Sunday, July 06, 2008

About the FDA Globalization Act of 2008


The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce released a Discussion Draft of the "Food and Drug Administration Globalization Act of 2008." The “Discussion Draft is meant to stimulate discussion about how to provide adequate funding and authority for FDA to ensure safety of . . . food, drug, medical device, and cosmetic” products.

While the bulk of the document addresses the safety of foods and drugs, there is a section on cosmetics that, if enacted as it is currently stated, will have an adverse effect on any cosmetic manufacturer - and that includes all of us who make any products that fall under the FDA definition of "cosmetic".

This video gives more insight about how this act will affect small businesses and why it's important to take a proactive stand against this proposed Draft Legislation. As it stands, the act would require small cosmetics companies to pay thousands of dollars a year in registration fees and comply with burdensome paperwork that would serve only to put them out of business.





Marie Gale, President of the Handcrafted Soapmakers Guild, has commited to making it a primary mission of the The Guild is to "give a voice to the handcrafted soapmaker". She states, "You can count on my making our voice heard on this matter in those hallowed halls of Congress!"


What can you do? Copy and paste the following Petition text and send it to Virgil Miller at virgil.miller@mail.house.gov. Mr. Miller is a Professional Staff Member with the House Energy & Commerce Committee. Make your voice count!


Petition Text:


We are the owners of small cosmetics companies, and the customers who love their products.
We understand that laws must be in place to protect everyone from unsafe products, but we are outraged by the Draft Legislation that would require small cosmetics companies to pay thousands of dollars a year in registration fees and comply with burdensome paperwork that would serve only to put them out of business.


If passed the legislation would deny thousands of families the ability to earn an honest living, and also deprive consumers of the variety of cosmetics and personal care products available to choose from.


We oppose this law and condemn any companies that support it as being interested only in creating an unlevel playing field where small and family owned businesses will be forced from the marketplace before they even get a chance to start out.


We urge you, as our representatives in Congress, to stop this law which would serve only to make it even harder for families to support themselves. We call instead for a real and meaningful discussion about how Congressional goals can be accomplished without enacting unfair laws that make it impossible for small businesses to survive.


In signing this Petition, we formally request that the Discussion Draft of the FDA Globalization Act of 2008 be marked up so that the legitimate concerns of small businesses and the consumers they serve can be translated into reasonable laws that protect consumers without also killing small businesses by making them pay unfair fees and comply with burdensome paperwork.


We sincerely thank you for your time.

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