Issues of safety

Issues of safety

April 15, 2009

Children’s Museum Fundraiser to take a hit

Children’s Museum Fundraiser to take a hit

April 14, 2009 10:49 PM EDT

MADISON (WKOW) — Every summer for the past 21 years thousands of collectors, parents, and children come to Middleton from all over the country to buy American Girl dolls and accessories at discount prices.

For event goers it’s a bargain. For The Madison Children’s Museum, it’s a financial lifeline

“It’s about a 1/3 of our budget and the great thing about it is that it offers unrestricted support,” says the Museum’s Director of Development Jenni Collins.

The event raises about a million dollars annually and half goes directly to the museum. The other half to children’s charities.

But new federal consumer product safety guidelines aimed at keeping kids safe mean this fundraiser will likely take a big financial hit this year.

“The federal law was set up to remove lead from children’s toys and that extends to the sale of toys and the sale of used toys and clothing,” says Wisconsin Consumer Protection Director Jim Rabbitt.

“American girl is being very conservative about what products they put in our hands, and what products we repair and resell,” Collins says.

Which means this year; no furniture, accessories or clothing for girls. Just dolls and books.

Since there is not as much to sell this year, the traditionally weekend long event will only last one day.

“we anticipate the people, knowing it’s a one day sale, may not to travel as far, but we are hoping that local shoppers, folks here in the Madison region can take advantage of the sale,” Collins says.

Event organizers already expect revenue to take a hit with the changes this year, but are still optimistic.

That’s because they still have their main attraction.

“It’s important to remember that it’s the reason why collectors, children and their parents come out to this event because they love those dolls,” Collins says.

The dolls make up for more than half of the cash sales at the event.

The one day sale will have extended hours, running from 7am-5pm.

The museum also has other events planned to help lessen the financial blow.

They will be holding a fundraising party the day before the sale and plan to have vendors selling doll accessories and other crafts outside of the warehouse.

The museum will also no longer sell tickets through Tickets.com.

They will be selling the tickets themselves.

For up to date information about the Annual Benefit Sale of American Girl Returns and Seconds, log onto the museum’s website at www.madisonchilrensmuseum.org

Article: http://www.wkowtv.com/global/story.asp?s=10184937&ClientType=Printable

 

Democracy in Action – An Interactive Civics Lesson for your Students

“… that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

The April 1 Amend the CPSIA Rally is intended to be a true demonstration of real democracy. This is a unique opportunity for teachers and schools to give kids a bird’s eye view  of how citizens participate in legislative processes and influence the path of government. 

The event will be streamed online as it takes place on Wednesday April 1, 10:00 am EST. You will be able to watch it as a class right here at amendthecpsia.com and even participate in a live online chat through which questions may be asked. 

Afterward, you can ask your students to write about the event. If you decide to do this, we’d love to know how it went, and to read some of your student reactions. You can write to us at webcontent AT amendthecpsia DOT com.

For more ideas on how you can participate in the rally from your home state click here.

“Letter to the Editor” Catherine M. Jaime

Catherine sent this letter to her local newspaper on February 1oth. They didn’t print it.

With today being the next deadline for the wide-sweeping Consumer Product Safety “Improvement” Act (CPSIA), I am baffled at the lack of coverage. Where is the outrage over this act — morally and economically? Why is Congress passing a stimulus act – at the same time it is doing so much to harm the economy – small businesses in particular?

I am a small business owner who is hoping to survive the economic onslaught already caused by this bill – and this portion just went into effect! To put this in perspective: Our average monthly sales are approximately $5,000. This weekend we had to dispose of over $4,000 worth of inventory. In one weekend, it is gone. The sad thing is, we’re not even sure we have removed everything. And if we haven’t, we could still be in violation of the law… We’re primarily a children’s bookstore, with over 3,000 square feet, and in the end we were given one business day to find and remove all of the books that had just become illegal to sell.

Why? Because Congress and the CPSC have decided that it is all of a sudden dangerous for our children to read books that were printed before 1985… books that might have small amounts of lead in the ink in their pages. The adults of today grew up reading those same books with no ill effects, but somehow our children and grandchildren might suffer if some of their books were printed before 1985. 

Catherine M. Jaime
Madison, AL

Comfortable Shoes and Other Things to Remember

What to Wear

Deciding what to wear to the event may seem like a daunting task but it really doesn’t need to be.
Business casual is the approach to take. You’ll want to avoid jeans and sneakers. Most importantly, you’ll want to be wearing comfortable shoes. 

For men: slacks and a button down shirt (tie optional).
For women:  slacks or skirt and a blouse.

Handy to Bring Along

- Maps and directions – These can be downloaded here.
- A notepad and pen.
- Pictures or samples of your products. If you bring actual samples, make sure they’re compact. These can be taken along to meetings with legislators to show examples of your work and strengthen your position. If you’re not able to carry your samples when traveling, arrange to have them sent to your hotel, for Tuesday (3/31) delivery.
- Testimony from customers.
- If you’re bringing your children- drawing supplies or other things that will keep them busy.

If you will be checking out of your hotel the day of the event be sure to leave your luggage with the concierge. There will be no place at the event to store your luggage.

Restricted Items

Food and beverages of any kind may not be brought into the Capital Visitors Center. Cameras are allowed, as are strollers. For complete information on what is and is not restricted visit this page.

10 ways to make your lobby experience more valuable

Although lobbyists and the “special interests” they represent are often vilified by the press and politicians, they perform a crucial role in the development of public policy choices.  The truth is that lobbyists are citizens, just like you, who are exercising their First Amendment guarantee to petition their government to address legislative, regulatory, or policy issues.  Lobbying the Congress, the Executive Branch, and independent agencies, like the CPSC, is not only a patriotic duty, but it is your right and what makes our participatory democracy strong.  Moreover, as somebody with a specific issue that needs to be addressed, you are now a “special interest,” just like those who advocate for education, health, and other policy areas.
Thank you Steve Lamar for providing this information.
 
Here are 10 ways to make your lobby experience more valuable:
 
1.  Thank them for their time.  Do this at the beginning and end of the meeting.  Members have lots of pressing things on their agenda.  And while they serve you, they get dozens of requests for meetings so their time is valuable.  Treat it that way.
 
2.  Be a Constituent:  Members and their staff take special care to be responsive to constituents.  Establish your credentials as a constituent of the district or state.  Begin by talking about where you live and work for a few minutes to establish some common ground.  Often the Member will be familiar with the area and you may quickly find you have people or places in common.
 
3.  Stick to your 2-3 Main Talking Points:  Members of Congress and their staff have to deal with dozens of complex issues every day.  Often they have very little background other than what is written on a hastily crafted briefing memo that was read a few minutes before your meeting.  Your ability to reduce the issue to 2-3 main points is critical to an effective meeting.
 
4. Pick a Leader:  If there are multiple people in a meeting, make sure one person (preferably a constituent) is tasked with opening the meeting and drawing upon others to speak to make particular points, etc.

5. End with an “Ask.”  Members of Congress want to be helpful.  They want to know what they can do to be helpful, be it writing a letter, introducing a bill, making a phone call, etc.
 
6. Leave a “Leave Behind”.  Make sure you leave behind a “one-pager” or packet of materials that the Member or aides can use as they work the issue.  It is best to provide the material at the beginning of the meeting so they can make notes.
 
7. Follow Up.  Get the name of a staffer and a time when you can follow up.  After your meeting, the Member or aide will probably meet with other constituents or lobbyists so your issue or ask will get buried unless you are following up.  And when you follow up, please be polite and not a pest. Finally, make sure you report back the gist of the meeting, whether you feel the Member will be helpful, and what follow up steps are needed to the lobby coordinators. 
 
8. Watch the Time.  Members may only have 5 minutes to meet with you, even though they have scheduled 15 – 20 minutes.  Meetings are often disrupted when the bells go off (announcing a vote or other floor action) and members are often distracted by several simultaneous events happening (including a watchful eye on the TV that will be turned on to C-Span so they can monitor floor proceedings).  
 
9. Staff are Important.  Visitors to Washington are often disappointed when they are told to meet with staff.  While staff are not as “glamorous” as the Member of Congress, they are very important.  They do much of the work on Capitol Hill and they are the ones who often end up writing legislation.  At a minimum, they will be responsible for making sure that any follow up gets accomplished.  Don’t be surprised if you have a meeting with a staffer and a Member pops in for a “drop by.”
 
10. Be Flexible.  Meetings often get moved, delayed, or switched around at the last minute.  Be prepared for such changes and “go with the flow.”  Often the most productive meetings are ones where a Member has to meet with you while they are walking to the floor or a Committee meeting for a vote.  One benefit of these meetings is that you often get to meet other Members of Congress, including some who may be critical for your issue.

Letter to Moore: Jennifer of Chapter One Organics

March 22, 2009

Dear Commissioner Moore,

I am writing in response to the letter you wrote to Representative Dingell
that was posted to the CPSC website on March 20, 2009.

While I realize your letter was directed to Representative Dingell, I am
writing to share with you my concerns about your letter.  I own an organic
cotton baby clothing business that is impacted by the CPSIA.  Specifically
in this paragraph I am in disbelief at the way you address businesses
affected by CPSIA, “Congress has entrusted this agency with a large and
important mission.  The passage of the CPSIA was a huge vote of confidence
for the agency and despite the hue and cry of some in the business community
who will never be happy with the closer scrutiny and accountability required
by the Act, it is a major accomplishment of the last Congress, and one that
your leadership was instrumental in achieving.”

As a business owner who cares about child safety and who is affected by this
new law I will tell you that I am opposed to CPSIA, but not for the reason
you have mentioned.  CPSIA is deeply flawed as Ms. Nord and the CPSC staff
outlined in their comprehensive letter submitted to Representative Dingell
on March 20, 2009.  As a business owner and mother, I am constantly
accountable for my actions.  We manufacture products that have been tested
in which all of our components test well below 100 ppm but yet this law will
require me to test our product continually for lead.  The CPSIA does not
differentiate among the size of business, the materials used, the
commodities, the industries, the accessibility of parts, and so on…the
list is rather endless.

The majority of us in the business community would like to see a smart law
that is focused on products that pose risks and the CPSIA is clearly not the
answer.  We are seeing huge losses being reported by small and large
companies and it isn’t because their products are toxic, it is because the
law does not work.

It is astonishing to me that after six months of dealing with this, your
response to Representative Dingell’s questions didn’t even scratch the
surface of the issues regarding this law and instead seemed completely
politically driven.  As a tax payer, I resent that you are unable to work as
a team with Ms. Nord.  In the private sector we often have to work in
imperfect environments.  If we don’t design, create, solve problems and
implement, we don’t produce products, money, or jobs.

Let me reassure you that I would not have spent the past four to five months
of my life and money to figure out why and how to comply with the CPSIA if I
were not accountable.  We don’t mind complying with laws that work but the
CPSIA doesn’t work.

I would like to get back to what I was doing five months ago which was
building a business, creating a safe organic product, and employing women in
need.  Furthermore, I would rather not be spending my time or money to
travel to Washington on April 1 for the Rally and Congressional Briefing
with my colleagues but, if I don’t, I may not have a business to continue
working in.

I mean no disrespect but I would truly appreciate it if you could put aside
your politics and not wait to realize that there are devastating
consequences to this law that aren’t in the name of safety and aren’t a
result of businesses not wanting to be accountable.  If our businesses are
forced to wait for your world to be perfect, our citizens lose jobs and
businesses close their doors.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Murphy
President/Founder
Chapter One Organics, Inc.
jennifer@chapteroneorganics.com
312.860.1186
www.chapteroneorganics.com
www.thegreeneaters.com

Letter to Duncan: Michael of American Educational Products LLC

Dear Mr. Duncan,

I have just returned from New Orleans where the 2009 National Science
Teachers Association (NSTA) convention was held.  Unfortunately, when I
came by the Department of Education booth at 10:30 Friday morning, you
had already been pulled away on other matters, so I was unable to share
some concerns with you.

I am the President of a small company serving not only science teachers
and students, but math, early childhood and literacy users.  American
Educational Products (www.amep.com) has been in business since 1986 and
currently has 72 employees in two states.  Our products, like all of the
products you would have seen at NSTA, are seriously threatened by
unintended consequences of CPSIA2008, a law passed in August 2008.  I am
attaching 3 documents that address concerns about implementation and
specifics of this law, a law that will easily reduce the number of
products available to the American student and teacher by at least half.
All three attachments are in response to a letter from the Honorable
Congressman Dingell to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)
regarding ten questions or concerns that Mr. Dingell had with the
legislation and its implementation.  One of the attachments is the CPSC
response, the other two are responses from companies in the educational
supplies and materials industry (myself and Mr. Rick Woldenberg who has
provided excellent links within his response documenting the problems).

I cannot convey the urgency with which this legislation needs to be
reviewed and modified if the products that our teachers need and more
importantly, our students need are to continue to be available in the
classrooms of this great country.  We need an advocate.  Let me say it
again – we need an advocate.  I believe that Congressman Dingell is
leaning that way, but he and a very few like-minded representatives are
going to need an ear within the administration.  I am asking that you
provide that ear and be our advocate within the administration on this
matter.  I do appreciate any time and effort that you and your staff can
direct to assisting the suppliers in the educational products market in
achieving the desired consequences of this legislation while minimizing
the unintended consequences.

I will in Washington late next Tuesday evening (March 31) to attend an
event that I invite you and / or your staff to attend.  This event will
provide a forum for presenting concerns and thoughts on this matter as
it applies to many industries.  Additional details can be found at
www.AmendTheCPSIA.com. The event is scheduled to begin at 10:00AM on
Wednesday April 1 in Room HVC201 A&B at the Capitol Visitor’s Center.
It would be my honor and privilege to meet with you or members of your
staff either at the event itself or at any time after 12:00PM before
6:00PM that day.

In closing, please accept my many thanks for your efforts on behalf of
all students across this country.  I hope to meet you next Wednesday.

Sincerely,

Michael Warring
President
American Educational Products LLC
970.484.7445×232 phone
970.484.1198 fax
970-214-1925 Cell
mewarring@amep.com

Letter to Bingaman: Shana of Moon Rabbit Toys

4 February 2009 

Dear Senator Bingaman,

I own a toy store in Santa Fe.  I am writing to you concerning the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) which was signed into law this past August. Now, you must understand, I am all for regulations.  I don’t want salmonella in my peanut butter.  I would certainly not want to sell toxic toys to children.  However, the testing requirements of this law and the new standards imposed on the toy industry are hurting American manufacturers. 

This new law was created in response to high quantities of lead found in Chinese made toys.  Lack of regulations in China is to blame.  Huge corporations like Mattel are also culpable for their laissez-faire attitude toward their Chinese factories.  Who are not to blame are small American toy companies who make their products domestically and have always complied with or exceeded safety requirements.

The CPSIA enforces third party testing of all parts of all toys. This testing is very expensive.  Many small American companies might go out of business because of the costs of this testing.  I do not believe that was the spirit of this law, but it is the word of the law.

In no way should there be over 600ppm of lead in any toy given to a young child.  600ppm has been the standard in this country for many years.  Now, all toys must adhere to no more than 300ppm of lead.  This is the most restricted amount allowed in the world. And this does not just apply to infant products; it applies to all products sold to children under the age of 12.

Therefore, I am sending you an American made balsa wood airplane that will be illegal to sell after February 9^th.  The company, whose letter I include, will allow me to send the planes back at their own expense.  Instead I have decided to send the plane to you.  This is not a toy that should be given to any infant; we can all agree on that.  But the slight level of lead found in the paint would not harm anyone who did not chew on it for a very, very long time.  Why should this American manufacturer have to destroy all these planes?  Why are they safe on February 9^th but become illegal on February 10^th?

I also include a letter sent from a highly prestigious German toy company.  This company, Selecta, is renowned for the safety of its wooden German made toys.  However, because of the requirements and expense of the CPSIA, Selecta has decided to give up on the entire American market.  They will no longer sell their toys in this country.  I believe this says a lot.

Finally, I am also sending you a stuffed bear.  This bear is made by a Santa Fe craft women and is sold by a Santa Fe business.  The wording of the CPSIA does not make it clear whether I need to have a third party test these bears for lead.  I just don’t know.  Do you know? Would you let me know?  (I wouldn’t want to break any laws.)

I thank you for your time.

Shana Hack
Moon Rabbit Toys
112 W. San Francisco St., ste 212-C
Santa Fe, NM 87501
505-982-9373
moonrabbittoys@mindspring.com

Country-wide participation in Amend CPSIA rally

Can’t make it to the event in person? You can still participate. We’ve heard from people around the country who are planning local events in support of the rally. What a great way to show solidarity in support of this important issue. We’re gathering suggestions for an idea page. Share your ideas for organizing local events here.

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