Rep. Michael Burgess (R-TX26), a practicing physcian for nearly three decades, wrote a three-page letter to Reps. Henry Waxman and Bobby Rush. [Dr. Burgess was also a speaker at our April 1 Rally.]
The letter certainly makes interesting reading. Here's a couple snippets. Please remember that Rep. Burgess is a medical doctor, presumably able to assess the scientific need for the strong restrictions in the law.
1. "I voted for this bill. At the time, I was compelled by the arguments we should work diligently to bring the Consumer Product Safety Commission into the 21st Century. . . . Sadly, this intent has ushered in a virtual avalanche of unintended consequences. . . . During a time of recession and staggering job loss, [businesses large and small] are suffering while the CPSC is moving at a staggering snail's pace to implement the 42 required actions under this law. This has caused me to regret my vote for the nebulous language of this bill. In our zeal to protect children from lead in children's toy products, we have endangered an entire industry." [Emphasis added]
2. "Furthermore, Ms. Nord stated numerous times that her hands were tied at the CPSC due to the language of the CPSIA. This complaint is one that, regardless of whether it is true or not, needs to be addressed. The CPSC should not have to spend all their time fielding exclusion requests from the application of the CPSIA. The CPSC should be implementing, enforcing and punishing for lead in toy products. Not for clothes, not for shoes, not for books, not for wooden jewelry and not for all-terrain vehicles."
3. "[At last week's hearing, we] should have had third party testers who could explain to us . . . how they are going to test this multi-billion dollars industry every minute, of every hour, of every day, of every year until Congress addresses this issue. We cannot say we are addressing the problems as a result of our own actions with having a hearing with one panelist." [Emphasis added]
Thank you, Rep. Burgess. You speak the truth. I note you copied the White House on your letter. I hope someone is listening. . . .
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2 comments:
Two voices of reason here: Rick (as usual) and Representative Burgess. Why does it seem that the rest of Congress is refusing to listen to anything or anyone???
When I look at the mess they've made with something as simple as Consumer Product Safety and as "Cash for Clunkers"...I shudder to think what a disaster these same people can make of taking over our Health Care!
Could regrets like this be a result of our members of congress not actually reading the bills they vote for?
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