Will we make the cut??

Many of you read our previous post that the requests made by the HTA were not being addressed by the CPSC.  

This morning there was a hearing to discuss what will be funded and what the top concerns of the CPSC are.

 

Here are some notes from the hearing held this morning where CPSC staff briefly presented the draft plan and then the CPSC commissioners asked questions:

• The first question came from Tennenbaum - "what are we going to do about burden reduction?” Jay Howell responds “we are prepared to do some review and put together a briefing package on some of these issues identified by the Small Business Ombudsman and the HTA”, but it is not in the operating plan.
•  Later in the Q&A Buerkle states that she is “concerned about the lack of burden reduction in the operating plan” to which Jay Howell responds “it is the authority of the commissioners to modify what shows up as the priorities of the commission.” And also adds that “burden reduction falls below other things in the operating plan, resources are limited, safety is more important.”
• And towards the end of the hearing, Tennenbaum adds that she plans “to offer an amendment to fund burden reduction.” To which Adler adds that he “is delighted to hear Tennenbaum will propose a motion to fund some burden reduction.” And Robinson chimes in that “I want to add my name to the chorus for burden reduction.”

So on CPSIA burden reduction, we'll wait and see what Tennenbaum suggests in her amendment to the operating plan. The HTA will certainly be watching to see the level of commitment shown by her office.

Please know, we need support from our HTA membership to continue working on your behalf.  Please follow up with your Representatives and Senators, call or email Neal Cohen, the Small Business Ombudsman at the CPSC, and please consider donating to the HTA.  We have consistently worked on a purely volunteer basis and the funds received from members are used only for traveling and administrative costs. 

another blow by the CPSC

The CPSC has released the draft operating plan for 2014 and will hold a hearing tomorrow morning where the staff briefs the commissioners. Unfortunately, and as we expected, the draft operating plan has no allocation of resources for continuing to implement burden reduction called for in PL-112-28 with the exception of a single issue related to ATVs.



Nothing for establishing a list of equivalent tests, especially those from the E.U. in EN-71.

Nothing for expanding lead determinations list to include eight heavy elements from ASTM-F963-11.

Nothing for adding manufactured woods to the lead determinations list.

Nothing for creating and expanding a determinations list for phthalates.

Nothing for accepting results from a wider group of testing labs.

Nothing for defining a low volume periodic testing rule.

And nothing for publishing a wide variety of product specific guidance.



The link to the draft document is - http://1.usa.gov/16j5sC3.