Sewickley, PA -- Printing Industries of America, the world's largest graphic arts trade association, issued the following statement today welcoming Inez Tenenbaum to chair the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).
 
Printing Industries commends the Obama Administration and the U.S. Senate on the confirmation of Inez Tenenbaum to chair the CPSC.
 
At last week's U.S. Senate Commerce Hearing, Inez Tenenbaum, former State Superintendent of Schools in South Carolina, answered a variety of questions from Senators ranging from her experience working in bi-partisan committees to specifics on implementation regarding the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). Ms. Tenenbaum's repeated calls for common sense and cooperation were met with considerable optimism by Printing Industries and were praised by Senators of both parties.
 
Printing Industries encourages a swift transition in order for the new CPSC team to continue to improve safety and protect children. "We appreciate the CPSC's ongoing examination of ordinary books and other printed material as well as the agency's intent to issue further guidance on how the CPSIA will or will not apply to these products," said Lisbeth Lyons, Printing Industries of America's vice president of government affairs. "Printing Industries believes the test data submitted by the printing and publishing industries fully supports our case that these products are safe and viable for children. We urge the new CPSC leadership to issue a formal determination that ordinary books and other printed material will never be found to contain lead near the CPSIA lead limits."
 
Lyons added, "Printing Industries recognizes the CPSC's acknowledgement that the new law's overly-broad reach is causing unintended harm to consumers, printers, and publishers. We urge the new chairwoman and her team to promptly exercise their authority to fix the flaws in the CPSIA for both consumers and business. Under the direction of Chairwoman Tenenbaum, we are confident that the printing industry and the CPSC can achieve a safe and common-sense solution to the CPSIA."
 
For more information, visit the CPSIA webpage on the Printing Industries of America's website: www.printing.org/cpsia.