Put it in Writing

No Record is as Strong as the Written Word

n business, it's always a good idea to get it in writing. Whether it's a contract, the correct recipe for a new product or the directions to a new restaurant in town, you are better off always if you get it in writing. Fighting the draft of the FDA Globalization Act of 2008 is no different. Now is the time to take action and make an impact on this pending legislation, and it has to be done in writing.

Donna Maria Coles Johnson from the Indie Beauty Network is one of the many thousands (yes, we are thousands strong!) of people I am working with on this effort. Donna Maria graciously shared sample letters that you can use to contact your Congressman, Senator and the local media. 

            

These samples letters are a great starting point, but the most effective portion of your letter will be the portion in which you share your own story. In order to make changes happen we absolutely must make our companies come alive. Touch the heart of those who have a vote and the media who can help us spread the word of the devastating results that this legislation would have in our industry. This pending legislation will affect those in the food industry as well so please pass the word to make all small businesses heard. Donna Maria over at Indie Business Blog posted a wonderful collection of 10 Tips for Impacting the Political Process, which gives some useful tips for the road ahead of us. 

Please feel free to personalize these sample letters or write straight from your heart.  This issue is near and dear to everyone in this industry and everyone who believes in free enterprise.  Ask your friends, family and customers to support your mission to stop or change this legislation.  More information about my trip to DC and the FDA Globalization Act can be found in the following posts on my blog Mrs. Fioravanti Goes to Washington, Me, in the Halls of Congress, Come Climb with Me, The Wrong Policy, The Wrong Law, The Wrong Time, and Food and Drug Administration Globalization Act of 2008.  Please leave your comments on any or all of the posts.  Tell others what you are going to do to take part to change your future.  This issue is near and dear to everyone in this industry and all those who believes in free enterprise.  Ask your friends, family and customers to support your mission to stop or change this legislation.    

Sample Initial Email to Congressional Representative

This letter can often be easily and quickly sent through email forms that most political representatives have at their websites or via fax.  To find contact information for Senators of the 110th Congress and The House of Representatives use these links. 

Dear Representative [or Senator] Name:

I own a small cosmetics business in [state] and I am writing to you because I am familiar with your commitment to small businesses in our state. The draft discussion of the FDA Globalization Act of 2008 is now being marked up in the House Energy & Commerce Committee and I am strongly opposed to it.

The stated purposes of the draft law are to provide FDA with funding and to protect consumers. While that is good it does not take into account that the cosmetic industry has a stellar safety record and there is no need to pass laws that would hurt thousands of small businesses while offering no safety benefits to consumers.

If passed, the new law would impose potentially devastating fees on my business of $2,000 to $12,000 per year and require me to comply with burdensome paperwork, more government red tape and unnecessary manufacturing requirements that no small business can afford.

I write to ask you to vote against the FDA Globalization Act of 2008 when the time comes. At a time when small and family owned businesses like mine are dealing with increased shipping and materials costs, a negative trade dollar decline and increased corporate taxes which will cause an increases in consumer prices, it is unfair and unnecessary to enact new laws that would put thousands of small businesses out of business. Please refer to a Petition that a trade group I belong to [am familiar with] has prepared to help spread the word. At the link, you can watch a short video, read the Petition and then read the comments of literally thousands of people, small business owners across the nation, many in our state, who oppose this new law.

(Add a short synopsis of your story here including how your family and business would be affected by this legislation if it passed in its present form)

I would like to request a short telephone conference call meeting with a staffer in your office who handles important issues affecting small businesses. Please call or email to let me know who to contact about this urgent issue.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

[signed]

Sample Initial Email to Media Representative

Dear Mr./Mrs. Media Person:

I have been a longtime fan of your [show/column/segment] in [name media outlet]. Thank you for using your platform to inform the community about issues affecting families and small businesses.

I own a small cosmetics business in town and I am writing to you because I think your audience [readers/listeners] should know about the draft of the FDA Globalization Act of 2008, which is now being marked up in the House Energy & Commerce Committee. This new law, if passed, would put me and hundreds of other small cosmetics businesses in this state out of business.

The stated purposes of the draft law are to provide FDA with funding and to protect consumers. But cosmetics have a stellar safety record and there is no need to pass laws that would hurt small businesses while offering no safety benefits consumers.

If passed, the new law would impose fees on my business of from $2,000 to $12,000 per year. What small business can afford that??! It would also require me to comply with burdensome paperwork and manufacturing requirements that no small business can afford.

At a time when consumers and small and family businesses in our state are dealing with skyrocketing gas prices and the ever-increasing cost of everything from eggs and bread to back to school supplies, it is unfair and unnecessary to enact new laws that would put small businesses out of business.

(Add a short synopsis of your story here including how your family and business would be affected by this legislation if it passed in its present form)

I would like to provide you with more information about how this new law, if enacted, would hurt so many small businesses like mine in our community. Please refer to a Petition that a trade group I belong to [am familiar with] has prepared to help spread the word. At the link, you can watch a short video, read the Petition and then read the comments of literally thousands of people across the nation, many in our state, who oppose this new law.

I will contact you to follow up in a few days. In the meantime, if you feel that this information would be of interest to your viewers, please do not hesitate to contact me at phone/email.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

[signed]

Sample Initial Email to the Honorable John D. Dingell

The Representative John D. Dingell is the chairman of the subcommittee in charge of this draft bill and it is important that you voice your opinion with his office.  It is important to check your anger at the door and speak calmly and efficiently in order to be effectively heard.  They have already been flooded with angry emails. They now need solution oriented input. Representative Dingell can be reached via fax at 202-226-0371 and emailed through his contact page.   

Dear Honorable John D. Dingell,

I am writing to inform you that I do not support the Discussion Draft of the Food and Drug Administration Globalization Act of 2008 that is being worked on in the Committee on Energy and Commerce of which you are chairman. 

The stated purposes of the draft law are to provide FDA with funding and to protect consumers. But cosmetics have a stellar safety record and there is no need to pass laws that would hurt small businesses while offering no safety benefits consumers.

If passed, the new law would impose fees on my business of from $2,000, $10,000 or as a manufacturer and importer $12,000 per year and require me to comply with burdensome paperwork and manufacturing requirements that no small business can afford. Please consider an exemption for small businesses that would allow everyone to participate in the free enterprise system. Had this legislation been in place many of the large cosmetic companies that exist today would have never had an opportunity. I am asking you to give everyone an opportunity to take part in the American dream. Please don’t close the door on small and mostly women owned businesses in America today.

I write to ask you to reconsider your position on the FDA Globalization Act of 2008 regarding cosmetics.  At a time when small and family businesses like mine are dealing with increased shipping and materials costs, as well as increases in consumer prices, it is unfair and unnecessary to enact new laws that would put small businesses out of business. Please refer to a Petition that a trade group I belong to [am familiar with] has prepared to help spread the word. At the link, you can watch a short video, read the Petition and then read the comments of literally thousands of people across the nation, many in our state, who oppose this new law.

(Add a short synopsis of your story here including how your family and business would be affected by this legislation if it passed in its present form)

I would like to request a short telephone conference call meeting with a staffer in your office who handles important issues affecting small businesses. Please call or email to let me know who to contact about this urgent issue.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

[signed]

Comments

[Marie Labriola]

I must compliment Kayla on her blogs and her standing in the gap for all of us concerning the Globalization Act of 2008. I find the blogs very inspiring as they give me a much needed push when I need it. As I pursue this dream business (and seven years of prayer and standing in faith) I find myself doing the job of five or six people. That can be very frustrating, not to mention extremely overwhelming at times. I look forward to Kayla's blogs as they boost my confidence level back up to where it should be. Please pass that along to her. I would write her myself, but I do not know her address. I am sure you will follow through, though, as you are a trooper and a great employee. If I were closer, I'd consider trying to "steal" you away from her. :) Seriously, thanks Melissa, for all your help and the professional and caring manner in which you handle my concerns and questions. It's comforting to know that I can really count on this company because, Lord knows, I need a good and strong company, with exceptional products, to do business with.