CPSIA – Wingnut or Dingbat, You Make the Call!

Hey, it’s her words – is Deborah Blum a “wingnut” or a “dingbat”? In her blogpost from earlier today, Ms. Blum takes Inez Tenenbaum to task for her sins in not clamping down HARDER on American businesses stupid enough to continue selling children’s products. Ms. Blum is apparently a journalism professor at the University of Wisconsin.

As an aside, I must say I had the mildest twinge of sympathy for Ms. Tenenbaum after I read Blum’s blogpost. This is not my usual emotion when thinking about the CPSC Chairman, but heck, there’s no winning for her, is there? I don’t want her job.

Ms. Blum’s contention is so asinine that it hardly bears repeating except that apparently Twitter is alive with tweets and re-tweets of her blogpost. Her thesis is that Ms. Tenenbaum tolerates excessive amounts of lead in children’s products and explains it thus:

“So I’ve come up with a nice little conspiracy theory. You and your business partners are tired of low-income consumers. They can only afford dirt-cheap crap from China, their purchases don’t add up enough to float the balance sheets. So, of course, you aren’t protecting them with tougher regulations. Of course, American corporations aren’t investing in safer products. Slowly but surely, one piece of jewelry, one pair of plastic boots at a time, you’re getting rid of everyone who doesn’t matter enough to be kept safe. Sure it sounds crazy. But is it any crazier than importing poisoned goods for almost ten years without looking for alternatives or better safety systems? I don’t think so. So who’s the wingnut now?” [Emphasis added]

Hey, Ms. Blum, I can answer that one – YOU are the wingnut.

Pot calling the kettle black, I think Ms. Blum shows why some blogs must be “discounted”. She makes about every possible reactive error in assessing the lead “problem” in children’s products:

• She confuses CPSC lead recalls (according to her, 289 since 2001 – “more than 30 recalls every single year”) with lead injuries. Hysteria over the POSSIBILITY of injury without bothering to assess the PROBABILITY of injury is how we got into this mess in the first place. I am sorry Ms. Blum is so easily rattled but isn’t the data on injuries relevant? I have documented one reported death and three unverified injuries from lead in this period of time. Should we turn our lives upside down to reduce that risk further? This only amplifies my call for a National Xanax Fund.
• She reasons from headlines but shows little mastery of the actual facts. She cites the recall of McDonald’s Shrek glasses (“McDonald’s recalled more than 12 million “Shrek 3″ glasses contaminated with the toxic metal cadmium (and also a little lead)”) but fails to note that the CSPC has acknowledged in WRITING that the glasses were safe. She also cites the AP’s recent report of lead and cadmium in enamel baked on certain glasses, but fails to note that the AP also admitted that the health risk was low or that the presence of these heavy metals is LEGAL in enamels of this type. Congress did that, and how could we EVER doubt Congress?!
• Ms. Blum repeats the junk science notion that if lead is bad in some cases, it MUST be bad in all cases. She absurdly compares lead in enamel with lead in drinking water, and then asks why there aren’t standards to protect adults from the dangers of lead in enamels. Ms. Blum, can I see your turnip truck?
• Ms. Blum plays the China card, a jingoistic line of reasoning used by blamestormers. We make many of our products in China, and I consider this kind of finger pointing a contemporary form of racism. I have a lot of experience with Chinese sources, and have good reason to trust our trading partners. Ms. Blum regrettably has no idea what she is talking about when she blames “China”, as though we all buy from the government of China. We do business with other privately-owned companies, not “China”. It may make the world seem less complex to equate “cheap” with “poor quality” or “dangerous”. It is not accurate, however.

If the Deborah Blums of the world get the upper hand in this regulatory mess, they will solve the lead problem, I am sure. It won’t be a solution you will like, nor will it be effective. Lead was here before Deborah Blum roamed the Earth and will here after she’s gone – it’s an ELEMENT, after all. No law can banish it, and no economy can survive if lead must be eliminated in all forms from all products, even in unharmful trace amounts.

She will succeed, however, in killing off all companies that make children’s products. That will solve the “problem” she is apparently obsessed with, but will create other, more serious ones.

Let’s hope we don’t continue to slide down this slippery slope led by people who can’t decide if they are wingnuts or dingbats. It’s a tough call, I’ll admit. She might be both.

Read more here:
CPSIA – Wingnut or Dingbat, You Make the Call!

CPSIA – Goodbye to Chemistry Sets

Goodbye to chemistry sets

Las Vegas Review Journal
October 1, 2010

Here come the federal regulators.

Many an adult who today makes a good living — and contributes to our standard of living — as an engineer or scientist first had his or her enthusiasm for the field kindled by a home or classroom science kit.

But as the modern nanny state gets busy, such inspiration may become a thing of the past.

The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, known as CPSIA, requires extensive — and expensive — safety testing of products designed or intended primarily for children 12 years of age or younger, checking for lead, chemicals, flammability and other potential dangers.

Now caught up in the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s debate about the act’s regulations are those classroom science kits and some of the items they contain — including paper clips, used to show kids how magnets work.

The science kit makers had asked for a testing exemption for the paper clips and some other materials. On Wednesday, in a close 3-2 vote, the commission declined to give them the waiver they sought.

Will the manufacturers spend hundreds of thousands of dollars for new tests to prove that paper clips are safe — or just leave them out? And how about home chemistry sets? We’re sure the Bunsen burners and asbestos heating pads of decades past are long gone. But will the chemicals themselves now have to be tested to find out whether they contain, you know … chemicals?

Will consumers now be carded when they buy things in the toy store .. to make sure they’re 13?

After the science kit vote, CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum sought to reassure people that, “There is nothing in this rule that bans science kits.”

Right. But while the commission vote doesn’t ban the kits, manufacturers say it may crimp the supply of kits for elementary school children.

“If the first introduction a student has is seventh or eighth grade, you’ve lost them already,” warns Steve Alexander, business manager for the Hands On Science Partnership, based in Denver. The costs associated with “the testing requirements would far exceed the value of the materials in the kits,” he said.

The partnership is a coalition of companies that sell hands-on science educational materials.

Or used to.

Read more here:
CPSIA – Goodbye to Chemistry Sets

CPSIA – Double-Speak Patrol

760 days have passed since ANY Democrat in Congress did ANYTHING to help us on the CPSIA. There are only 51 days left until Election Day.

Consider the following two events:

a. August 2, 2010: The CPSC Commission voted to authorize yet more Mattel firewalled labs (2) and a lab operated by Hanesbrands, a $2.3 billion market cap maker of underwear. [Oooo, lead in underwear! Is this a sick joke or does the CPSC really think kids are chewing on their dirty underwear? Ew!] I believe, without checking, that Mattel now has nine approved firewalled labs, enabling it to save lots of money which is well beyond the practical reach of any small business. The only parties who have thusfar achieved this relief are mass market companies.

b. August 15, 2010: CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum gave an interview with the Baltimore Sun featuring the following exchange:

“Q: How do you respond to some critics of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act who say the law puts heavy testing burdens on manufacturers, especially smaller producers?

A: We have to have high standards to protect the consumer. So regardless if you’re a large business or a small business, we can’t let you put lead in children’s products, or cadmium. Or overlook flammability laws or use other toxic chemicals. We look at what the danger is. We think if we had a small-business ombudsman who was out there regularly educating small businesses, we could help them prevent problems in terms of compliance. Large corporations have a whole office full of lawyers and engineers and chemists and toxicologists. Small businesses do not. And we don’t want to put anyone out of business. We want to help them learn how to comply and sell safe products.” [Emphasis added]

Put side-by-side, these two events separated by only a few days, make clear the utter insensitivity of our government to our plight. The dismissive condescension of Tenenbaum in daring to suggest that an ombudsman would make the problems disappear for small businesses is infuriating. The necessary implication is that we small businesses are just too stupid to understand their complicated rules – I guess she thinks only Mattel can read the English language. Of course, the pending testing frequency rule (which I believe will be implemented in the coming weeks, get ready for it) will cause our company to spend $15 million per annum on testing. This sum far exceeds our profits. Perhaps the ombudsman will help us terminate our people to pay for testing, or provide a shoulder to cry on. And we’ll be crying alright.

At the same time, Tenenbaum is actively feathering the nest of the VERY Big Business that caused the CPSIA, Mattel. How ironic, isn’t it? The fact that she is tilting the children’s market fatally in favor of Big Business doesn’t seem to be a source of guilt for Ms. Tenenbaum. Empty words are the solution.

Please keep this in mind the next time you suffer through the dark intonations of our Fearless Leader laying the blame for the economic problems of the small business community at the feet of the Republicans. The problems in our market won’t be solved with yet another handout – the Dems should try loosening the garrote they are busily tightening around our air passages. Tax relief won’t provide much help when the new regulations makes profit impossible.

Let’s stipulate that the Dems in Congress and at the CPSC are fully aware of the inequities and other problems embedded in the CPSIA. In the face of a continuous and vigorous public debate for two years+, this seems beyond dispute. I am also aware that this blog is widely and loyally read by these people. Ignorance is not a possible explanation. Stubbornness, self-preservation, zealotry, a lack of political will, exhaustion – any of those make more sense to me as an explanation.

I have no outlet for my anger over this. I just hope you are not a sucker for the Dems’ baloney and spinning. Our ONLY hope is a Republican-led Congress that will act to make these people accountable for the damage they are inflicting. The Dems have proven their stripes – to hope they will come to their senses is simply wishful thinking without any basis in reality or fact.

Can you take two more years of this? I cannot and I will not. I need your help, however – you need to vote the scoundrels out of office on November 2. Here is a list of Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee:

Henry A. Waxman, CA
John D. Dingell, MI
Edward J. Markey, MA
Rick Boucher, VA
Frank Pallone, Jr., NJ
Bart Gordon, TN
Bobby L. Rush, IL
Anna G. Eshoo, CA
Bart Stupak, MI
Eliot L. Engel, NY
Gene Green, TX
Diana DeGette, CO
Lois Capps, CA
Mike Doyle, PA
Jane Harman, CA
Jan Schakowsky, IL
Charles A. Gonzalez, TX
Jay Inslee, WA
Tammy Baldwin, WI
Mike Ross, AR
Anthony D. Weiner, NY
Jim Matheson, UT
G. K. Butterfield, NC
Charlie Melancon, LA
John Barrow, GA
Baron P. Hill, IN
Doris O. Matsui, CA
Donna M. Christensen, VI
Kathy Castor, FL
John P. Sarbanes, MD
Christopher S. Murphy, CT
Zachary T. Space, OH
Jerry McNerney CA
Betty Sutton, OH
Bruce L. Braley, IA
Peter Welch, VT

Please help their opponents with cash and labor, and votes. My guy is Joel Pollak, running against Jan Schakowsky. Can you imagine Congress without her? Oh, to dream. . . . His website is www.pollakforcongress.com – please consider supporting his candidacy generously.

Read more here:
CPSIA – Double-Speak Patrol

CPSIA – McDonalds Recall Urged by CPSC – WHY?

The CPSC has put in writing that the Shrek glasses recalled by McDonald’s last week are “non-toxic”. Nonetheless, the CPSC (perhaps the commission itself, as noted in certain press reports) “urged” the company to make the recall.

So now it appears that the CPSC thinks it’s okay to ask a company to recall a product for reasons that it acknowledges pose no safety issue. Why?

Let’s not forget all the expense that this move imposes on the company coerced into making the recall. The law restrict the power of the agency to take this step, in part to preserve the incentive to make “at risk” investments in new products. There’s also that small detail called “due process”. My previous post noted that the CPSC does not have the authority to make recalls of products absent a “substantial product hazard”. This suggests that the CPSC was exceeding its authority in the McDonald’s case. By almost any measure, the CPSC’s actions were inexplicable. Why demand a recall of a safe product?

I cannot answer this question for the CPSC or its Chairman, Inez Tenenbaum. However, here’s a few salient facts to chew on:

1. The Member of Congress (Jackie Speier) that “tipped off” the CPSC about this matter is a Democrat.
2. Jackie Speier represents a California Congressional district (12th) that abuts Nancy Pelosi’s district (8th).
3. Shortly after first being elected to Congress in a 2008 by-election, Speier was appointed by Pelosi to serve as a member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, then chaired by none other than Henry Waxman. Waxman resigned this chairmanship to take over as Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
4. Ms. Speier has publicly endorsed the “black box” requirement for cars that Mr. Waxman supports. She also wants to create a federal law restricting cadmium in jewelry. Her concept of Congressional activism is very closely aligned with Mr. Waxman, another California Democrat and patron of the Democratic majority on the Commission.
5. Today, Speier is a member of three committees. Besides Oversight, the other two committees are chaired by Edward Markey and Barney Frank, two close allies of Waxman and Pelosi.
6. Jackie Speier is running for reelection in one of the most phobic of states, California. The Democrats need every seat they can get in this Mid-Term election.
7. One of the three Democrat Commissioners appointed by Obama was a member of Henry Waxman’s staff for several years (Adler).

And can anyone imagine a Democrat-controlled CPSC telling a Democratic Member of Congress from the San Francisco area that her highly-publicized call for investigation of Shrek glasses because of cadmium was, in fact, unmerited, that the product was perfectly safe and the large corporation responsible for the glasses had protected consumers very well? In an election year with Nancy Pelosi in charge of the House and Henry Waxman directly overseeing the agency?

Nope, can’t think of a single reason why the leadership of the CPSC would urge McDonald’s to recall the safe glasses.

At least the CPSC won’t have to pay the costs of the recall. That’s McDonald’s problem.

Read more here:
CPSIA – McDonalds Recall Urged by CPSC – WHY?

CPSIA – Lowest Common Denominator Government

We saw a display of Mr. Obama’s team in action this past week as McDonald’s was cornered into a national recall of a safe product. How did it happen? Did our government rise to the occasion, or simply resume its descent into the abyss?

“Americans want to be safe. And they expect their federal government to protect them. So that is what I’m here to do.” Chairman Inez Tenenbaum, NPR Report “Under Obama, Agencies Step Up Rule-Making”

Last week in a coordinated media extravaganza, an anonymous caller alerted Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) to the trace presence of cadmium in Shrek glasses being sold by McDonald’s. In a rapid fire series of events, McDonald’s announced a voluntary recall of the offending Made-in-America glasses “at the urging of the [CPSC] commission ”. The CPSC apparently pushed for the recall of the glasses by McDonald’s after quickly testing the glasses.

[It turns out that there were two "anonymous tipsters", one of whom is Jennifer Taggart, a regular reader of this blog. Ms. Taggart has acknowledged that cadmium levels on the McDonald's glasses are well within California's Proposition 65 restrictions. Prop. 65 is easily the most restrictive and challenging of the myriad local safety regulations.]

Rep. Speier seized the election year opportunity to lecture McDonald’s on safety: “’Our children’s health should not depend on the consciences of anonymous sources. Although McDonald’s did the right thing by recalling these products, we need stronger testing standards to ensure that all children’s products are proven safe before they hit the shelves,’ said Speier. ‘Cadmium is a toxic substance that is extremely dangerous to the developmental health of children. . . . Thanks to this anonymous tip received by my office, the proper agencies were alerted, necessary action was taken by McDonald’s, and the long-term health of millions of children is no longer at risk.’”

Jackie Speier is a Democrat representing the San Francisco area.

A media deluge followed the recall. Typical of the hyperbole is this article from NJ.com: “McDonald’s announced the voluntary recall after small amounts of cadmium were found in the enamel with which character images were painted on the glasses . . . . Long-term exposure to low levels of cadmium from those glasses can cause various health problems, including cancer, bone softening and severe kidney problems. [NJ State Assemblyman Paul] Moriarty, in a news release, demanded an investigation . . . . ‘It’s stunning that in this day and age our children can still come into contact with toxic materials just by using a glass featuring a cartoon character,’ Moriarty said in the release. . . . ” [Emphasis added] AP could not resist the McDonald’s cadmium frenzy that it helped to create: “A recall of 12 million cadmium-tainted ”Shrek” drinking glasses sold by McDonald’s raises questions about the safety of millions of similar cheap promotional products that have been sitting in Americans’ kitchen cabinets for years.”

It all boils down to trust, right? After all, it’s McDonald’s. McDonald’s is America, McDonald’s is children. If you can’t trust McDonald’s, who can you trust?

I will attempt to answer that question.

First – Can you trust McDonald’s?

Yes, absolutely, without reservation. McDonald’s (not a customer of ours, never was) has the best reputation of any company in the toy industry (in my humble opinion) for safety, conscientiousness and attention to detail. McDonald’s is HARDLY asleep at the wheel. Rep. Speier’s remarks are outrageous but for the fact that she is a California Democrat from San Francisco. Consider the source. I believe McDonald’s ten times out of ten against Rep. Speier.

On the other hand, if McDonald’s is so wonderful, why on Earth did they recall these glasses? Okay, you be the CEO of McDonald’s for a moment – what would you do? Fight for the right to sell cadmium-laced glasses? Argue that the glasses are “safe”, that toxic cadmium isn’t harmful? Please, McDonald’s had no choice because it has to protect its brand. Listen to the Moms in the video above. If they don’t trust McDonald’s, they will walk across the street to Wendy’s. McDonald’s has NO CHOICE but to “do the right thing”. The cost of the recall is a secondary concern. Burn, baby, burn.

Second – Can you trust an anonymous tipster?

Why be anonymous if you are acting “heroically”? Well, for one thing, being anonymous means you aren’t accountable if you are wrong. The two tipsters were using XRF guns, acknowledged by the CPSC to be imperfect and best used to screen for possible faults. It might be embarrassing – or expensive – to start a public panic and then be proven wrong. This mess might be seen as your fault and somebody might want you to pay for the expenses. Hmmm.

What if the caller had reason to hide his/her identity? This is the very worrisome scenario. There are many people who might want to rat out a McDonald’s. How about a competitor? Or a spurned supplier? A disgruntled employee or spouse of an employee? This is one of the primary objections I made to the public database – the potential for abuse is rampant. An anonymous tipster very well might be up to no good. McDonald’s loss could be the tipster’s gain – an ill-intentioned tipster in partnership with a self-promoting fear monger in election season (like Jackie Speier) could be a powder keg. [Ed. Note: It is worth noting for clarity's sake that Jennifer Taggart has identified herself so this discussion does not apply to her.]

This could happen to you, too. The CPSIA encourages this kind of rat-me-out frenzy. How many businesses will close or sell out because of this shameful law? Time will tell. In the meantime, the sport of trashing trademarks and company reputations will thrive at the hands of the “anonymous tipsters”.

Third – Can you trust the CPSC?

We ought to be able to trust them. Have they earned this trust?

Here’s a June 4th tweet from Scott Wolfson, Director of Public Affairs: “Scott_Wolfson: Note to reporters: the recalled McDonald’s glasses are not toxic.” Interesting – the CPSC apparently pushed for the recall of safe products. Wolfson is also responsible for the press release detailing this recall: “The designs on the glasses contain cadmium. Long term exposure to cadmium can cause adverse health effects.” Same guy. And Wolfson offered these calming words of reassurance to the AP: “Wolfson said the recalled glasses have ‘far less cadmium’ than the [recently] recalled jewelry. He would not say how much cadmium leached from the glasses in tests, only that it was ‘slightly above the protective level currently being developed by the agency.’”

I believe Mr. Wolfson is the author of the CPSC’s OnSafety blog – here’s how he counseled consumers about the McDonald’s glasses in a recent post: “If you bought these “Shrek Forever After 3D” glasses at McDonald’s – millions of you did – stop using them immediately. . . . The glasses contain low-levels of cadmium. . . . The company has stepped up to do the right thing [in issuing a recall].” [Emphasis added] He also justified the recall of non-toxic glasses in the New York Times as follows: “Both C.P.S.C. and McDonald’s are being highly protective of children in announcing this recall.”

Scott has a way with words, doesn’t he? Makes you wonder what his job is, exactly.

So the CPSC admits that the glasses were safe. Yet the “commission” urged McDonald’s to recall the glasses. Why? Wolfson says implausibly that the CPSC was being “highly protective” in recalling non-toxic glasses. Actually, “Why” may not even be the right question.

Let’s consider the question of “how”. On what legal basis did the CPSC press McDonald’s to take this step? The authority of the agency to demand a recall depends on the presence of a “substantial product hazard”. There is no other basis for the agency to take action – it cannot act on whims or because it is always crabby on Mondays. I have addressed this issue previously in this space, and noted that the authority to initiate a recall is based on the existence of “a product defect which (because of the pattern of defect, the number of defective products distributed in commerce, the severity of the risk, or otherwise) creates a substantial risk of injury to the public.”

If the CPSC’s Director of Public Affairs notifies the press that the product is not toxic, it is incontestably certain that the glasses don’t present a substantial product hazard in this case. For perspective, consider the views of the U.S. factory responsible for the glasses:

“[VP Ron] Biagi . . . added that [in addition to McDonald's] Durand Glass also does material safety tests. ‘We will do nothing (different) because we don’t need to,’ Biagi added. ‘You are always looking for the most healthful way to make a product. What we’re producing today, it is safe.’ Biagi said there are multiple suppliers, domestic and foreign, of the enamel used for the Shrek glasses. Other glass producers use the same product, he said. Late Friday, the company issued a short statement from its CEO for North American operations, Fred Dohn. ‘All the products, whether decorated or undecorated, that Arc International is delivering on the markets meet the highest standards of quality and safety,’ Dohn stated. ‘Arc International is a professional manufacturer that stands behind all its products. We therefore see this as an internal decision by McDonald’s and will be investigating the matter once we receive more information.’”

So what gives? By all appearances, the leadership of the agency substantially exceeded its legal authority in pressuring McDonald’s to recall these glasses. Any problem with that?

I won’t insult your intelligence with a rant about the trustworthiness of the Democrats who are running the shop these days. If you trust Jackie Speier and the like after this sorry tale, I can’t help you.

In closing, let’s recall the words of Ms. Tenenbaum: “Americans want to be safe. And they expect their federal government to protect them. So that is what I’m here to do.” By all appearances, Ms. Tenenbaum was doing exactly what she promised – her agency is wrapping you in bubble wrap whether you need it or not. She says that’s how you want it – no matter that it’s outside her legal authority, well-beyond any notion of common sense and implemented with a complete disregard to economic consequences or the impact on other market participants. It’s okay because the press eats it up . . . and it helps reelect members of Congress. Everybody’s a winner as we sink into the abyss.

Lowest Common Denominator Government. Yes We Can.

Read more here:
CPSIA – Lowest Common Denominator Government

CPSIA – Freedom of Information Act Request – Follow-up

As sent today:

Dear Sir,

It has now been almost two months since I submitted the below request for information under the Freedom of Information Act. Your office acknowledged receipt of this request on April 1 and stated the following:

“Due to certain procedural steps we are required to take under our statute, there may be delays in providing the records. Please be assured that every effort is being made to process each request as equitably as possible, and that the records or information that you have requested will be made available to you at the earliest possible date.”

My request relates to pending legislation currently under consideration in the U.S. House of Representatives. As such, the request is both relevant to the development of this legislation and rather time-sensitive. The public has a right to know about these documents. Disclosure of these documents is in the public’s interest – transparency in how we are governed is a paramount interest of U.S. citizens. The disclosure of these documents are very relevant to the development of the Consumer Product Safety Enhancement Act, the subject of a recent hearing by a subcommittee of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. I testified at that hearing.

Notwithstanding the assertion in the April 1 letter above, the requested documents have not been disclosed yet. This is especially disappointing as the documents involved in this request are few, easily-located and in the possession of very few, easily-identified people at the CPSC. The effort to gather, review, redact (if necessary, which seems unlikely), duplicate and transmit these documents is almost certainly inconsequential. I find the delay inexplicable and inexcusable under your statute.

I urge you to rapidly comply with this request for disclosure. As I noted in my original request, your agency’s rules demand it – “disclosure is the rule and withholding is the exception.”

Thank you for your prompt consideration of this matter.

Richard Woldenberg
Chairman
Learning Resources, Inc.

——————————————————————————–
From: Rick Woldenberg
Sent: Tue 3/23/2010 3:44 PM
To: ‘cpsc-foia@cpsc.gov’
Subject: Fast Track FOIA Request Relating to Draft House Legislation Know as “Consumer Product Safety Enhancement Act of 2010”

I am making this document request pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act and 16 CFR §1015. I would like to receive copies of all documents (written or electronic, including notes and staff briefing packages) relating to (a) interactions between Chairman Inez Tenenbaum and/or Commissioner Robert Adler and/or their staff and the House Committee on Energy and Commerce (and/or staff associated with that committee or its members) relating to the Consumer Product Safety Enhancement Act (CPSEA), and (b) any CPSC legal analyses or legal opinions relating to the CPSEA. Since the CPSEA is presently being circulated in draft form on Capitol Hill and since the committee’s staff is seeking feedback from various stakeholders at this time, time is of the essence for this information request. Please accord this request “fast track” status.

In making this request, I note the following statement in 16 CFR §1015(b): “The Commission’s policy with respect to requests for records is that disclosure is the rule and withholding is the exception. All records not exempt from disclosure will be made available. Moreover, records which may be exempted from disclosure will be made available as a matter of discretion when disclosure is not prohibited by law or is not against the public interest.”

My contact information is found below. Thank you for your cooperation.

Sincerely,

Richard Woldenberg
Chairman
Learning Resources, Inc.

Read more here:
CPSIA – Freedom of Information Act Request – Follow-up

CPSIA – More Written Testimony from CPSIA Hearing

Oddly and embarrassingly, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce’s webpage for last week’s CPSIA hearing does not include all written testimony submitted in association with the hearing, nor does it provide a link on the hearing video. [I will get you the video soon, I promise.] The Dem Majority, which loudly touts its “commitment” to “open government”, should rapidly address this poor performance.

Here are the other document submitted thus far. I have already provided you links to the written testimony of the seven witnesses and my oral testimony.

• Opening Statement of Chairman Waxman
• The Honorable Inez Tenenbaum, Chairman, Consumer Product Safety Commission,
  Statement for the Record
• The Honorable Nancy Nord, Commissioner, Consumer Product Safety Commission,
  Statement for the Record
• The Honorable Anne Northup, Commissioner, Consumer Product Safety Commission, Statement for the Record
• The Honorable Denny Rehberg, Representative, Montana At Large, Statement for the Record
• Ms. Devra Singer, Product Development Assistant, Funtastic, Houston, Texas, Statement for the Record Entitled “Call for Testimony: A Personal Account of the CPSIA’s Crippling Effects on Our Small Business”
• Mr. Sean Hilbert, President, Cobra Moto, LLC, Statement for the Record
• Mr. Ed Moreland, Vice President, Government Relations, American Motorcyclist Association, Statement for the Record
• Mr. Michael Gale, Executive Director, Fashion Jewelry Trade Association, Statement for the Record
• Economic Analysis – Handmade Toy Alliance

This is provocative reading. I hope you aren’t the only ones who read it . . . .

I really like the common sense in the Nord and Northup letters. In particular, I want to draw your attention to one statement by Commissioner Northup: “Forcing a component-by-component petition for exceptions does nothing to enhance safety, and it converts the Commission from a safety oversight agency (like the FAA) into a product approval agency (like the FDA). Rather than spend most of its time and resources removing unsafe products from the market, the agency would devote its efforts to approving perfectly safe products before they go on the market. That switch would also slow the pace of consumer product innovation by increasing the cost and lead time for companies to bring new products to market—which effect itself carries negative safety ramifications.” [Emphasis added]

Ms. Northup’s got it totally right and you should be worried that this style of regulation makes sense to ANYONE. This is at the heart of the precautionary principle, that the government becomes your partner in making your business decisions. Frankly, I trust companies more than I trust the government, especially these days. I will take Toyota over NHTSA and David Strickland any day. The House Energy and Commerce Committee is not done with this “great” idea, either. Next up is their “reform” of the Toxic Substance Control Act. This is the new scheme of regulation of chemicals that takes all the really great and highly successful notions from our beloved CPSIA (which applies to only TWO substances, lead and phthalates) and rolls it out to more than 30,000 chemicals and all mixtures containing those chemicals. I will need to sharply increase my blood pressure medicine to even read that draft legislation. You will read more about this toxic legislation in coming weeks.

Another interesting nugget is from the HTA economic analysis:

“Total number of manufacturers potentially affected by the CPSIA in the United States 52,544***
Total number of wholesalers potentially affected by the CPSIA in the United States 125,624***
Total number of retailers potentially affected by the CPSIA in the United States 511,240***
Total number of businesses potentially affected by the CPSIA according to the NAICS 689,408***”

The analysis goes on to surmise than 5 million individual products are affected by the CPSIA. I believe that this estimate is low by a factor of ten, but that’s just one man’s opinion. The author then concludes that the (presumably annual) cost of traditional testing is $5.6 billion. That’s a nice way to honor the memory of the child who died in Minnesota after swallowing a lead jewelry bangle, isn’t it? I can’t think of a better way to spend $5.6 billion annually. . . .

Can any rational person doubt the severity and breadth of the economic damage in light of these data?

Keep your eyes on this space for more testimony. More will filter in over the next couple weeks.

Read more here:
CPSIA – More Written Testimony from CPSIA Hearing

CPSIA – Good News! Little Mattel Gets Much NEEDED Relief.

Wipe away those tears and cancel the bake sale, little Mattel (last quarter’s revenue: $880 million) received more relief from the CPSC. Suffering under the burden of only seven certified in-house labs to do its safety testing, Mattel this week received CPSC approval for two more firewalled internal labs to do its testing at a fraction of the cost of using pesky independent labs. The newly-approved labs, one more in China and one in Thailand, promise to make things much easier for Mattel. Imagine the crippling overhead they might incur sending samples from one factory to another if they didn’t have these new approved labs. Read all about the celebrations over the CPSC’s well-timed beneficence!

Mattel, the generous sponsor of a record $2.3 million CPSC honorarium (that’s what we call fines now), lobbied for the provision in the law giving it the right to opt out of independent laboratory safety testing during the drafting of the CPSIA. As Mattel is such a sympathetic supplicant, having recalled more than 20 million toys in 2007 alone, Congress was all ears and gave them what they wanted. [Search this link for "Mattel" and "Fisher-Price" and you will find 19 recalls between November 2006 and today, totalling more than 16.5 million units in the U.S. plus many millions more outside the U.S.]

This is the signal the children’s market was waiting for: a forgive-and-forget approach by the CPSC. As a small business operator, I sure am glad to know that the CPSC is big-hearted enough to overlook a long track record of serious legal violations. Shame they hadn’t adopted this generous spirit when Daiso pissed them off.

Oh, did I forget to mention that Mattel ALSO funded another $1.1 million CPSC honorarium (fine) for failing to report 116 FIRES caused by one of its products? According to Ann Brown, then Chairman of the CPSC, Mattel knew about these fires for “years” before reporting them. Oopsie! [Check out the WSJ article on Mattel's little problem with safety disclosures. I am sure you will cherish the pictures of the burned-out garage.] Don’t worry, the CPSC has decided everything’s in order for Mattel to handle safety all by itself. Sleep well, America.

This makes a lot of sense to me.

And for the rest of us who can’t afford to set up or manage our own “firewalled” laboratories? We can enjoy the bounty of the small batch manufacturer’s relief in the Waxman Amendment, or just hire outside labs. You know, like Mattel doesn’t want to do . . . hey, what’s going on here?!

At least we know Mr. Waxman cares about somebody.

Read more here:
CPSIA – Good News! Little Mattel Gets Much NEEDED Relief.

Time to Make Your Voices Heard!

I have perhaps the most important request of you readers since I started blogging on the CPSIA 18 months ago.

Tomorrow at 2pm Eastern time, the House Energy and Commerce Committee Committee will be marking up Henry Waxman’s “fix” to the CPSIA. In my opinion, this is no fix at all. I sent the e-mail below out earlier today that details why I think this “deal” should be rejected.

Now is the time for your voices to be heard. I encourage you to e-mail members of the Committee before 2pm tomorrow to voice your concerns about the proposed “fix” and demand that the Committee begin drafting a legislative solution that truly addresses the problems with the CPSIA.

You can find e-mail addresses for the Committee at here. Click the name of the Member of Congress, then click “contact” and that will take you to a form where you can submit an e-mail. You can choose one Committee member or all of them – it’s your choice but I ask you to send at least one e-mail by 2pm tomorrow. If you happen to live in the Congressional District of a Committee Member, even better.

If we don’t speak up now, we have only ourselves to blame.

My letter from earlier today:

Dear Friend,

We are at a critical juncture right now as the House Committee on Energy and Commerce is in the late stages of considering an amendment to the CPSIA. The proposed legislation has been analyzed in my blog over the past few weeks, but is now about to move to the subcommittee “mark-up” phase. Assuming it proceeds past mark-up, the bill will be put to a vote at the committee and then by the House, and submitted to the Senate for its consideration. This could happen rather quickly given its sponsorship by Henry Waxman. Notwithstanding his desires, the Republicans are not yet on board with this “bipartisan” bill and Senate cooperation is another unknown.

I wanted you to see my latest blogpost on this amendment and hope you will contact your representatives in Washington to express your concern. The new Waxman Amendment does nothing to fix the fundamental issues in the CPSIA and continues to stack the deck against small business in favor of big business and certain favored industries. If this legislation proceeds in its present form, Congress is likely to assert that they have “listened” to our complaints and addressed them, washing their hands of the matter. With almost 2500 pages of rules already promulgated by the CPSC to implement the CPSIA, and more spewing out on a daily basis, this law is not only incomprehensible to most businesses but completely unmanageable as well. Based on testimony by Chairman Inez Tenenbaum at last week’s Senate Appropriations Committee meeting, it seems clear that the CPSC is transitioning to an enforcement posture (from its implementation phase). Therefore, you can safely assume that you will held responsible in a matter of months by a CPSC that has little sympathy for your problems complying with their blizzard of rules. [If you doubt this, read my blogposts about penalties.]

The time to act is NOW. We must block this amendment.

Richard Woldenberg
Chairman
Alliance for Children’s Product Safety

Read more here:
Time to Make Your Voices Heard!

CPSIA – Waxman Amendment, Tenenbaum and “Openness”

Everyone knows that the CPSC under Chairman Inez Tenenbaum is all about openness and transparency, right? She told us about her closely held principles of open government again and again. [If there is any doubt, see below for her many public statements on this topic. I probably missed more than a few, too – please forgive me.] Apparently, this is part of her plan to restore confidence in the CPSC.

Let’s not obsess over her vote with the self-proclaimed “Prince of Darkness”, Commissioner Bob Adler, to prevent a public discussion by the five CPSC Commissioners of the controversial January 15 report to Congress. I am sure she was really trying to be open, but I must be too dumb to understand it.

And then there is the Waxman Amendment 2.0. The anti-business sleight of hand in the pending law has been much discussed in this space. The Waxman Amendment is quite provocative. Many groups have submitted comments to Waxman’s staff, as well as two Commissioners (Nord and Northup). Or is it four Commissioners?

I have reported that Tenenbaum and Adler submitted joint comments on the Waxman Amendment. Their letter was apparently not signed. The only place you can find it, to my knowledge, is in my blog. I believe that senior CPSC officials who asked Ms. Tenenbaum’s office for a copy of it were REFUSED. Is that “open” and “transparent”? You be the judge. By the way, you weren’t supposed to see it, either.

I am told Ms. Tenenbaum previously submitted a secret list to Waxman of 20 changes she wanted in the law, but this document never surfaced. On March 23, I submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to disclose this and other documents relating to these Commissioners’ interactions with Congress on this bill and finally received an acknowledgement from the CPSC on April 1. No joke. Yet I have not received any documents to date. The Tenenbaum and Adler letter is still a thing of mystery.

And now I understand that in response to press inquiries about the mystery comment letter, the CPSC is admitting the authorship of the two Democrats. No explanation is being given for the secrecy, nor for its absence from the CPSC website.

How very transparent. Is this building your confidence in fairness and openness at the CPSC? Perhaps this is the new Washington Mr. Obama is installing. No more business as usual!

Mr. Nixon would be so proud. I wonder if there is an enemies list, too. . . .

In chronological order, the remarks of Ms. Tenenbaum on transparency and openness (emphasis added):

[I particularly like nos. 6 and 12, btw.]

1. [This one is from the agency itself, but it's a good warm-up.] U.S. CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION INFORMATION QUALITY GUIDELINES :

“CPSC also achieves transparency through wide dissemination of its information. Most reports and other data products are available both as printed and electronic documents. They are announced on the CPSC web site and most electronic versions can be accessed and downloaded directly from the web site.”

2. Inez Tenenbaum Sworn In As New Chairman of U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, July 9, 2009:

“Ms. Tenenbaum identified three major areas of focus for her common sense approach to serving as Chairman. ‘First, I want CPSC to be more accessible and transparent to parents and consumers. By creating an electronic database of product incident reports that consumers can search and by collaborating with state and local agencies and consumer groups, we can give the public confidence that CPSC is working openly and in their best interest,’ she stated.”

3. Testimony of Inez M. Tenenbaum Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation United States Senate, June 16, 2009:

“Consistent with the President Obama’s approach to governance, if confirmed as Chairman, I will ensure that the Commission is operated in an open, transparent, and collaborative way and in a manner worthy of the American people. . . . If confirmed, I commit to you that under my leadership the Commission will operate in an open, fair, and evenhanded manner and will invite participation by the public, consumer advocacy organizations, and industry.”

4. Remarks of Chairman Inez Tenenbaum at APEC Regulator Dialogue on Toy Safety, August 1, 2009:

“Enforcement is actually one of my three top priorities as Chairman, along with government transparency and consumer education and advocacy.”

5. Statement of Inez Tenenbaum Chairman U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Before the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection “The Consumer Product Safety Commission: Current Issues and a Vision for the Future”, September 10, 2009:

“In my first two months leading the CPSC, I have focused on three key goals: transparency and openness to those we serve; a renewed focus on education and advocacy to all American consumers; and fair, but firm enforcement of the product safety laws we oversee.”

6. Chairman’s Welcome for CPSC 2.0 Press Releases # 09-346, September 22, 2009 (transcript):

“Hello, I’m Inez Tenenbaum, Chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission. In my first hours as Chairman, I spoke frankly to families and consumers across the country. I said that as the leader of this important safety agency, I was committed to creating an open and transparent CPSC. We have kept our word.“

7. Chairman Tenenbaum’s Speech at AHAM’s Product Safety and Liability Conference, Washington, DC, October 12, 2009:

“I have said this previously and I want to be clear with all of you – I support the creation of the database, as I believe it furthers the vision of creating a more transparent CPSC and a more informed consuming public.”

8. Chairman Inez Tenenbaum’s Keynote Address, 3rd CPSC-AQSIQ Safety Summit, Wuxi, China, October 21, 2009:

“The spirit of cooperation and dialogue with which we are opening this Summit reflects the philosophy that I have as a regulator. I embrace open government, information sharing with all stakeholders, and a commitment to finding mutual interests.”

9. Chairman Inez Tenenbaum, Keynote Address, ICPHSO/International Cooperation on Product Safety, Toronto, Canada, October 28, 2009:

“With the passage of CPSIA, the proposed product safety legislation introduced here in Canada, , it is more important than ever for industry, consumer groups, and government to work together. We must assure that there is a transparent and fair handling of the vast responsibilities we are being given. Serving as the Chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission puts me in a position to oversee a reshaping of consumer product safety issues affecting the global community, and I take my responsibilities seriously.”

10. CPSC Chairman Inez M. Tenenbaum Keynote Address via Video Recording, APEC Toy Safety Initiative Open Dialogue on Toy Safety, January 12, 2010 – Hong Kong:

“I am as committed to transparency as I am to enforcement and as we go forward, I hope all of you will work closely with us through our comments process and open proceedings. It is essential that we find common ground through dialogue on ‘building safety into toys and children’s products.’”

11. CPSC Chairman Inez M. Tenenbaum TIA International Toy Fair, February 15, 2010 – New York:

“I am as committed to transparency as I am to enforcement and as we go forward, I hope all of you will work closely with us through our comments process and open proceedings.”

12. Chairman Tenenbaum ICPHSO Keynote Address, February 17, 2010 – Washington, DC:

“As many of you have heard me say before, I am a believer in open government. It is integral to the Administration’s efforts to change the culture in Washington, and I believe it is integral to changing perceptions of the CPSC. Over these past months, I have made the Commission as accessible to the public as any time in its history. At the same time, I have made myself accessible to both industry and consumer groups. I will continue to have an open door in the years ahead.”

13. Chairman Tenenbaum JPMA Summit Keynote Address, March 9, 2010 – Washington, DC:

“After a tumultuous 2007 and 2008, we made 2009 a year of change at CPSC:
• change that brought new staff and new thinking,
• change that brought new partners and a return to openness, and
• change that has brought renewed confidence to parents.”

14. Chairman Tenenbaum Consumer Federation of America Keynote Address, March 11, 2010 – Washington, DC:

“After a tumultuous 2007 and 2008, we made 2009 a year of change at CPSC:
• change that took us from having only 385 employees in 2008 to having more than 500 in 2010 – and we are still hiring – our goal is to reach 530,
• change that brought new powers and a return to openness . . . .”

15. Chairman Tenenbaum AAFA Executive Summit, Friday, March 12, 2010 – Washington, DC:

“After a tumultuous 2007 and 2008 – we made 2009 a year of change at CPSC:
• change that brought new staff and new thinking as we grow from 385 employees in 2008 to 530 by the end of this year,
• change that brought new partners and a return to openness . . . .

Over these past months, I have made the Commission as accessible to the public as any time in its history. Our public meetings are online – you can watch our Commission meetings every Wednesday morning, — we have hosted public workshops to collect input from the public on major issues and our staff members are presenting useful information to groups like this around the country. At the same time, I have made myself accessible to associations like AAFA and to consumer groups. I will continue to have an open door in the years ahead.”

Read more here:
CPSIA – Waxman Amendment, Tenenbaum and “Openness”

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