Why the April 1st Rally Is So Important

When the idea of the CPSIA Rally was first broached, the proposal seemed simple – let’s get together and talk about the CPSIA in Washington, D.C. - perhaps we could attract some interesting speakers and make an impact with the power of our ideas.  We also were looking for a way to get on the record which had been denied us previously.

Now with the day of the Rally rapidly approaching, I have been thinking about the significance of this event.  Why is the Rally so important?  I think there are many reasons:

1. The Rally Will Educate. Perhaps the most important rationale for the Rally is education.  The complex issues relating to the CPSIA, and its devastating effects, need to be aired.  In addition, the people affected by the law and the advocates pushing for its amendment need to be seen publicly.  The tangible reality will be hard to deny.  The wide destruction wreaked by the law will take on a human face as speaker after speaker tells how their business and industry are being gutted by the CPSIA.  By learning about the law’s consequences for consumers, schools and families, we will lend real meaning to our Amend The CPSIA message.  We intend to use this new body of timely and candid content to inform the debate going forward and to help forge a sensible consensus on safety regulations in the mutual best interests of both consumers and businesses.

2. The Rally Will Put Us on the Record. A great inspiration, call it an imperative, for this Rally was the explicit effort of the Democrat majority to silence its critics.  Our letters have been left unread, our comments omitted from the record, our names expunged from witness lists. Notably, no hearings have been held since the August passage of the CPSIA despite considerable hue and cry – in fact, two hearings were cancelled (one, the Committee on Small Business, was cancelled after witnesses had been called).  After months of frustration over this treatment, it was time to create our own record – since we were never allowed to be on the official record with oral or written testimony.To facilitate a proper record of the effect and impact of the CPSIA, we established a website, www.AmendTheCPSIA.com and began building in content.  The testimony at the Rally will be streamed live (audio and video) and will remain available online afterwards for download and review.  We will also provide a call-in number for those who want to listen live by phone.  Photos, blogposts and tweets will be uploaded all week long to document this historic event and associated visits to Capitol Hill for lobbying.  Finally, we are calling for written testimony and will be posting your letters and presentations.  This enormous body of information about the CPSIA and its impact on the U.S. economy will be available 24/7 for public inspection and reaction.  The record of our advocacy will be created – we will not be denied!

3. The Rally Will Be Democracy In Action. What began as several individuals exercising their Constitutionally-guaranteed Freedom of Speech has turned into a storm of protest from four corners of the country.  Despite many pained cries for help and relief, we have been marginalized by a hostile Congress unwilling to listen.  Having had to resort to creating our own way to join the legislative process, we decided to stage a model democracy event with open dialogue among all parties.  By using advanced Internet features like tweets, streaming video, blogs, and remote interactivity with the Rally floor, we are making a strong statement about our feelings about democracy and the People’s role in U.S. government. We hope to demonstrate that an open process can be trusted, and that civilized dialogue should not be feared.  We can only hope that Congress will watch and listen!

4. The Rally Will Make History. The new Capitol Visitors Center has never hosted a fully-interactive public rally like ours, to our knowledge. The streaming video you will enjoy on Wednesday has not been done before at this location for a meeting other than an official hearing.  We have enjoyed support for our request to offer this feature for the public’s enjoyment, most notably by the capable CVC staff and by our hosts, Rep. John Boehner and Rep. Joe Barton and his team. We are also being supported by Citrix whose GoToWebinar.com software will power the event. As you experience the Rally at home as though you were there, please think about how the world has changed.  As you exchange tweets, write blogposts, email questions to Congressmen and look at freshly uploaded photos and documents posted to the site as events unfold, consider how concepts of democratic processes are changing right . . before . . . your . . . eyes.  Not everyone has the privilege to live history and to know it.  You can say you were there!

Finally, please know that the Rally won’t be the same without your participation. Whether you are at home, at the office, in your car, or in Room HVC201 A&B, your presence and your participation is critical.

The event is being staged for you – so dive in and take part.  Participate by expressing yourself and by reacting to what you are seeing.  If you have your own blog, post your thoughts and consider and discuss these questions:

• How did your view of CPSIA issues change over the course of the day?
• How did you like being involved in this important event?
• What would you like to see happen next?
• Do you feel differently about your country and our democracy after witnessing the Rally?

I hope the event leaves you with plenty to think about and motivated to get involved in our effort to Amend the CPSIA.

See you on Wednesday!
Rick

Countdown to Rally: April 1st Is Only 4 Days Away

We are now only 4 days from our important rally.  The activity level across the many people involved in preparing for this event is continuing at a frantic pace.  The event is looking more promising every day and things are changing quickly.  So be sure to regularly check the site for updates and new information.

Personally, I volunteered yesterday to be the “official blogger” of the group during the event.  So, I will be sharing with all of you literally what is happening as it actually happens next Wednesday.  This will allow all of us around in the country - even around the world (we know that some folks are following us in Europe) - who are not going to be in DC to experience “live” our democratic freedom in action.  We also heard recently of a classroom in New England that is going to use this event as a live learning experience for their kids.  Many be more will follow their lead…  How amazing!

So, make sure you will be able to follow the action next Wednesday either on your own or better with your friends, family, co-workers.  Promote the event to as many people that care for you as you can ahead of time.  All you have to do is connect to the site: www.AmendTheCpsia.com and once you are online, please participate in the democratic process and send us your comments.

Yesterday, I introduced myself to you and shared why I feel such a strong personal connection for what we are trying to accomplish here.  Now, I will focus my attention on providing factual information as things unfold in front of my eyes so you can be fully part of the experience.  Today is my first of regular updates ahead of the Rally on Monday.

Now I must work with my son on his homework assignment, but you’ll hear from me again tomorrow.

Rally Event Speakers List

Amend the CPSIA Speakers List

Name	Title	Organization	Sector	State
Nathan Fleisig	Compliance Manager	American Apparel and Footware Association	Apparel	NY
Richard G. Riley	Owner	Fredericktown Yamaha	ATVs	MD
Robert Burns	Board Member	DreamBikes	Bicycles	WI
Carol Baicker-McKee	Author	Author	Books	MD
Melanie Tommey	Owner	Mel’s Country Crafts	Crafts	OK
Rick Woldenberg	President	Alliance for Children’s Product Safety	Educational Products	IL
Steven Kanor	President & CEO	Toys for Special Children, Inc.	Enabling	NY
Cecilia Leibovitz	President	Craftsbury Kids/Handmade Toy Alliance	Handmade Toys	VT
Rob Wilson	Vice President	Challenge & Fun, Inc./ Handmade Toy Alliance	Handmade Toys	MA
Jill Chukas	Owner	Crafty Baby/Handmade Toy Alliance	Handmade Toys	CT
Scott Krueger	Owner	Westwood Design	Juvenile Furniture	NJ
John Engler	President	National Association of Manufactureres	Manufacturing	DC
Youth Rider		American Motorcycle	Motorcycles	PA
Barbara Beck		Gradient	Scientist
Rick Reiss	Principal Scientist	Exponent	Scientist
Eileen Moyer	Director of Regulatory Regulations	Reckitt Benckiser	Spec. Products	NJ
Susan Baustian	Director	Once Upon a Child/Winmark Corp.	Thrift Stores	MN
Carter Keithley	President	Toy Industry Association	Toys	NY
TBD		National Bulk Vending	Vending

Members of Congress
The Hon. Jim DeMint
The Hon. Joe Barton
The Hon. Marsha Blackburn
The Hon. Phil Gingrey
The Hon. George Radonovich
The Hon. Cliff Stearns
The Hon. Ed Whitfield
Rep. Michael Burgess (R-TX)
Rep. Adam Putnam (R-FL)
Sen. Bob Bennett (R-UT)

The CPSIA Shoves the Poor Off a Cliff

Deputy Headmistress has been kind enough to let us cross-post her personal story. The original and her other knowledgeable and helpful posts about the CPSIA can be found on her blog The Common Room.

In 1992 we had three little girls, ages 2, 8, and 9.  My husband was serving out his enlistment in the Air Force, and I was a sahm.  You may have heard rumours about how little enlisted men get paid.  Those rumours?  They are mostly true.

We weren’t seeking adoption at all, but we heard of two little girls who needed a home together, and we just couldn’t come up with a good reason to say no.   One of the children was severely handicapped, and it was unlikely anybody would take on both of them (nearly 4 and 6 at the time) because of the severity of those disabilities. The birth-mother did not want them separated. And so, over the objections of everybody sensible that we knew, we opened our home to this unplanned blessing.

Unplanned?  Surely, of all the ways to add to a family, ‘unplanned adoption’ doesn’t make much sense- how is that even possible?  It’s funny to call an adoption unplanned, but it really was. What little planning we were able to do came to naught. We were supposed to take the children for weekends over a period of a few months so they could get used to us.   On the Wednesday before the first weekend visit, the birth mother telephoned and called off the adoption.  We notified our friends and relations.  The following day she called and asked the caseworker what time we were picking the girls up.  The case worker asked her what had changed. She had her reasons, and I won’t go into them here, but she did have their very best interests at heart, so the caseworker gave her a time.  And then she dropped a bombshell. “I want you to come and pick them up tomorrow,” the birth-mother said, “but not for a visit.  They need to go to their new parents now, and not come back.”

So… we went to bed with three children and the next morning suddenly gained two more children who came to us with nothing but the clothes on their backs and some immediate and distressing but treatable medical problems, and some longterm and severe medical problems- again, just two weeks before Christmas. We had no clothes for them, no beds, no presents; nothing was in readiness for them, except our hearts (and even those needed some sprucing up). (If you are interested in the longer version of our adoption story, see here.

They came on a Friday.  We went shopping on a Saturday.  Where did we go shopping?  Thrift shops, of course.  We had an immediate and urgent need for clothing, toys, and bedding for two new children, and we lived on an enlisted man’s salary.  It was only two weeks before Christmas.  The thrift shop enabled us to fill the gap between our income and our needs.

We dressed our five girls from thrift shops, consignment stores, and yard sales over the next several years.  Now they dress themselves largely from the same sources- ‘new’ clothes are supplementary.  Not only does this help their budgets, but it also is a culturally and environmentally beneficial practice.

Clothing, books, and toys purchased from thrift shops do not come with all the extra external packaging that new items do.  They are bagged in used bags donated by the public.  They arrive at the thrift shop instead of at a landfill by means of donations.  Many times stores will donate unsold inventory to thrift shops.  These are items that do not contribute toward further burdening of landfills.

Thrift store shopping is culturally beneficial as it teaches children thrift, and is a direct reproach to the consumer oriented materialism of our culture.

Thrift store shopping benefits charities- most thrift shops are run by and for charities and provide job training and other support to those in need.

And thrift store shopping directly benefits the poor- thousands of others, as we did, fill the gap between what they make and what they need by shopping for necessities such as warm coats, hats, boots, snowpants, hats and scarves at thrift shops.   Boots, bikes, and balls can be purchased used anywhere from 1/2 to about a tenth of their price new.  The impact of the CPSIA on the poor is devastating.
One reason for this legislative blind spot, I believe, is that politicians and special interest groups like PIRG and Public Citizen have little understanding of what it means to have no margin of error.

And this is important to remember- when you are poor the margin for error is so very, very thin that the consequence of what seems to some to be a very small error in judgment or very small increased cost due to poorly thought out legislation such as the CPSIA is disproportionately large. Even people who are just barely financially comfortable sometimes just can’t understand how thin that margin of error is. The poor are skating slowly and shakily on razor thin ice. The smallest mistake, theirs or somebody else’s, can send them plunging into life threatening icy waters. You very likely make exactly the same sort of foolish decisions in your financial decisions on a regular basis- but you have a larger cushion to protect you from irresponsibility, whether it’s your irresponsibility or that of legislators who pass unread bills or pass bills without hearing from ALL the stakeholders.

When you are poor, there are no margins. You can’t take money out of the budget in one area and apply to another because there are no surpluses in any area.  There may not be even be a budget.

Being forced to buy a brand new winter coat for your child because thrift shops have had to send all their used coats to the landfill in response to the CPSIA can cause far more devastation for lower income families than the complacently comfortable can imagine.  For those who live precariously from one small paycheck to the next, that legislative error might result in having to choose between warm clothes for winter and having the power turned off or not being able to buy gas for the car that week. It might mean an overdraft at the bank, which will then cost more money as the bank adds an overdraft charge, which then means other checks bounce, which means more overdraft charges.

To the complacently comfortable, this sort of scenario seems overly dramatic, but that’s because they haven’t lived there, and they don’t know what it’s like.  We do. We’ve lived out of an ice chest for three months because we couldn’t afford the deposit to turn on our electricity.  I’ve been reduced to tears when the only food in the house was two eggs, and I dropped one and broke it.

Our thrift shop charges five dollars for winter coats, good winter coats.  If they have to send those coats to the landfill and poor families have to buy brand new coats, we’re looking at a coast increase of at least 75 percent imposed on the families least able to bear it, and their children will be no safer.

The CDC says that on a scale of 1 to 10, the risk to children of lead poisoning from books is maybe .05- that is a rhetorical way of saying nil.  No children I have ever heard of have had an increase of lead blood levels from the zippers on their jackets.

Because I have lived it, the poor to me are very real, living, breathing people, with real flesh and blood children who will be immediately harmed by the impact of the CPSIA as it is written.

To legislators and the special interest groups who pushed this bill through, the poor appear to be an abstract concept, useful for exploitative purposes, as poster children for pet causes, as tools for emotional manipulation and rhetorical propaganda. And that is why they shrug over the reality that they have chosen to impose a very real and immediate harm to poor families by quadrupling clothing expenses for their children in order to avoid the negligible at best and utterly unproven risk of increased blood lead levels in the zipper pull or snaps on a ten year old’s coat.

Malcom Smith CPSC Lead Ban Protest Video

On March 19th retail store owner and industry icon Malcom Smith staged a CPSIA protest. The video below tells more about why he did it and who came out to support him.

This video is played in tribute to the family lost by Bud Feldkamp in the recent Butte, Montana plane crash.

For more information about Malcom Smith and his efforts check out his website: http://www.kidslove2ride.com

OHV Lead Ban Reversal Legislation

Here is the introduction to an article from MotorcycleUSA.com about the news bills that would help the industry continue to sell their bikes:

The Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC), along with the Specialty Vehicle Institute of America (SVIA), have announced their support for two new bills – S. 608 and H.R. 1587 – that would overturn the ban that resulted from the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) of 2008, aka the Lead Ban, which brought the sales of off-highway motorcycles and ATVs designed for kids 12 and under to an abrupt halt on February 10, 2009.

Read the article in its entirety here.

Sometimes You Just Need to Ask

The importance of having a presence at the April 1st Amend the CPSIA rally wasn’t lost on Jolie Fay, the owner of Skipping Hippos and a member of the Northwest Children’s Business Alliance (NWCBA) which represents about 200 businesses. She knew that for many people the trip would be too far and too expensive in these difficult economic times.

She also knew that both she and the other businesses in her NWCBA needed to have someone at the rally to represent them to ensure that their business stories and their needs were heard.

She isn’t the type to wait-and-see so she called and emailed all of the members of her alliance and asked if they could donate anything to send someone to Washington.

When she was through 20 businesses had donated between $15 and $100 and they are sending two members of NWCBA to meet with their Senators and Oregon Reps as well as actively participate in the rally.

A simple and straighforward approach to problem solving worked its magic.

Look for more about the ladies from Oregon and rally experience in the blog section of this site.

Exercising our Rights as US Citizens

I might be one of the most unlikely actors behind the growing momentum to amend the CPSIA.

I was born in France many years ago and grew up in and around Paris until my adulthood. I moved to the United States in the late eighties and a job opportunity after graduate school started the path from which I have not deviated since. In 2002, after 10 years of permanent residency and the attacks on 9/11, I decided to apply for citizenship. It was clear to me that I could have easily been one of the victims that day (I had been in one of the Towers a couple of weeks before for a business meeting), so these attacks were not only on America but, for me at least, they became much more personal: an attempt to destroy me and my family (my wife and I have two boys). In July 2002, I became a proud US citizen surrounded by my family and about 150 other applicants representing over 120 nationalities! I can still visualize the room in one of the federal building downtown Chicago and the words of the judge as we completed the oath of all allegiance: “As of today, you now have the same rights and duties as any other US citizens, thanks to the constitution of the United States”.

When I joined Learning Resources and Rick Woldenberg in 2005, my focus was on a very different goal. I wanted to find a place where I could use my business experience and leadership skills to help a group of highly committed individuals while trying to make a positive contribution in the world (in our case providing high quality and innovative products to create engaging learning experiences in the classroom for young kids and their teachers). I also wanted a very different working environment than what I had experienced up to that point. It was a big risk and a challenging experience at times, but after three years working with Rick and the entire team at Learning Resources, I can honestly say that I could not have made a better decision.

I have also been increasingly active in various local communities. Among other things, I actually got involved early on in the Obama presidential campaign. So, it was a real disappointment for me to see some members of the Democratic Party unwilling to dialogue or listen to our point of view on the CPSIA simply because it does not fit with their agenda. The last few months have been extraordinary challenging for all of us with the combined effect of this poorly written and unnecessarily overreaching law and the dramatic slow down in our economy. So far we are surviving these combined ‘tsunamis’ but the pressure and stress are extreme. Yet, despite all that tension, I feel more energized and alive today than I have ever been.

Next Wednesday as we express our grave concerns about the unintended consequences of the CPSIA and share our suggestions on how we can provide safe products without destroying a huge part of our economy, we might at times feel that the mountain is too steep or the challenge too great. However, I have learned over the years and from personal experience that our country is truly unique. While imperfect at times, we all try to live by Lincoln’s words: “the government of the people, by the people, for the people”. The fact is that, next Wednesday, we are going to be able to demonstrate to the entire country what a true democratic debate really is. This is possible because of the enduring persistence of a few and the openness of many to guarantee our freedom of speech. Notably, this will happen despite repeated pressures from a few politicians who think in terms of “us and them” or “if you are not with me than you are against me”. And like in the “not so distant” past, these type of politicians will fail because they do not understand, wrapped up in their self-righteous arrogance, that they stand against the very principle upon which our country has been founded and has thrived for over 200 years: they are here to serve the people and not some special interest group, which ever it might be. And in order to serve the people they would be well advised to listen and dialogue with them.

I remain optimistic and confident that, in the end, better judgment will prevail. But it is essential that a meaningful and sincere dialogue be allowed. I always knew that our country was very special and proud to be a part of it. But today, I feel incredibly grateful to have a chance to truly exercise my right of free expression as an American citizen, to be a model to my children and to fulfill my pledge of alliance to the constitution, honor the words of encouragement from ‘my’ Chicago judge and strengthen my bond to each one of you.

Sincerely,
Etienne Veber

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Wearing Out the Fax Software by Sending a Daily Fax

Wacky Hermit’s has been kind enough to let us cross-post the below. The original and other wonderful commentary can be found on her Organic Baby Farm blog.

Every day I write a fax to Congress and I have my fax software send it out to the entire House and Senate Commerce Subcommittees on Consumer Protection. Today’s fax goes out to all of the above and Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Reid as well.

The second part of the fax is always cut-and-paste from some interesting news article or blog post on CPSIA, but the first part is always my remarks. Today’s second part is this post by Rick Woldenberg, which you should also read. What follows is today’s first part.

————————————

Are you a leader or a follower?

That’s the question every Democratic member of Congress must ask themselves on April 1 at 10 a.m.

On that day and time, at the Capitol Building, a rally will be held in support of making much-needed amendments to CPSIA. This is a bipartisan event. But guess what– Democratic leadership has forbidden Democratic Congressmen to speak at the rally! On the one truly bipartisan issue in Washington, will Democrats be silent? On the issue that has brought people of every political stripe together in a grassroots movement, will only one party show up to represent them in Congress?

So, I ask you (and especially if you are a true Democrat): Are you a leader or a follower? Because I for one want LEADERS in Congress. I want people who will listen to their constituents and do what it takes to represent THEM, not represent whoever has the most influence. Your real constituents, the moms and pops who vote for you and place their hope for change in you, want CPSIA to not take away their thrift stores and libraries. The American people do not want their minibikes banned or their school supplies to double in cost. The American people cannot possibly want you to make already-safe children’s apparel even more expensive in the middle of a recession. All these things and more are happening because of CPSIA. Will you do nothing just so that you can continue to get invited to all the best Washington parties?

Be a true LEADER. Come to the rally and show your constituents that you hear the voice of the populace, that the 1st Amendment to the Constitution wasn’t kidding when it said we could “petition the government for a redress of grievances.” Or just be a cowardly FOLLOWER and do as you’re told by your betters, exactly as you’d like us who are protesting CPSIA to do.

(By the way, this is still America, where people are born equal. The day Congress poops rainbow Skittles is the day I believe anyone in Congress is anyone’s “better.”)

Sincerely,
[Wacky Hermit]

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