed if it they don’t fix it. The buck stops at Chairman Waxman’s desk, as he chairs the Energy and Commerce Committee. Be sure to include him in your correspondence to your representatives, as well as the bill’s sponsor and Subcommittee Chair, Bobby Rush and Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Joe Barton (see his 1/21/09 letter to Chairman Waxman which notes constituents’ concerns.)

For those just catching up with CPSIA legislation and wondering what all the fuss is about, here is a brief introduction:

HR4040, The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA).
There has been a lot of misinformation about this law due to its great scope and complexity, but it does mandate changes that may well affect most of us.

The law is a response to the recalls of toys made in China with lead-tainted paint. It was widely appreciated and easily passed, as we are all eager to protect our kids. However, lawmakers are now becoming aware of some unintended consequences of the 63-page law. Though it was written to address the above problem, it applies so broadly, that several issues have come to light. Just two of these issues include:

• The law is retroactive. It is illegal for resellers, thrift and consignment shops to sell any item intended for use by a child 12 or under if it has more than 600 ppm of lead as of 2/10/09 (and 300 ppm starting in August 2009) or otherwise violates new standards. The CPSC clarified this issue on 1/8/09 by stating that used items do not need to be tested to prove they meet requirements, but they do need to meet the requirements. If you are confused, you are not alone. This impacts libraries (children’s books are included), charities depending on thrift sales and donations (clothes and gear are included), and any retailer selling children’s items stocked before 2/10/09.

• The law mandates testing and certification to prove that new finished products meet regulations. While this sounds perfectly reasonable, it means that even if an artisan supplies testing reports showing that all the materials they use to make their products meet regulations, they still must have each unique combination of these materials tested and certified, once they are assembled into a new finished product. Legally, if you assemble a product, you are the manufacturer, and responsible for what can be very expensive testing and certification. This greatly impacts small-scale manufacturers and handcrafters.