CPSIA - ECADA Mark-up Delayed . . . What Did You Expect?

Continuing Congress' recent tradition of partisan gridlock, the House Energy and Commerce Committee yesterday "postponed" the mark-up on the CPSIA Amendment (ECADA).  This is no doubt due to the politically-advantageous intransigence of the Dems on basically ANY amendment of the CPSIA.  Although they (through the mouthpiece of Henry Waxman) concede that the law must be changed, they really don't mean it.  Your concerns . . . your complaints . . . your data-driven critiques of the awful CPSIA . . . your lost revenue . . . your lost business opportunities . . . your escalating costs . . . your job cuts . . . have ALL fallen on deaf Dem ears, all for the greater good of putting more Dems in a position to say THEY hold the high moral ground and love children more than evil Republicans.  Soon they will finish the job by preventing any fixes to the CPSIA.

The next chance for a mark-up is the weeks of July 7 or 14. 

And, if you aren't aware somehow, on August 14, the lead standard drops to 100 ppm by legal action under the original CPSIA.  Among the many reasons why the Republicans have been working on this amendment since the FIRST DAY OF THE NEW CONGRESS (see my blogposts of January 7th and thereafter) is to head off that terrible change in law.  Aside from the absurdity that Congress ENDORSED the sale of merchandise with 300 ppm lead for two years only to legislate a reverse course on August 14, 2011 when the merchandise magically becomes dangerous overnight, the provision has been interpreted to be RETROACTIVE in effect.  In other words, your inventory becomes unsaleable after August 13 even if in compliance with prior law if even a single component violates the trace 100 ppm lead-in-substrate standard.  For perspective, consider that the dirt in the White House vegetable garden has been tested out at 93 ppm lead.

As previously discussed in this space, retroactive bans are extremely rare in American law and never before have they been so carelessly used or endorsed as in the awful CPSIA.  So there is a ticking time bomb in the CPSIA - and the Dems are perfectly content to let it explode in your warehouse or your store.  Expect many order cancellations soon.

Thanks Dems.  Good job governing.