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	New Product Safety Legislation Needs Clarifications Now Urge Your Members of Congress to Help Now

In August 2008, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) (PL 110-787) was passed by Congress to strengthen product safety laws to ensure only safe and compliant products are sold to our nation's children. While well-intentioned, this legislation imposes several new and burdensome requirements that increase costs at a time of economic upheaval but that do not offer any improvement in the safety of children's products.

Urge your members of Congress today to examine the CPSIA and work with the Consumer Product Safety Commission to develop a pragmatic approach to the implementation of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. Strengthening our product safety system is an important goal, but this can only be achieved if there are predictable and commonsense regulations that address safety risks.

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I am writing to ask your immediate help to address an urgent problem relating to the recently enacted Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) (PL 110-787).

The CPSIA legislation was an important contribution in efforts to strengthen product safety laws to make sure only safe and compliant products are sold to our nation's children. While well-intentioned, this legislation contains several provisions that impose new and burdensome requirements that increase costs at a time of economic upheaval but do not offer any improvement in the safety of children's products, including toys, clothing, and footwear. If left unchanged, such requirements, especially considering this dire economic environment, will have a disastrous impact on many companies while fostering confusion among consumers.

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As you know, the August 14, 2008 legislation included a new ban on lead in children's products (no more than 600 parts per million (ppm) by weight of any part of the product).  New lead and phthalate requirements took effect on February 10, 2009 that are applied retroactively.  This means that product that was produced several months ago, and which was safe and legally compliant when produced, is not be able to be sold on February 10.  This seems unfair and puts at risk millions in inventory, as it means companies are being held responsible for a standard that did not even exist when those goods were made.  Moreover, it makes it creates considerable confusion in the treatment of such goods - both new and used - for thrifts, resellers, and charities.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has so far been unable to complete comprehensive rule makings on how the new safety standards should apply to children’s products.  While the CPSC has attempted to provide some limited relief and initiate rulemakings, these measures are incomplete and do not provide enough predictability.

To make matters worse, the safety standards have already taken effect, even though companies and consumers do not yet know the rules how these new standards will apply.  With the CPSC wading through a backlog of information requests with limited resources, and with a rigid statute limiting the CPSC's ability to provide further relief, it is unclear this problem will be resolved in the near future.

We all agree that product safety is an important goal.  But conflicting and burdensome requirements - especially for products and components that do not present risks – do not advance children's safety.  In fact, the current system, if left unfixed, undermines our public safety system by shifting focus away from risky products.

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I respectfully request your help ensuring that the CPSC quickly conclude comprehensive rulemakings to clearly define the scope and applicability of the new regulations and testing requirements for children's products. I believe Congress needs to re-examine the CPSIA to determine if any changes are needed to improve the ability of companies to understand and comply with these new product safety rules. Finally, I believe retroactively applied safety standards need to be eliminated as soon as possible since the practical impact of this decision, in today's economic environment, will have an adverse effect on many levels at a time the government is spending billions to stimulate the economy.

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