Financial Peace

Financial Peace starts on Wednesday night at our church. If you are interested you can still sign up this week, it will change your life. Childcare is provided.

Email from Bart Gordon

This letter confirms the info in my previous post. It was nice that I received a letter with an update that addressed my concern.

Dear Kristin,

Knowing your interest in the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), I wanted to update you on recent legislation.

We can all agree lead and phthalate limits must be mandatory in children's products. In principle, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) attempted to protect our children from these harmful chemicals. Unfortunately, in the process, an undue burden was placed on American small businesses and crafters.

You will be pleased to know the CPSC recently granted a one year stay of testing and certification requirements as directed by the CPSIA, creating a new deadline of February 10, 2010. The decision by the commission gives the staff more time to finalize four proposed rules which could relieve certain materials and products from lead testing and to issue more guidance on when testing is required and how it is to be conducted.

As always I welcome your opinion on this or any other issue. Please do not hesitate to contact me again if I may ever be of assistance.

Stay in touch,

BART GORDON
Member of Congress

Another update on testing requirements for Children's products

Well, I sent an email to my representative and apparently our petitions and letters worked. The CPSC put a one year stay on the testing requirements for certain products. This means that certain manufacturers and imports will not have to perform the required testing, but will have to meet the requirement. So hand-made goods made of yarn, wood, cotton and such can still be sold, yeah!

Here are the full details, if you want to read them:
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml09/09115.html

I am a big supporter of small business and hand-made items that are made in the US. I love etsy and seeing people make all of these wonderful handmade items that I use for my daughter and my photography.

Yes, we need to keep our children safe from lead. But ridiculous laws that don't even consider the little old ladies who are knitting blankets for spare cash are just stupid. Okay, it's over for the time being, enough venting for now.