Nunnelee Fights for Mississippi Jobs

(Washington, D.C.) - Congressman Alan Nunnelee (MS-01) has been encouraging his colleagues in the House of Representatives to cosign a letter he wrote to Financial Services Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Jo Ann Emerson (MO-8) and Ranking Member José Serrano (NY-16).  The letter asks them to strip language from the Financial Services Appropriations bill (S.1573) that would ban cords on window coverings, leading to the elimination of 80% of window covering products and jeopardizing thousands of American jobs.  The language was inserted without previous hearings or discussions.

The letter reads, in part: “As Members of Congress representing the people and businesses involved in the manufacturing and distribution of window coverings, we write today concerning language currently included in the Senate Financial Services and General Appropriations bill (S. 1573). This language…uses the appropriations process to create a new and unnecessary legislative mandate that would require the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to go outside of their normal rulemaking process, drafting duplicative and unreasonable regulations for products manufactured, sold and used throughout the country.  If adopted, this requirement will be significantly harmful to our constituents with interests in the window coverings business…The language included by Senator Durbin is another example of the government unnecessarily interfering in the private sector.”

The letter also addresses safety concerns, which Sen. Durbin cites as the justification for the language: “The driving force behind the inclusion of this language seems to be a desire to eliminate ‘any and all risk’ from the window coverings industry.   However, the window coverings industry has changed its standards and designs many times over the last 15 years.  Additionally, those businesses and individuals involved in the manufacturing and sales of window coverings have a lengthy history of creating safety standards through the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) process.  This voluntary process has led to the creation of the safest, most technologically advanced window coverings in the world today."

Congressman Nunnelee said that he is doing his part to protect Mississippi jobs. “This language is targeted at an industry that employs over 100 people in the 1st District. I will not stand by while a vital Mississippi industry is crippled by senseless overregulation.”

Thus far, 26 Congressman have cosigned the letter. You can read the full text of the letter to Chairman Emerson and Ranking Member Serrano, the Dear Colleague letter asking for cosigners, and a Wall Street Journal editorial on the subject by clicking here.

Congressman Alan Nunnelee represents Mississippi’s First Congressional District and serves on the House Appropriations Committee.  This is his first term.

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