Handmade Toy Alliance

Below is a list of high priority members on Commerce Trade and Consumer Protection subcommitte to lobby for legislative change to CPSIA. Please consider setting up a face to face meeting if you are a crafter or small business owner in one of these states.

I spoke with Congressman Peter Welch's (VT) aide today and he stressed that our move toward legislative change will go much more quickly, if more of us set up *face to face* meetings with committee member staffers. Our efforts are really starting to take shape and this is the time to turn up the heat.

-Cecilia Leibovitz

Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection

Bobby L. Rush, Illinois,
Chairman Jan Schakowsky, IL,
Vice Chair George Radanovich, CA,
Ranking MemberJohn P. Sarbanes, MD
Cliff Stearns, FL
Betty Sutton, OH
Ed Whitfield, KY
Frank Pallone, Jr., NJ
Joseph R. Pitts, PA
Bart Gordon, TN
Mary Bono Mack, CA
Bart Stupak, MI
Lee Terry, NE
Gene Green, TX
Sue Wilkins Myrick, NC
Charles A. Gonzalez, TX
John Sullivan, OK
Anthony D. Weiner, NY
Tim Murphy, PA
Jim Matheson, UT
Phil Gingrey, GA
G. K. Butterfield, NC
Steve Scalise, LA
John Barrow, GA
Joe Barton, TX (ex officio)
Doris O. Matsui, CA
Kathy Castor, FL
Zachary T. Space, OH
Bruce L. Braley, IA
Diana DeGette, CO
John D. Dingell (ex officio)
Henry A. Waxman, CA (ex officio)

::: Please pass this on :::

Hearing Advisory
Nomination Hearing


WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation announces the following full committee hearing:

Nomination Hearing
Full Committee
Date: Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Hearing Start Time: 10:30 a.m.
Press Pre-Set Time: 9:45 a.m.
Location: Room 253, Russell Senate Office Building

Nominee:

Inez M. Tenenbaum, to Chair the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)

We need to contact our ALL of our Senators (the hearing will take place in the Senate) NOW regarding Tenenbaum's confirmation hearing as chairperson of the CPSC, requesting that they pose questions for us at the hearing. Here are suggested questions:

1. Do you believe that you can apply risk assessment principles to the CPSIA as it is currently written? If the answer is yes, then I would like to ask what specific areas of the CPSIA able to utilize risk assessment. If the answer is no, then I would like to know if a technical amendment to the CPSIA that specifically utilizes risk assessment is something Ms. Tenenbaum would consider.
2. Would you be willing to work with the Handmade Toy Alliance to outreach and educate small businesses throughout the country how to work within and understand the CPSIA?

The Commerce committee will be holding the hearing on June 16th. Therefore, if your Senator is on the Commerce Committe, he/she will have the best chance of posing a question. The Republicans will be asking the hard questions, so they are truly our allies in this part of the game. The Senators on the Commerce Committee are as follows:

John Rockefeller (chair) D-WV
Daniel Inouye D-HI
John Kerry D-MA
Byron Dorgan D-ND
Barbara Boxer D-CA
Bill Nelson D-FL
Maria Cantwell D-WA
Frank Lautenberg D-NJ
Mark Pryor D-AR
Claire McCaskill D-MO
Amy Klobuchar D-MN
Tom Udall D-NM
Mark Warner D-VA
Mark Begich D-AK
Kay Bailey Hutchison (ranking member) R-TX
Olympia Snowe R-ME
John Ensign R-NV
Jim DeMint R-SC
John Thune R-SD
Roger Wicker R-MS
Johnny Isakson R-GA
David Vitter R-LA
Sam Brownback R-KS
Mel Martinez R-FL
Mike Johanns R-NE

If you see any of your members of the Senate listed above and need contact info for the appropriate person in their office, please email Jill at jill@craftybaby.com direct. Jill has all the contact people's names, phones #'s and emails. We need to have them ask our questions. Jill will help you in anyway she can to connect with the right person.

This is our best chance to be heard before Tenenbaum is placed at the CPSC. Let's make ourselves heard and loudly! :-) Please let us know if you need help!

The Handmade Toy Alliance is now on twitter at http://www.twitter.com/toyalliance. Please follow and let your followers know as well!

Thanks again for all of your support! Please feel free to email or post on the google discussion group any questions or concerns you may have. Together we will enact change!

For many months, constituents across the 50 states have been writing heartfelt appeals for change to their Senators and Representatives. In order to share some of their stories with you, we will be posting as many letters as we can in the “Letters to Congress” category on the CPSIA rally website:

http://amendthecpsia.com/category/letters-congress/

If you have a letter you’d like to share, please feel free to contact webcontent@amendthecpsia.com.