CPSIA – Draft of Second Waxman Amendment Is Released

The House Democrats just released the first publicly available draft of their proposed corrective amendment to the CPSIA. The draft may be viewed at this link. The next step in the legislative process will be either a hearing or a “mark-up”, neither of which has been scheduled. While the Dems had originally offered to follow the usual procedure for such important legislation, namely a public hearing followed by negotiation of the language (the “mark-up”), of late this idea has seemingly drifted away. Let’s hope it resurfaces. At this time, the Dems have requested comments on this draft from various interested parties by next Friday.

Please NOTE that this draft is a result of recent backroom negotiation, such as it is with Mr. Waxman, and thus reflects the Dems’ view of “middle ground”. The “bipartisan” nature of the drafting process leaves something to be desired, as Mr. Waxman and his team have insisted that the bill be based on his failed unilateral CPSIA amendment of last December, and have resisted the larger changes necessary to restore rationality to the law. While some issues are addressed by this draft, other problems move backwards or are simply ignored or buried. As you might imagine, this has not pleased everyone. Time will tell whether the Dems will continue to exhibit selective hearing as the process moves forward.

For now, enjoy reading the latest. I will provide analysis in due course, and in any event, look forward to your comments.

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CPSIA – Draft of Second Waxman Amendment Is Released