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Creative Learning Connection>
CPSIA Legislation
January 13, 2009
CPSIA Legislation:
Will February 10 be "National Bankruptcy Day"?
The usual type newsletter – with reminders about our spring classes and the seminars coming up the first weekend in February should be following quickly after this one (the information is on the website ---www.CreativeLearningConnection.com – if you need it before then.) But I felt like people needed to be paying attention to this timely issue now!
While we will probably all agree that children should be kept safe from the risks of lead poisoning, leave it to Congress to take the wrong approach to solving the problem. After the issues in December 2007 with some toys imported from China, Congress started working on a piece of legislation to deal with the problem. But the legislation does much, much more than that. It doesn’t just deal with toys, and it doesn’t just deal with imports.
While the rest of us were watching the primaries, and thinking about the economy last August, Congress passed, and President Bush signed, a bill that deals with ALL products intended for children under 13 (including clothes, furniture, toys, science kits, art materials, and BOOKS). And not just imports – all new products, from home or abroad. And not just new items – used ones are also included in this law. We will have to prove (through expensive tests) that these items are lead-free. No tests, no certification. No certification, no sales…
Minus a serious shift in the interpretation of the law, the second-hand market of all children's products will be seriously hampered in the United States as of February 10th. Much of what is currently sold used could be considered illegal. Again, we have to prove it’s lead free. (Contrary to what Snopes.com says about this, my research says it is true, and it is serious! There was a clarification that came out dealing with resellers – but it is not comforting – it only deals with our current inventory – and we still could be prosecuted for inadvertently selling something with lead – not a comforting thought.)
Additionally, hand made and home made items are also included in this list. Craft fairs look out. Moms making a side income sewing, beware. The federal government is about to outlaw what you do!
Another market that is threatened is the self-publishing market. At the moment, books are included in the list of children’s products that must be certified. As a self-publisher, I don’t even know where to begin to make my books “legal”. It may be easier to just stop producing things for that market. (Which is a horrible thing to think!)
Here are links to two groups who are following the books part of this law. At the moment, things do not look good!
http://www.graphicartsonline.com/article/CA6628038.html
http://www.wo.ala.org/districtdispatch/?p=1322
I'm continuing to research this. I found an article written in a Montana newspaper that does a great job summing up why this is important, and the impact it can have on all of us -- not just those of us in businesses that may be impacted directly. It has links to some other sites with good information too:
http://www.flatheadbeacon.com/articles/article/legislating_montana_small_businesses_out_of_business/7197/ (can be found by googling “Legislating Montana Small Businesses Out of Business”)
And here's another good link to check out on this: http://www.digitaljournal.com/print/article/265066
Prayers are requested for our federal government and all of us who will be affected by this disastrous legislation! (Which would include all of you who enjoy good bargains in children's clothes and children's books!)
If you live outside Northern Alabama you can check the senate and house websites to get the contact information for your congressmen and women: www.senate.gov and www.house.gov
You can also send emails, though my understanding is that phone calls are the best, then faxes, and then emails.
For those of us in Northern Alabama, here are the numbers:
Contact you Senators and Congressman about CPSIA Legislation that goes into effect on February 10th.
(You can google “CPSIA” if you want to see more about this far-reaching legislation and it’s potential damage to our country. )
www.senate.gov
Senator Jeff Sessions
Phone Numbers/ Fax Numbers
Washington DC
202-224-4124 / 202-224-3149
Montgomery
Phone Number/ Fax Number
334-244-7017 / 334-244-7091
Mobile
Phone Number/ Fax Number
251-414-3083 / 251-414-5845
Birmingham
205-731-1500 / 205-731-0221
Huntsville
256-533-0979 / 256-533-0745
Senator Richard Shelby
Phone Numbers / Fax Numbers
Washington DC
202-224-5744 / 202-224-5744
Montgomery
334-731-1384 / 334-223-7317
Mobile
251- 694-4164 / 251-694-4166
Tuscaloosa
205-759-5047 / 205-759-5067
Birmingham
205-731-1384 / 205-731-1386
Huntsville
256-772-0460 / 256-772-8387
www.house.gov
Congressman Parker Griffith
Phone Numbers / Fax Numbers
Washington DC
202-225-4801 / 202-225-4392
Huntsville
256-551-0190 / 256-551-0194
You can also find their email addresses and snail mail addresses at the appropriate website. (I’ve read that emailing is the least effective way to get our message across to them right now, because email is easy to ignore.)
If you send them a fax, be sure to include your home address. That is the way they generally contact you in response.
We are making our fax machine available to anyone who would like to write up a fax on this issue.
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