CPSIA – Jan Schakowsky Wants to Design Your New Home, Too.

801 days have passed since ANY Democrat in Congress did ANYTHING to help us on the CPSIA. There are only 9 days left until Election Day.

801 days without ANY help. Amazing . . . .

Rep. Jan Schakowsky, the Illinois Congresswoman who informed the WSJ that I am a “cynical special interest” because I dared to participate in the upcoming midterm elections, is not content with rearranging your business and the Children’s Product industry. Now she wants to redesign your new home.

Does she have good taste, you ask. Well, read on and see what you think of Jan Schakowsky as your architect or decorator.

Your home is your last refuge, right? Not if she gets her way – but then again, she knows what’s best for you! After all, a bigger government involved in every aspect of your life is a BETTER government. The estimable Ms. Schakowsky is the sponsor of HR 1408 Inclusive Home Design Act of 2009. In other words, this law-in-the-makings is her handiwork.

She brags about this pending legislation on her Facebook page in posts dated October 6, so she must be pretty psyched about it. I gather she wants the electorate to know of her excellent leadership in Congress, so I thought I’d help out. Happy to lend a hand to such a “great” leader.

Best I can tell, Ms. Schakowsky latest brain wave is to require you to redesign your new home to be disability-friendly if you get “federal assistance”. The so-called purpose of the act is “[t]o require all newly constructed, federally assisted, single-family houses and town houses to meet minimum standards of visitability for persons with disabilities.”

And what might she have in mind, precisely? Anyone who receives “federal assistance” needs to design new homes to meet several ADA-like standards even if they are useless to the buyers. No matter that this will cost money or that you don’t want it. It’s good for you, Jan says so. It may also make it difficult for you to find new homes without these features. Like cod liver oil, you’ll get used to it!

As noted, to get into this spot, you need to receive federal assistance. Here’s a sample of what might constitute “federal assistance”:

“any assistance that is provided or otherwise made available by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development or the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, or any program or activity or such agencies, through any grant, loan, contract, or any other arrangement, after the expiration of the one-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, including . . . grants, subsidies, or any other funds . . . services of Federal personnel . . . any tax credit, mortgage or loan guarantee or insurance. . . .”

In other words, if you even brush against the federal government in constructing your new home, you are COVERED by this law. Tax credit for your new energy-efficient furnace? You’re IN. HUD loan refinance for a development of several homes? You’re IN. Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac involved? You’re IN. Vet benefits? You’re IN. Inspected by a federal employee for some reason? You get the idea.

Hey, here’s the REAL idea – the government belongs in EVERY aspect of your life. Ms. Schakowsky doesn’t even think you should be allowed to measure the door frames in your house without her oversight. It doesn’t even matter if you have a disabled person living in the house – you MIGHT be visited by one and certainly, you would not able to accommodate that visit without Ms. Schakowsky’s supervision.

Perhaps you should invite her, too, just to work out the kinks. Uh-oh, I sense an amendment coming!

Had enough yet? If not, vote DEM on November 2nd so society can be reengineered a little bit more. On the other hand, if you have the vaguest sense that this is a runaway train and might need to be stopped before it’s too late . . . vote the other way.

The Dems brought this on themselves. They put people like Schakowsky in leadership roles. The Children’s Product industry is in tatters as a result. PLEASE STOP THE INSANITY ON NOVEMBER 2ND!!!

Read more here:
CPSIA – Jan Schakowsky Wants to Design Your New Home, Too.

GUEST BLOG: Etienne Veber – Learning the CPSIA Civics Lesson…the Hard Way

Five years ago, I joined Learning Resources eager to leverage my previous experiences for the benefit of a small business that makes a positive and lasting impact on our society. Little did I know then that this decision (one of the best in my life) would totally change my view of our government.

This past week-end my wife and I visited our older son who is currently working as a summer intern for a Member of Congress. We indulged in a personal tour of the Capitol (a pretty amazing working environment if you ask me…). As we went thru the various halls of our legislative branch, we stumbled upon this quote from Louis Brandeis: “The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding”. Of course, he was not thinking about our current CPSIA situation when he wrote these words in 1928. However, if the combination of good intentions with a lack of understanding is not a main source of many unintended consequences in our laws, I do not know what is.

Our Constitution was built to protect us against these types of situations by encouraging all sorts of meaningful dialogue between various opposing groups, and by establishing good science as the foundation to make sound and nonpartisan decisions. Then, why after so many months – with the overwhelming market evidence, the many companies “going under”, so many jobs lost, so many voices shouting for reasonable adjustments, so many questions still unanswered- why has the myriad of unintended consequences of the ill-fated CPSIA still not been addressed yet?

Sadly, the answer has become all too clear.

The Democratic leadership in Congress has consistently refused to have any meaningful dialogue with the various groups involved in this issue, unless they agree with their point of view. I do not need to remind the regular readers of this blog how long it took to have a proper hearing on the CPSIA! And, what has happened since then? NOTHING, absolutely nothing. Obviously, this lack of action demonstrates beyond the shadow of a doubt that the Democratic leadership in fact does not intend on making any adjustments to the law. It does not matter that the CPSIA does not make our products safer, but simply more expensive, effectively destroying an entire portion of our economy (the small/medium companies who cannot afford all these senseless compliance activities).

What really matters is that the Democratic leadership and other CPSIA-supporters look like they are protecting our children in front of a camera. After all, who can argue against more safety for children products? So, while we are at it, let’s have lots of recalls to make people feel that the situation is really dire and that the terrible cost of this legislation (hundreds of thousands of lost jobs) is a necessary consequence!

However, the absurdity of some of the recent recalls and their numbers have reached such proportions that even consumers are now simply tuning out. Did you not hear growing up that one should not cry “Wolf!” too many times, or risk finding oneself without support when it is really needed? This fast evolving situation is the direct result of the political decision from leading Democrats (Waxman & Co.) to strip the CPSC from any true independence. The Commission has stopped using sound judgment and making decisions strictly based on sound science. By playing along with a populist political agenda, the CPSC leadership is responsible for creating a situation that is out-of-hand. The separation of power between the legislative and executive branches was created for a reason!

So what does this means for me? As the president of our company, I have had to eliminate jobs, terminate projects, stop investments in our future growth, and reduce the number of new products we develop each year. Why? Simply to pay for all the incremental and constantly increasing costs of complying with the CPSIA. With new revisions constantly being added to the law and some retail customers “pouring oil on fire,” we may not be done cutting our workforce and stopping investing in the future!

Our products help children engage and develop an early passion for math or science. I think we can all agree that these are the kinds of children’s products we need right now.

Over the last 25 years we have built one of the most prolific innovation engines in the education market. So, the real “losers”, thanks to the CPSIA and the Democratic leadership, will be our children and with them the future of our society!

Did I mention that all these incremental costly requirements will result in absolutely ZERO incremental benefits in terms of safety for our children? Surely you have seen the compelling and comprehensive set of data that Rick has documented so diligently over the last 18 months in this blog. Did I also mention that for more than 25 years our safety record has been impeccable? This situation is absolutely maddening.

I have now learned a civic lesson that I will not forget for a very long time. I want these “well intended ” leaders out the door! I owe it to my co-workers, the teachers that we serve, and to the children that need our products. I can accept a misguided law, but I cannot accept continued intolerance and ignorance from our leaders.

Being on the frontline of this battle, as the president of a small business, has opened my eyes and I am better off from it. Our country needs jobs, lots of them right now, and it is the small businesses – that this wrongheaded Congressional leadership is working so hard at destroying – that can provide them.

Do not close your eyes. Speak up against this CPSIA absurdity and those responsible for its awful implementation!

Etienne Veber is President/CEO of Learning Resources, Educational Insights & Northpoint Horizons

Read more here:
GUEST BLOG: Etienne Veber – Learning the CPSIA Civics Lesson…the Hard Way

GUEST BLOG – Jolie Fay’s Story

I was not sure what all to tell. Narrowing down the story to a blog, or even a short conversation has been a challenge.

Do I mention that we are not “unintended consequences” but rather, “collateral damage”?

Do I bring up the seniors I help who are so old they do chair Tia-chi, who can afford lunch only when they can make it to the senior center, but have made wooden trucks for 40 years?

Do I bring up the fact that with NO notice to this cottage industry we are forced in the middle of the supply chain to test our products because large toy companies were breaking an already existing law?

Too much…too much to tell, so this is what I wrote. Just my story.

In November 2008 I learned about the CPSIA.

I thought that was the beginning of my journey with this law, but I realize now that my journey began when I was seven years old and participating in my first craft show with my mom. I was selling anything I could make, mostly small animals I had made from pom-poms, felt, glue and little googley eyes. Before age 12, I added to my “line” a small army of “pet rocks,” cats cradle kits, quilt patches, purses, and many, many other kids’ crafts.

When planning my family, I decided to start a business that would allow me to stay at home with my children. I started with what I knew, crafty-ness, sewing skills and some of my favorite memories of my childhood, reinvented. One thing lead to another, and before my daughter was a year old I had a business that would eventually help us buy a house in San Francisco.

Time passed, my business grew and so did my family. It was amazing being there to watch both of my daughters take their VERY first steps on their own, to be the one they turned to when they got hurt, to be their mother. I loved being there, and I knew I would not be in that situation without the money from my little on-line business.

We sold our house in San Francisco and moved to Portland, Oregon in March 2008. At the time, my business was strong. My line was growing and investing in my business seemed like the right move. My husband agreed and we invested a large portion of the profits from selling our house into my business.

I bought supplies and began production. When I bought the supplies, what I was making was legal to sell, but in August 2008, unbeknownst to me at the time, my life was taking a U-turn.

By November 2008 we felt the effects of the sluggish economy, but my business was still surviving and I felt optimistic about our future

Then I got the email: “if you make ANY products for kids, this law [CPSIA] affects you!”

I have to admit I ignored the first 20 or so emails, because I could not believe that my little sew-in-my-basement business was being forced into the same regulations as Mattel without any warning. As the days went on, and the number of emails I received grew, I realized my dream was crashing around me.

I called the lab, got the quote and did the math. CPSIA-mandated testing costs for my little product line was over $27,000 for just over $30,000 worth of product. I cannot express the horrible feeling I had when I realized that I had made a mistake that was going to cost my family all of our money. In the business world, companies recover. In my case, I WAS the company and what family can recover from a loss that huge? I was not only losing my investment, but I was also losing my source of income.

With the February 10, 2009 deadline to comply with the new lead standard only weeks away, the panic took over and I was fighting with everything I had to reach someone who would help make this nightmare go away.

I found a group of people nearby who were renting an XRF scanner, and I rented it for 24 hours. I tested every single item, every color way, every button style, every fabric piece, every color and style of trim…I tested in my tiny basement, next to my washer and dryer, for 15 hours. I was driven by a fear that I cannot describe. I needed to know that when I called every person in DC that I could think of, I could be certain that I had a product that was safe in March 2008 and continued to be safe, even though I did not have $27,000 to test my products to prove it.

I would wake up at 5am Portland time, to begin calling everyone imaginable in Washington, DC — any number I could find. I had never been politically active before and had NO IDEA how things worked. I genuinely believed that some Congressman would take my call and realize that a mistake had been made. I would start to tell my story, pacing between my washing machine and computer, crying to these aids who would reply “Thank you for your call. I will pass your message on.” I could just feel the rolling of their eyes and bored posture as I was begging them to let me talk to someone who could help me.

By 8 am, when my girls were up, I would be so emotionally drained and my spirit was crushed. I did this for weeks and it was truly one of the most painful times of my life.

The days passed, the fight went on. I would ask these aides and CPSC staffers “what do I do? Should I just throw it all away?” and their response would be “I cannot tell you what to do.” I was begging for help and they would only give me “I cannot tell you what to do.”.

Eventually the CPSC did issue some rulings that prevented my having to throw all my products in the garbage. However, these rulings were to few and too infrequent. CPSIA is going to doom my business. The testing costs, the paperwork, the liability and for what? Will my products be
any safer? No, instead there will be no products.

I have invested thousands of hours in trying to get the CPSIA changed to allow crafters – young and old – to continue their craft. The time I spent trying to bring common sense to the CPSIA was time I was not investing in my business. I was afraid to let up the fight because I was not seeing anyone else fighting for ME.

Where was my Senator, who told the crowd “folks, we did this for safety”?

Where was the ombudsman to help guide the way at the CPSC? (Surprise! There STILL is not a position at the CPSC to help the crafters, the stay-at-home moms who use skill and time to help feed their kids).

Where were the Congressmen who represent me and the seniors who have made SAFE children’s products for 50 years, and who can barely afford lunch and would NEVER be able to afford testing?

Who is looking out for the children who will learn from their mothers how to nurture their entrepreneurial spirit?

Last July I hit bottom. I had to turn my children over to daycare workers and join the work force just to keep us in our tiny rented house. My little business that helped us buy a home, that kept me at home with my kids to help them learn and grow, was no longer a safe investment of my time.

This is happening all across the county; women just like me, who are making safe kids’ products, are being forced to end their stay-at-home businesses. Mothers who want to obey the law, who are afraid of the consequences of NOT obeying the law, are making the choice to give up their dream to keep their children warm and fed.

We need a law that does not make us criminals. We MUST have a law that does not criminalize the old, young, and poor because they make safe products that they cannot afford to test.

On the second day of after-school care, I went to pick up my 5 year old daughter from school and the “teacher” pulled us aside as we were leaving. She said, “Jane had a tough day today, she did not want to be here. She wanted to be with her mom.” The “teacher” continued, “I am a grandmother and I know how to deal with this, so I took her by the hand and walked her to the mirror and said, ‘Jane, look at your face. Look at how UGLY you look when you cry.’”

I blame every one of the Energy and Commerce legislative staffers for the emotional injury to my daughter that day. She should be home with me, being raised by a mother who believes in the American spirit of hard work, integrity, and honesty.

She should be home with me while I continue my business of making safe children’s products.

She should be home with me, making pet rocks (illegal to sell today) and having fun making pom-pom animals with her mother – like the ones we used to sell at the local Saturday market.

My daughter is the CPSIA casualty of the week.

Blog post written by Jolie Fay, founder of Skipping Hippos clothing (www.skippinghippos.com) in Portland, OR and a
Board Member of the Handmade Toy Alliance

Read more here:
GUEST BLOG – Jolie Fay’s Story

CPSIA – McDonald’s Fallout Continues

The spectacle of the McDonald’s cadmium “scare” continued to unfold today.

Let’s not forget that this recall was “urged” by the CPSC although the CPSC admits in writing that the glasses are “non-toxic”. In other words, the glasses are safe. As the manufacturer notes: “‘It could have been any glass company,’ said Ron Biagi, an executive with Arc International, which made the glasses. ‘We all do the same thing using materials from the same suppliers.’” McDonald’s clearly had no choice in the matter, suffering a terrible loss of prestige no matter what the outcome. So the CPSC, Rep. Jackie Speier, one anonymous tipster and a hyperbolic press forced a highly wasteful and destructive recall.

The tumult, chaos and confusion thoughtlessly spawned by the CPSC continues to unfurl in almost predictable fashion: “But the returns [to McDonald's] are just the beginning of the next chapter in the cadmium debate, with the CPSC poised to set new limits on the metal even as it downplays the McDonald’s recall and environmental advocates aim to use the episode to build momentum for reform of federal toxics law.”

A terrible move deserves an even worse follow-up.

What’s the cause for alarm here? The glasses are safe, so says the CPSC . . . as it dramatically lowers the standard for cadmium. Yeah, nobody’s worried.

The consumer group talking heads can’t resist chiming in: “Don Mays, senior director of product safety for Consumer Reports, said cadmium was being used in some manufactured goods to replace lead, which has been eliminated from many products in response to heavy regulation and widespread health concerns. Many of those goods were once commonly associated with lead, like paint and inexpensive jewelry. ‘We’re just starting to see this,’ Mr. Mays said. ‘It’s starting to creep into a lot of consumer products that never had it before.’”

Does anyone care that the CPSC SAYS THIS ISN’T TRUE? “After an Associated Press investigation first uncovered the high cadmium levels in some children’s jewelry, CPSC Chairwoman Inez Tenenbaum publicly warned manufacturers in Hong Kong not to replace lead with cadmium or other toxic metals. Tenenbaum told senators in April that ‘we really don’t think’ companies are deliberately swapping out lead for other hazardous chemicals, ‘but we think they’re being careless and not realizing that you cannot use these metals in children’s products.’” [Emphasis added]

Some in the press aren’t persuaded. After all, urban myths are true . . . aren’t they? “[David Lazarus of the LA Times] notes that Cadmium has probably stayed off the radar for so long because people weren’t widely aware of its use. The focus has primarily been on the danger of lead products, and lead product replacements weren’t a primary concern. Chinese manufacturers began using Cadmium insted [sic] of lead to get the same vivid pigments in product colors.” Right. David Lazarus knows all about this.

And then there are our Democratic leaders in Congress. It’s election season so there’s little incentive to be a calming influence. “Congresswoman Jackie Spear [sic], who first received the anonymous tip about the Shrek cups, doubts Europe is the Cadmium culprit due to its strict manufacturing rules. Spear [sic] suspects either a subcontractor or ingredient provider in China; China is one of the leading Cadmium producers in the world. . . . Spear [sic] says she has legislation in the works that would expand the Cadmium ban in U.S., specifying removing its use in any product for children.”

And the basis for Rep. Speier’s hunch is . . . what, exactly? The glasses were made in a U.S. factory: “In contrast to the Chinese-made children’s jewelry recalled earlier in the year, the drinking glasses were manufactured in the United States, by the Millville, N.J.-based company ARC International. Ron Biagi, vice president for North American sales at ARC, said he was surprised by the recall and vouched for the safety of the glasses. While environmental and consumer groups pointed to the importance of identifying the producer of the cadmium-tainted enamel used on the McDonald’s glasses, Biagi declined to name ARC’s supplier. ‘It’s not fair for me to pull them in,’ he said.” OMG, somebody decent is left in the world! I had about given up hope.

Having set off the blaze, CPSC Director of Public Affairs Scott Wolfson again spewed more of his patented mixed signals sure to sow seeds of doubt: “‘What’s so important is for parents to understand the difference. … Children are not at an acute risk; the glasses are not toxic,’ Wolfson said, adding that ‘there are no signs we’re looking at a wave here of cadmium becoming the next lead.’” Which is why, Scott, you and your agency acted so promptly to push for a recall of this non-toxic product made of common materials in wide distribution in this country for years without any detectable adverse health effect? Which is why you told America to stop using the oh-so-safe glasses “immediately” in your OnSafety blog? Do I have this wrong? Clear as mud. Very believable, too.

There are terms for this that are too crass for a family publication like my blog. Let your imagination run. How will all this resolve itself? Of course, not very well. Justified by fear of “bone softening” (that sounds HORRIBLE, doesn’t it?) and other bizarre maladies that supposedly COULD befall us from unspecified exposure to cadmium, we will get many new and ineffective regulations imposing yet more devastating costs and devastating risk on the children’s product industry.

While hatred of government is a necessary by-product of the massive self-inflicted injury of the CPSIA, we will more pertinently be faced with the difficult challenge of protecting our life’s work – our businesses. The livelihoods of our friends and associates at our company, the economic well-being of our customers and suppliers (often our close friends, too) and in our case, the economic future prospects of the kids who are being educated with our products, all hang in the balance. I don’t know what stops this freight train before it tragically collides with reality. Certainly not leadership or a show of character from our government.

I hate to close these essays sounding like a Tea Bagger (not that I resent the label). I don’t wish to be marginalized for having strong views about an abdication of leadership and judgment by our government leaders. Say what you will, the McDonald’s fiasco was fomented by politicians with agendas. Many companies and people – and our economy – will be severely damaged as a result.

There’s nothing to be proud of here.

Read more here:
CPSIA – McDonald’s Fallout Continues

CPSIA – CPSIA Casualty of the Week for May 10

The Alliance for Children’s Product Safety’s “CPSIA Casualty of the Week” highlights how the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) is disrupting the U.S. marketplace in order to draw attention to the problems faced by small businesses, public institutions, consumers and others trying to comply with senseless and often contradictory provisions of the law. These provisions do nothing to improve product safety, but are driving small businesses out of the market.

Congress and the CPSC need to address the problems with CPSIA implementation to help small businesses by restoring “common sense” to our nation’s product safety laws.

CPSIA Casualty of the Week for May 10, 2010:

Beloved Minnesota store The Essence of Nonsense Closed by
the Essence of Nonsense (CPSIA)

Tom Fletcher and his business partner Barbara Anderson-Sannes opened The Essence of Nonsense toy store 14 years ago dedicated to selling unique, high-quality toys out of their St, Paul, Minnesota shop. Offering an array of the best handmade toys from small domestic toymakers and traditional European manufacturers, The Essence of Nonsense became an important retail destination in the local community.

After the CPSIA imposed new restrictions on the toy industry, Tom and Barbara found that their suppliers greatly reduced the range of products available. Even more disturbing, they also noticed that the quality of products was rapidly deteriorating. Rather than sell inferior quality products, they decided to close the store. This was no “victory” for safety – their store had never experienced a recall of any of its specialized products.

“CPSIA cut our choices in half,” says Tom Fletcher. “Some small companies stopped selling or disappeared and the bigger companies, realizing they were the only options, started to reduce quality to save money for themselves. So, we decided to close in large part because the quality of our product offering was changing and the choices were becoming so limited.”

“It’s not that we’re against the [CPSIA-imposed] testing,” Fletcher continued. “It’s just that we need a fair application across the board. Small businesses can’t afford to hire the necessary testers which puts them at a significant disadvantage and can even put them out of business.”

Tragically, the closing of The Essence of Nonsense is a cautionary tale about how the overly-restrictive burdens of the new product safety regime can destroy small businesses and imperil their unique products. On the back of a precautionary law, a wave of destruction is carrying away the life’s work of many small businesspeople.

“When you pick up a handmade toy,” Fletcher says, “you can feel the dedication and effort that went into making it. Someone really loved making that toy. If something isn’t done to protect small businesses, handmade toys will be gone soon. People will look back and say, ‘we had this when I was a kid and we don’t have it anymore.’”

Read more here:
CPSIA – CPSIA Casualty of the Week for May 10

CPSIA – CPSC Recalls 40 Inflatable Bats for Phthalates

I know I am crazy, over the edge, worrying about a CPSC so hellbent on enforcing the awful CPSIA that it will chill the market and kill products and companies that are essential to those markets. I know I have a reputation . . . .

Well, consider this recall today: a California company agreed to a recall of 130 pieces of several toys, including an inflatable bat stenciled with “Home Run” on it. The bat was offensive because it violated the phthalates standard. A recall of 130 pieces spread over several toys, means that they must be recalling less than 130 pieces of the inflatable bat. So I called the company (Daiso Japan) and asked them exactly how many bats were involved – the answer? Forty. Feeling safer already?

This is a rather strict standard . . . and completely disproportionate to any conceivable risk. Phthalates do not “ooze” from toys – they must be mouthed and chewed. The CPSC knows this – their own CHAP examined this question and their own scientists participated in “chew tests”. So, in choosing to expend resources on a recall of 40 pieces of an inflatable bat that is clearly not intended or likely to be mouthed, the CPSC is imposing a strict liability standard with no apparent threshhold for recalls – one unit is enough to justify this public humiliation.

This is asinine, of course. How do you expect the business community to react to this development? Well, for one thing, they will overreact. I anticipate that our customers will demand that we prove that everything we make is phthalate-free, toy or not. This means expensive tests to prove that we have not used an additive not found in nature. [It's an ADDITIVE - it will only be there if added.] The application of this rule by the marketplace to every product, whether or not subject to the ban, means that more of our items will lose marketshare simply because we cannot afford to test them to prove we were compliant. The cull of items will accelerate.

This turn in the market will dramatically increase our costs. At this point, we have seen cost increases in the range of 12-40%. Perhaps those surcharges will fall over time, but right now, that’s a pretty hefty chunk of lost profits. The impact will be lower revenues as products are dropped and volumes decline in the face of forced price increases. Price increases in a weak market is not a winning strategy.

Another factor will be fear. Companies will look at this development, connect the dots with the penalty-happy posture of this new CPSC, and realize that any misstep is subject to dramatic punishment. They will pull into their shell – or leave the market. This is called a “chilling effect”.

And what will be achieved? Recalls of less than 130 pieces is pointless from a safety standpoint. The presence of phthalates in a toy is not tantamount to devastating injury, even if banned. The CPSC used to tout its “enforcement discretion” but apparently has no intention of using it here. Even so, the use of phthalates in a baseball bat is hard to link to injury under any rational standards – baseball bats are not teethers. Ergo, there are no rational standards. “Common sense” at the CPSC is a sound bite only and a pathetic figment of the marketers’ imagination.

Enjoy! You can thank the Congressional Democrats for all the good this is bringing to your life.

Read more here:
CPSIA – CPSC Recalls 40 Inflatable Bats for Phthalates