On Thursday, February 17, the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee held a hearing entitled “A Review of CPSIA and CPSC Resources.” Led by the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade, topics included funding for the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), issues with the product safety database SaferProducts.gov, and the impact of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) regulation on small businesses.
Subcommittee chairman Rep. Mary Bono Mack, R-Calif., and committee chairman Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., addressed concerns of small businesses regarding the CPSIA. “For thousands of businesses who strive to be responsible … CPSIA has consumed an inordinate amount of their time trying to understand how each new regulation and standard will affect them,” Rep. Bono Mack said in prepared remarks.
“Unfortunately, many have gone out of business, attributing their demise to some of the burdens of compliance with the many provisions of the new law,” she continued. “We need to strike a careful balance. As a nation, we simply cannot afford to lose jobs or stifle innovation because of unnecessary regulations.” Full text of the statements from Rep. Bono Mack and Rep. Upton are available on the committee’s website here, and a link to watch the archived webcast can be found here.
The CPSIA recently had a stay of enforcement extended on certain provisions regarding lead content. The new stay of enforcement is lifted on December 31, 2011, meaning the last day it will be in effect is December 30. The CPSC has created a chart, available here, to keep track of the various requirements and stays of enforcement related to CPSIA.
