Real Signs of Progress in Congress

Today two ranking members on the House of Representatives, Committe on Energy and Commerce Joe Barton and George Radanovich) sent a letter to Chairman Henry Waxman requesting that the Committee conduct a hearing 'so everyone involved can explore the facts for themselves, understand the urgency, and coalesce around a solution' in reference to the unintended consequences of the CPSIA and the upcoming implementation date of February 10th for certain provisions.

The two Congressman also suggested that 'by simply delaying the imposition of pending CPSC action to work our way through this problem, we can save many jobs and ensure that toys are safe.'

We'll see if Waxman can be persuaded by members on his own committee,  as purportedly aides have indicated off the record to others, he has indicated recently he had no intention of holding a hearing on the matter.

Stay tuned for more updates!

Change.org - We Did It!

Fighting the CPSIA -Change.org - We Did It!

'Save Small Business from the CPSIA' is now one of the top ten ideas for change in America on change.org.

These ideas were presented to President-elect Obama's change.gov/transition team at a press event in Washington DC this afternoon.

Thanks to 12,280 votes from supporters, our issue is now part of a campaign to increase national awareness of the lack of provisions for small business in HR4040, the CPSIA, and bring about positive changes to the law.

A forum has been opened for discussion on how to most effectively turn our idea into a successful national campaign, and the Handmade Toy Alliance would love your suggestions on how to bring about this Idea for Change. You can join the conversation here:
http://www.change.org/ideas/view/save_handmade_toys_from_the_cpsia 

CPSC Says 'mommy-blogs spreading misinformation' on TV

In an historic moment in the fight by small business owners to get someone in Congress to pay attention to the ‘devil in diapers’ that is the CPSIA and the upcoming devastation set to wreck havoc on the U.S. economy, an official spokesperson for the Consumer Product Safety Commission was interviewed on camera on Channel 11 in Baltimore on January 14^th.

The CPSC attempted to squash the uproar over this wide-reaching legislation on resale, thrift and consignment stores by issuing a craftily written, ‘Press Release’ to ‘clarify’ their position, issuing it to television media before their RSS feed. The media picked up the sound bites the CPSC hoped they would and promulgated it. Only those journalists that have actually taken the time to research the complicated issue accurately reported the true message of the ‘Press Release’. This video shows just how conveniently CPSC spokespersons choose to talk out of both sides of their mouth.

 The reporter asked Vallese how thrift stores are supposed to deal with the CPSIA. Vallese replied that  testing is not required by thrift stores and resellers, but that  “there is a lead level limit of 600ppm that has to be met”. When pressed on how a thrift store is supposed to figure out what to do, given that contradiction, her comment was “that law is not defined”.

Vallese said that the business owner needed to arrive at a “level of confidence” about the lead content of the products they sell.Vallese stated,  “they simply need to make a business decision at a level of confidence that the products that they are selling meet the law.” Asked how they could determine if items meet the law, asking what Vallese would suggest to arrive at an acceptable “level of confidence”, Vallese gave three alternatives: “they can look at it and make an informed decision”, “they can call the manufacturer”, or “they can test”. Only a lawyer can advise if they felt ‘look at it and make an informed decision’ would be an adequate defense for a store owner faced with a hefty fine of up to $100,000 -  in court.

The issue of testing was raised. Vallese indicated that the suggested screening technology is XRF because the lead pencil-like test kids are not accurate.  Asked how the CPSC uses XRF, Vallese said: “We use XRF technology as a screening tool but not a deciding measure.” Clear as mud?

Vallese, in perhaps her worst moment during the interview went on to make the “mommy blogs spreading misinformation” comment at around minute 3:10 in the video. With that comment the CPSC showed their true lack of ability to grasp the enormity of the problem facing U.S. small businesses, work-at-home moms; small crafters, resale, consignment and thrift store shop owners, hand-made toy artisans and the others as they face closing their businesses.

With that comment, not only has the CPSC spokesperson seemed to ‘call ‘em out’ but appeared to be insulting their intelligence. Perhaps that’s why Vallese, who had already resigned,  was made the ‘face’ of the historic interview. Tommorrow she cleans out her desk.

Watch the video here

CPSC spokesperson, Vallese says Resale/Thrift shops should use screening devices such as XRF

Raw: Vallese Talks About New Law

CPSC spokesperson, Valese, says Resale/Thrift stores are not required by law to test products but are required by law to not sell items which do not meet the new lead standards. How? Use their best judgement or use screening devices such as XRF Technology. She says lead screening kits are not a good tool to measure lead content in children's items.

Bottom line - nothing has changed. 

Resellers declared CRIMINAL 2/10/09

Get your own poster!  Click here  (in pdf format)

Compliments of Auntie Kate