Congress Exempts Children's Books & Paper-Based Printed Materials from CPSIA; Industry Wins Freedom from New Environmental Regulation!

Even if your company does not print books or paper-based materials for the "12 years of age & under" market, the fact that books and paper-based printed materials were being regulated by yet another entity and had its environmental stewardship once again called into question - this time regarding the use of heavy metals. Achieving a total exclusion for books and paper-based printed materials from this massive environmental and consumer regulation goes a long way to reminding lawmakers that the printing & graphic communications industry's products are sustainable, safe and leading edge when it comes to environmentally-sound manufacturing.

Printing Industries of America extends a thank you to member companies who worked tirelessly alongside our Washington, DC team to advocate the industry's position on Capitol Hill. We also extend a special thank you to our Congressional champions, bill sponsors Reps. Mary Bono Mack (R-CA) and G.K. Butterfield (D-NC) and Senator MarkPryor (D-AR) and leadership and members of the House Energy & Commerce Committee and Senate Commerce Committee. Additionally, Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE) had offered stand-alone legislation to exempt books from CPSIA. If your lawmakers are among this group of champions, please be sure to send an e-mail or letter thanking him or her for taking action on this important issue and arriving at a common-sense, bipartisan compromise to remove books from the regulatory morass that has been CPSIA.

Also, please note that this was a rare moment of true bipartisanship! Therefore, ALL Printing Industries of America companies should take a moment so send a note of thanks to lawmakers for supporting our industry. Remember, stating the industry's appreciation for a pro-print, pro-business vote is helpful in building strong constituent relationships with lawmakers. After all, it's always easier to make a more difficult "ask" of your lawmakers when they know you acknowledge the times they do say "Yea" to a pro-print, pro-business issue. (Please note, the automated thank you note targets the House; to send a message to the Senate, you will need to cut and paste the message into the email forms provided. Please email govtaffairs@printing.org for assistance if needed.)