February 6th, 2009 | 
Author: In a second letter dated February 4, 2009, Waxman, Rush, Rockefeller and Pryor push CPSC Chairman Nancy Nord and Commissioner Thomas Moore again to "act" on resolving concerns about the CPSIA which goes into effect February 10, 2009. The CPSIA stay of Enforcement was issued January 30, 2009, in which Nancy Nord says..
"This stay does not change the underlying standards enacted by Congress, including the toy standard, the phthalates standard or the retroactive lead ban. It especially should be emphasized that because we cannot change the retroactive effect of the lead ban to existing inventory, this stay will not provide relief to the charities, thrift stores and other small retailers who must still meet the standards enacted by Congress. To effect this change, Congress will need to amend the statute."
But the four powers that be aren’t accepting the comment above nor much of anything else that was written in the stay. They are insisting that the CPSC do something to alleviate all the heated concerns of those involved. In their return letter written February 4, 2009 they say…
"The stay appropriately does not affect the lead and phthalate limits in the law, which everyone agrees are critical to protect children."
"Now the Commission can and should take further action before the February 10, 2009, deadline to (1) establish a clear timeline for its decision making in the coming year, spell out what the Commission will need to accomplish in order to fully implement the law and (2) address continued confusion in the marketplace."
"We specifically ask that you issue guidance on four major issues before February 10, 2009: overall enforcement policy; application to thrift stores; application to ordinary children’s books and libraries; and application to fabrics and apparel. Such guidance will not require rule making or other protracted action by the Commission, and each requested action is achievable in the immediate future."
"We urge the Commission to fill these gaps immediately, before the February 10, 2009, deadline, as is fully within its authority and responsibility."
It sounds like the CPSC and those four can’t seem to get on the right page as to who should be "acting". Meantime while they hash it out Senator, Jim DeMint has a plan and a good one at that! He filed a bill Wednesday, February 4, 2009 that was co-sponsored by three Republican senators. More on story here.
There’s still a few more days left before February 10 so we’ll see what happens. I know jobs are scarce, but frankly I wouldn’t want to be working in the CPSC department right now. Talk about pressure…you’ve got the whole nation, lots of associations, tons of business owners and Waxman, Rush, Rockefeller & Pryor all telling you something has got to give and it better be done by February 10th! Actually, I’m hoping something will give too…like what Walter Olson says, "Scrap the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act", in a lead free recyclable trash can of course, and start over with something reasonable for business owners while addressing the real concerns about safety and our kids.
