handmade toys in jeopardy

I spent several hours this afternoon cutting out fabric for handmade gifts. It's no secret around here that I love making things and value handmade things. So it is with great shock that I came across this information jeopardizing the local handmade toy industry in our country. (ht to kristen)

In 2007, large toy manufacturers who outsource their production to China and other developing countries violated the public's trust. They were selling toys with dangerously high lead content, toys with unsafe small part, toys with improperly secured and easily swallowed small magnets, and toys made from chemicals that made kids sick. Almost every problem toy in 2007 was made in China.
...
The CPSIA simply forgot to exclude the class of toys that have earned and kept the public's trust: Toys made in the US, Canada, and Europe. The result, unless the law is modified, is that handmade toys will no longer be legal in the US.

If this law had been applied to the food industry, every farmers market in the country would be forced to close while Kraft and Dole prospered.

what can we do? contact your elected officials. It's actually very easy. I've never done it before until now. But there's a handy-dandy little form and you just submit your letter electronically. Kind of makes me wonder how many bazillion letters they must get. But that's what the staff is for, right?

from the internet buzz out there, the crafting community is very concerned! understandably!!!