CPSIA Letter to Congress

Here's an email you can cut and paste to your Senator. (That's a link to the Senate email addresses.)

Just change the "S 374" to "HR 968" (it's in twice in the first paragraph and once in the last) and then send it to your Congressional Representative.

Thank you to RuthsCreations for providing the basis of this letter.

Please support the passage of S 374, the bill that is currently being reviewed by the House Energy and Commerce Committee. This bill must not die in committee! If S 374 is not passed the entire US children's product industry will be in danger of collapsing.

Effects are already being felt, I have heard first-hand accounts of bookstores removing children's books printed before 1985 from their shelves. I have heard stories of thrift stores emptying their shelves into dumpsters and refusing donations of these books. And libraries told to "sequester" the books and prevent children from reading them? Even though the American Association of Publishers has tested the inks and determined that they meet the government standards.

In addition, I've now heard that manufacturers of motorcycles and ATVs are no longer being allowed to sell bikes or ATVs marketed to kids, or even parts to repair them. Because of lead content--it's ridiculous, what child that is old enough to ride a motorcycle is going to LICK it??? That's the only way any lead content would harm a child.

The financial losses will be great to bookstores, second hand stores, and other small businesses. This is NOT what we need in a recession.

Small business crafters, many of of whom got into business because they WANT to make safe alternatives to mass produced toys and other children's products, will put them out of business if CPSIA is left as-is. Not because they don't want to test, but because they CAN'T AFFORD IT. Testing every component at $800 each would require thousands of dollars on a product that might only bring a few hunderd dollars of profit. And what about one-of-a-kind? Impossible.

Please help us keep safe, affordable children's products available to the families that need them. Regulation is good but it needs to be sensible, and CPSIA may have been well intentioned, but it's effects are NOT positive.

Please support the passage of S 374.