My Senator hates handmade...

[Former_Member]

Seriously... I wrote him a four paragraph, eloquently worded essay on the handmade community, its importance to our economy and the loss the CPSIA would create... and this is what I received back:

****Thank you for contacting me regarding the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). I appreciate hearing from you and would like to respond to your concerns.

On November 1, 2007, Representative Bobby Rush (D-IL) introduced the CPSC Reform Act (H.R. 4040). Besides increasing funding for the CPSC, this bill strengthens civil penalties for violations of the Consumer Product Safety Act, outlaws children's products containing lead, and makes it illegal for retailers to sell recalled products. Additionally, H.R. 4040 requires the commission to enforce whistleblower protections for employees of manufacturers, importers and CPSC workers. This measure was passed by the House of Representatives on December 19, 2007, without opposition. On July 31, 2008, the Senate passed H.R. 4040 with my full support by a vote 89 to 3. On August 14, 2008, the President signed this bill into law.

I am committed to providing the Consumer Produced Safety Commission with the tools and resources it needs to carry out its vital mission. As we proceed in the 111th Congress, I will be sure to keep your thoughts in mind regarding any additional legislation involving the CPSC.

Again, thank you for sharing your views with me. If you have any additional questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact me.****

His first paragraph described the CPSIA to me, like I'm some sort of idiot... and his second one essentially told me to go jump off a bridge. Seriously, in my four paragraph dissection of the CPSIA did he not get that I understood it and researched it?

Jeez.

Jen

[Former_Member]

Let him know that you will be not be voting for him the next time around. He obviously is not representing you.

[Former_Member]

it's a stupid form letter...they're probably getting deluged with mail and they don't have time to write everyone a letter. i hate it too, but it's how they do it. :(

[Former_Member]

at least he's acknowledging your contact (which is all a form letter is supposed to do). plenty of people never get contacted even after a wonderful letter or email!

[Gypsymoondesigns]

Sounds like the time I wrote the President and got this form letter about the President sending birthday wishes via email. I was like what the *&^%

[Former_Member]

Past -- He's not running again... played Bush's lackey for too long and I'm not sure he'd be coming out of it smelling like a rose.

Words -- True. Usually the form letters I receive aren't as detailed... they're just "Thanks for contacting me!" so I never considered they could have just had a specific form letter for this particular topic.

You're right on another point, as well, I never received anything back from my congressman or the other senator. Weird thing is that my other senator is the one who spams my email box with crap.

*sigh*

[Former_Member]

Gypsy... lol... awesome... Perhaps he was offering "Happy Un-Birthday" wishes!

Jen

[Gypsymoondesigns]

LOL, probably Jen!

[Former_Member]

Omg. -.- That sounds like an answering machine.

[Former_Member]

It's a canned letter that they are all using so they don't actually have to READ what we write them. I got a similar one back as well. Thankfully there ARE several Senators out there who are paying attention. Hopefully their voices will be loud enough to get something done.

[Former_Member]

He didn't read your letter. Some clerk or intern saw CPSIA and sent you the form letter for that topic. I've gotten a few of those over the last couple of months, but recent responses seem like SOMEONE isactually reading what I wrote.

[Former_Member]

Gypsymoondesigns
Gypsymoondesigns says:
Sounds like the time I wrote the President and got this form letter about the President sending birthday wishes via email. I was like what the *&^%
-------
I emailed my senators, the form letter I got back from one thanked me for my interest in FOOD SAFETY. I was like, WTF?????

[Former_Member]

Don't be too offended it is a standard letter. Mel Martinez responded to an Etsian in similar fashion (posted in forum) a couple of weeks ago.

[Former_Member]

That stinks. My response from my lovely letter to my senator about CSPIA was "Thanks for your concern about the safety of food handling" .......What????? At least your got the right topic.

[whyte]

baparsell says:
He didn't read your letter. Some clerk or intern saw CPSIA and sent you the form letter for that topic. I've gotten a few of those over the last couple of months, but recent responses seem like SOMEONE isactually reading what I wrote.
--------------------------------------------------------

That's the case almost everywhere with every politician, don't be offended. Be persistent, you don't have to take a form letter and be done. But be armed with facts and information.

[LaurieRyan]

still tell him you not only won't be voting for him but also will campaign for the republician that runs against him

[Former_Member]

At least it's been acknowledged that you letter was received. I sent out letters to both the Senator & House Reps here in NJ and received the following:








: (

[LaurieRyan]

No news is good news creation it could be they are working on fixing the issue

[Former_Member]

I got one of those too, which I responded to saying "clearly you didn't actually READ the letter I sent" . . . then got a second form letter about how they share my concerns . . . yeah.

[Former_Member]

What's the point in contacting our senators, like they ask us to do, if they aren't even going to read the letters.

[Former_Member]

My guess is that your letter was not read at all...or, just enough to know what form letter to send. Jerks!

[Former_Member]

Yeah I agree... he likely didn't even read your letter and his secretary probably sends that out to everyone and their mother. Sorry !!

[TheFairiesNest]

Call him up and complain! This actually works so I suggest that everyone that gets a form letter back that shows that they didn't even read your letter call, call, CALL!!!

[bobbinalong]

I talked to the gentleman in my Congressman's office in early December. (I had done an interview on my local NBC affiliate and they gave me his name. He was handling all of the CPSIA stuff.)

Yes, they do think handmade is as dangerous as store bought. In phone conversations with him, he feels that with a wooden toy, you don't know if the tree was ever treated. I make rag dolls and he asked if a baby put a doll's arm in its mouth, how do I know the content of the fabric.

I have sent him threads with all of your questions. He did email me about a week ago, on a Sunday night, and say that he would compile all of the questions, draw up a draft and send it to the CPSC asking for clarification. I haven't heard from him but will email him today!

HOWEVER, I did email him the following information. I am sorry that this is so long but I think I need to fill you all in. I appreciate your involvement. I know it is frustrating when Congress seems to have a mindset that this law is wonderful - totally. It is a good law, just written vaguely and rushed.

The information I sent:------------------------------

So many of the shops that are selling kids' items on Etsy are stay-at-home moms, military wives, older people, disabled people, people trying to meet mortgage payments. This is a very serious situation. Accompanied with the toy manufacturers, small business people and independent craft people throughout the country selling handmade kids' items, and with the economy in the situation it is, we are headed for a major disaster February 10. While the law protects kids from harmful toys, it is one thing to deal with their toys, it is another when there is no food on their table. The people in the toy manufacturing industry are people, too, holding down jobs, putting bread and butter on the table for their families. With the cost of the testing will come layoffs in the factories. In China, I read there were 3600 factories that had to close. They gave many a bailout like we did the banks. We all know now that if the testing were to be done, there are not enough labs across the country to accommodate them. What about all the charities that will be affected if we cannot donate kids' items. What about the hats for kids with cancer? How about clothes and toys collected by firefighters and TV stations to help underpriveledged kids? How about all the school supplies and backpacks we donate to kids in September so they will have materials for going to school? How about all the loads of toys people donate to children in stressed areas such as the coal mining industry? And with the car industry, will it just be a matter of time.

This law will have a far-reaching affect on the American people. Like we haven't seen. I cannot, I cannot, stress the urgency and the seriousness as a result of the regulation of this law. It is in the lawmakers hands. We are hearing nothing from Nancy Nord. We are getting canned letters from Congressmen. We, out here in middle America, are telling all of you in Washington that this is going to be devastating. It is so disturbing. It has gone far beyond making safe toys. It is robbing people of their American right to donate, to create, to sell their created items made with God-given talents and abilities. This country was not founded on this principle. This law, while it is basically good, has gone beyond that and is far-reaching. We in America depend on the ability of our Congressmen and women to make sound judgments. Something has gone terribly wrong. Where will we get a bailout for all the businesses that can't survive? Small businesses? While President-elect Obama is trying to bring new jobs to the marketplace, on the other hand, look how many people will be put out of business. Think about Ebay, Craigslist, Etsy, retailers, small towns with small uptown businesses. How about the Amish? Will they be banned from selling handmade items? That greatly affects Ohio.

I am 71 years old. I have four grown children, three grandchildren. Whenever in the lifetime I needed extra income, I made items and sold them. Now, at my age, it compensates my social security. But it is doing more than that. It is giving me an outlet for my creative abilities. I have never in my lifetime seen this country in the situation it is in. I have lived through many wars, hard times, prosperous times. The American spirit could always pull us through those situations. But this law with the vagueness with which it was written, accompanied with the housing market, the difficulty in the banking industry, the automakers and the uncertainty in that industry, the serious weather conditions throughout the country, no doubt a result of global warming is going to take its toll. How much more can we take? Why can't I make and sell kids' things. Why can't I donate a toy or a pair of warm boothies to a baby born into this challenging time? When a law comes into play like this safety law, it should be a priority with Congress to reread it, to make adjustments, to take out the parts that can wait, to rethink it, to think about the jobs that will be lost, the hardships it will bring to families. I know that the CPSC has asked for more money for the testing. People, wake up. We are trusting you with our future. We are trusting you to get the word to the CPSC that now is not the time for a golden egg. We can eliminate a lot of our future debt if we will, right now, grasp this situation and shake it up. The State of Ohio is having serious problems. Lots of rec centers in Columbus will close. Just one example.

We need to have a response from Congressman Pat Tiberi. The country needs to hear from their congressmen and women, not canned letters dated last May. We know you are busy. A lot is happening. But it will not compare with what February 10 will bring.

[Former_Member]

You know that is a form letter, right? :) An aide or intern wrote that.