In a campaign posted on Union Review , Consumers union asked people via "Not In My Cart"
to e-mail their congressmen and ask them to support safer products
entering the USA . Well my Congressman Vito J. Fosella responded and although seems to be a form e-mail , he does bring up some great points . Just the fact that it seems to be a form e-mail shows that e-mail
campaigns do get attention .
Heres the Response :
from
Congressman Vito J. Fossella
Thank you for contacting me with your thoughts on consumer product
safety. I appreciate your taking the time to share your views on this
important issue with me.
After two of my constituents got
sick as a result of counterfeit toothpaste imports, I wrote to the
Chairman and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and
Consumer Protection of the Energy and Commerce Committee, on which I
serve, to request a formal hearing on the safety of imported consumer
goods, specifically those from China. On September 19 and 20, 2007, the
hearings on Protecting Children from Lead-Tainted Imports brought
together experts from the medical profession, the toy industry, and
prominent retailers, as well as Consumer Product Safety Commission, to
share their expert knowledge on this major health concern. As a father
of three young children, I believe that every American deserves the
peace of mind of knowing that the toys they give their children to play
with are safe and do not contain unsafe levels of lead. Unfortunately,
this hearing did not cover food or hygiene product safety as I
suggested it should.
Tainted food poses an equally
troubling concern, especially in light of the 12 year-old Staten Island
girl who found herself in an Intensive Care Unit as a result of eating
beef which contained E. coli bacteria. Unfortunately, this is not an
isolated problem. The Topps Meat Co., which produced the tainted beef,
has expanded its initial recall of 332,000 pounds of meat to 21.7
million pounds. These instances merit a full and comprehensive
examination by the federal government. That is why I wrote to the
Administrator of the federal Food Safety and Inspection Service asking
for more proactive federal investigations into the safety of our food
supply.
As a member of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade,
and Consumer Protection, I have been very active and supportive of that
body’s efforts to overhaul the Consumer Product Safety Commission
(CPSC), the federal body that is charged with protecting the public
from unreasonable risks of serious injury or death from more than
15,000 types of consumer products. The CPSC has a critical job in
ensuring that unsafe products are not sold to the American people and
instituting recalls as quickly and effectively as possible. The
opportunity to improve the CPSC is one that should be taken very
seriously, and it is one that I welcome. The subcommittee has recently
held hearings and a mark-up to affect this necessary change. Please be
assured that I will continue to be a voice for Staten Island and
Brooklyn in the committee hearings as we work to strengthen this
critical government agency.
Several other pieces of
legislation have been introduced to address import and consumer safety
issues. I will be sure to keep your views in mind as I give each of
them my full consideration.
Please feel free to visit my website, www.house.gov/fossella,
where you may find additional information on important issues. While
there, you may also sign up for my E-newsletter to receive regular
updates on what my office is doing in both the 13th Congressional
District and in Washington, D.C.
Once again, thank you for
contacting me with your thoughts on this legislation. Please do not
hesitate to contact me again in the future.
___________________________________
Consumers Union has sent over 293,000 messages to congress and met their goal of 250,000 and have now raised it to 300,000 , send them a message at "Not In My Cart"
Original story:
Not In My Cart - Stop Hazzardous Products From Entering the U.S.
Related links:
http://unionreview.com/toxic-toys-and-sweatshop-abuses-are-two-sides-same-coin.
http://unionreview.com/date-rape-toys-made-china
