Friday, January 9, 2009

repeal the CPSIA

Please follow this link and sign a petition to repeal the CPSIA.

This is a copy of the petition. Please read it. Sign it. Tweet it. Blog it. And share it with everyone you know. Now.

Petition to the US Congress and the Consumer Safety Product Commission:

Who should read this
1.If you manufacture any product for use by a child 12 years or younger, or
2. Buy products for children 12 years or younger.

The passage of the CPSIA affects you. The CPSIA touches nearly every industry and consumer in the United States. This includes book manufacturers, public libraries, schools, educational material manufacturers, clothing manufacturers, resale & thrift stores, bicycle manufacturers, shoe manufacturers, parents, grandparents, children, etc.

The need of the recent passage of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) of 2008 is unnecessary. In recent years the CPSC has overseen many recalls but has failed to enforce existing legislation, rules and regulations. Additionally, the CPSC has had sufficient power to enact new safety rules since the agency was created in the 1970's. The CPSC is charged with serving the public interest by developing safety standards, issuing recalls, and banning certain products. If new lead regulation were needed, the agency should have acted quickly to enforce existing regulations or create new ones. As a direct consequence for what only can be described as inaction, Congress was misguided in creating a new law to address these lapses -much to the detriment of the American public.

The CPSC has passed various regulations over the years regarding flammability and sleepwear, painted metal, drawstrings, and children's jewelry. The CPSC can even repeal previous rulings such as in the case of Tris in pajamas. These actions were taken with little direction or intervention from Congress, proving the agency can act when sufficiently motivated or managed. The CPSIA must be repealed before more damage is done; consumers, industry and science must be involved in crafting needed rules rather than the special interest groups who were instrumental in writing the CPSIA law.

In these troubling economic times, we urge Congress to save our businesses, our economy and even children by repealing the CPSIA today!

No comments: