PPAI In Action: PPAI Meets With CPSC, Attends Rally


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PPAI In Action: PPAI Meets With CPSC, Attends Rally

Issue: 2009apr

Left to right: John Satagaj, Cheryl Falvey, Paul Bellantone, Rick Brenner, Peter Healy and Steve Slagle.

Last week, PPAI staff and members traveled to Washington, D.C., to lobby on members’ behalf regarding several key issues, most related to product safety legislation.

The week began with a meeting with members of the Consumer Product Safety Commission and its general counsel, Cheryl Falvey. The CPSC is tasked with enforcing the Consumer Product Safety Information Act (CPSIA).

Attending the meeting were Steve Slagle, CAE, PPAI president and CEO; Paul Bellantone, CAE, PPAI executive vice president; Anne Lardner, PPAI senior manager of public affairs; John Satagaj, PPAI chief lobbyist and general counsel; Peter Healy, vice president of supply chain for New Kensington, Pennsylvania-based supplier Leed’s (UPIC: LEEDS) and Rick Brenner, CEO of Bridgeport, Connecticut-based supplier Prime Resources Corp. (UPIC: PRIME).

“We had the opportunity to review the challenges the industry faces as a result of the CPSIA law,” says Lardner. “The CPSC was very interested, engaged and responsive to our concerns. The tone of the meeting was positive, collaborative and concerned.”

The PPAI delegation delivered a presentation at the meeting, and later in the week Bellantone and Lardner attended a rally addressing flaws in the product safety law. Speakers at the “Fly-In, Rally and Congressional Briefing to Fix Flaws In New Product Safety Law,” included representatives of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and U.S. Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas.

A crowded room in the Capitol visitors’ center was host to an enthusiastic crowd that included elected officials, scientists, representatives from trade associations, business groups, Native American crafters and even home schoolers. “All of these groups have been affected by the unintended consequences of the CPSIA,” says Lardner.

“The vast majority in the room support the spirit of the CPSIA—improving safety and protecting children—however, the language, details and implementation of the law present profound challenges for compliance and are causing massive disruptions of business practices,” she adds. “Even the CPSC itself has stated that the implementation of this law overwhelms the agency.”

PPAI joined with these groups to call on Washington lawmakers to amend the CPSIA and urge members to support a bill announced at the rally by Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Joe Barton, R-Texas. Barton is the author of H.R. 1815, which proposes solutions to flaws in the CPSIA that may be forcing millions of small businesses toward financial hardship and even bankruptcy.

Be sure to read next week’s PPB Newslink for more on the visit to D.C.

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