reposted from his site at
http://demint.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=JimsJournal.Detail&Blog_ID=295d58b2-b6fe-c446-1...Congress Must Keep Overreaching Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act From Harming Small Businesses, Families
Posted by Senator Jim DeMint 01/30/2009 - 05:06:40 PM
As you may be aware, beginning next month many of America’s small and home businesses will be forced to radically alter their practices and products as prescribed by the burdensome Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA). This bill mandates stringent and overreaching federal standards, under the guise of safety requirements that will unfortunately threaten the well-being and further livelihood of thousands of America’s workers and their families. It was my position when the bill was being debated on the Senate floor, as it remains today, that this bill could have -- and should have -- better balanced the need for safety with a common-sense business approach.
In an effort to keep the doors of these small businesses open, and protect the livelihood of many families, I will be introducing legislation early next week that will present much needed reform to the CPSIA. This legislation will:
1. Delay the regulations six months. There is massive confusion and uncertainty in the small and home business community. The regulations are unclear and compliance will be practically impossible for many manufacturers. Further the comment period on many of the implementing regulations will extend beyond the February 10 deadline. When a clear path of compliance is not available, it is patently unfair to expect industry to be able to meet those compliance requirements. My bill will delay the implementation six months so that all parties can work together to address the needs of our small businesses and the needs of product safety.
2. Allow small manufacturers to use the testing and certification that their component suppliers have done to certify that the components do not contain an impermissible amount of lead. Lead isn’t going to come out of thin air. If the lead’s not in the components, it won’t be in the product. This will save small manufacturers from having to subject their products -- many of which are made in small runs -- to duplicative and expensive multi-thousand dollar tests.
3. Exempt thrift stores, yard sales, consignments shops and other re-sellers from the prohibitions in the act. Goodwill, the Salvation Army and your local flea market were never the source of the product safety concerns encountered last year, and they won’t be in the future. They are good actors trying to provide Americans of modest means with value oriented products. They shouldn’t be subjected to tens of thousands of dollars in potential liability. It these times of economic hardship it’s stores like Goodwill and the Salvation Army that we should be protecting.
4. Prevent retro-active enforcement of the act. There are millions of dollars of safe products in the warehouses and stores around the country today, that come February 10 will be un-sellable. These products have not threatened the safety of the public in any way, but because they haven’t been subjected to the expensive certification requirements of the act, retailers will not sell them and are often demanding that manufacturers eat their costs. It’s completely illogical that a product that’s safe for sale on February 9 somehow becomes completely unsafe on February 10. My bill will address this by only requiring that products manufactured after the effective date of the regulations have to comply with the requirements of the act. This will prevent thousands of products from being destroyed and the livelihood of thousands of businesses from being threatened.
5. Provide a Good-Faith Exemption. The act and its associated regulations are extremely complex. Small manufacturers are having difficulty understanding what the act requires of them. While many small businesses are doing their best to comply with the act it's possible someone could accidentally run afoul of the act. If they can show that their error was made in good-faith, my bill will provide them with a one-time exemption from sanction.
6. Require the CPSC to provide small businesses with a compliance guide. This is an extremely technical regulation that impacts a number of small businesses who don’t have multi-staff compliance departments to decipher the regulations for them. My bill would require the CPSC in consultation with the state and federal Small Business Administrations to develop a compliance guide that addresses the concerns of the small business community.
It is my sincere hope that these reforms will ensure that children’s products remain safe and that our small businesses remain afloat. In this time of economic uncertainty it is inexcusable that we are placing small businesses -- the proven engine of job creation -- in such peril.
