CPSIA Call Henry Waxman

CPSIA- don't let up on Waxman

202-225-4099- Henry Waxman's fax number

contact info for Waxman

Washington, D.C. Office:
2204 Rayburn House Office Building,
District of Columbia 20515-0530
Phone: (202) 225-3976
Fax: (202) 225-4099

Los Angeles Office: (more district offices)

8436 West 3rd Street, Suite 600
Los Angeles, California 90048
Phone: (323) 651-1040
Fax: (323) 655-0502



Here are the locations of current labs certified to do the lead testing Congress requires. There are none north and west of Texas. Along the south-eastern coastal states from Louisiana to Delaware there is one in Georgia.

Either
(a) there aren't enough labs in the US for third party testing for lead in paint
or
(b) information on nearby labs is difficult to obtain.



Comic books- a seller realizes what this could mean to him. I think he's mistaken about the collectibles- I bet they'll be exempt. And an argument could be made that most comic books are for more mature readers. But any comics for children 12 and under are on the chopping block. If they're still bound as they were when I was a child reading the comic book illustrated classics, they are generally stapled (as are Weekly Reader magazines- and Waxman forbade the Commission to exempt books 'with metal components.'



The brilliant and dedicated Kathleen Fasanella, who is nice to me even though I keep getting her last name wrong, says:

In the meantime, the best thing you can do is to hold Waxman accountable. Conversely, the best way to do that is to contact your legislators and tell them to write Waxman a letter. This puts him on notice that his peers are onto him. .



I explained my thoughts on the importance of calling Waxman and calling your reps to ask them to speak to Waxman here and here. Also here.

I am intrigued by this comment left to the first post:

the person at the Ombudsman's office told me to read your article-you were right on in calling out Waxman and Rush on their letter. He said we all need to do that and he said we need to demand Waxman and Rush to "support a particular regulatory outcome" -what does this mean? He mentioned it was a faster way to have the amendment move to pass.

He also said the Cheif Legal Council did not believe everything in the Jan. 16 Waxman/Rush letter was truthful.



Somebody at the Ombudsman's office knew about me and that post? Little ol' me?
That's, um, mind-blowing to an introverted home-body like me (I told my kids recently I could almost be agoraphobic, and, in unison, they said, "Almost?!")

Tristan at Maiden America pointed out in those comments that "any law that takes a nation by surprise cannot possibly have been born of the will of the people!"

In a letter ordering the Commission to make the ban on phthalates retroactive, members of Congress claimed,

"Consumers may erroneously believe that dangerous products will be removed from store shelves once the CPSIA takes effect; that will not be the case if this analysis is allowed to stand."


Consumer Protection groups, maybe- but regular consumers for the most part neither know nor care what phthalates are or when the CPSIA takes effect.

Here's more from the text of that letter to Nord:

It is not practical to require consumers who wish to avoid phthalates to contact individual toy manufacturers to learn when a specific product was manufactured and whether it contains phthalates. That is precisely why the authors of this legislation specified in clear terms that the prohibition would apply to all inventory sold after February 10, 2009.

This interpretation of this clearly-worded statute is contrary to the plain language of the Act. It also contravenes the understanding shared by those who authored this legislation and participated in conference committee negotiations. We urge you to immediately overturn this decision. Thank you for your consideration, and we look forward to your timely response.

Best regards,

Dianne Feinstein Henry Waxman
United States Senator Member of Congress

Janice D. Schakowsky Diana DeGette
Member of Congress Member of Congress



As you see, it is disingenuous of Congress Critters to tell us the Commission has 'full authority' to say what they like about the CPSIA, and that the Congress Critters themselves cannot help.