Handmade items are manufactured. That point was made clear by Cheryl Falvey, the General Counsel for the CPSC. I think I read that on a recap at fashionincubator.com - they are most interested in that kind of thing.
I am so glad you are willing to contact your legislators!
The thing is, the law DOES exist and has existed since last summer. Can it be enforced? I don't see how it possibly could be.
Will I continue to sell things and break the law, knowing I can't be stopped? I don't think so.
I sincerely hope that it is repealed, amended, or whatever.
The main thrust of the industries who want it amended (toysmakers, dressmakers, furniture manufacturers, printers, etc) is to permit composite testing instead of unit testing. They would be able to buy buttons, wood, paint, fabrics, nails, thread, paper, etc that are already certified according to the standards. That works well for companies who produced many of the same item (Gymboree, Hanna Anderson, Mattel, etc.) For a quiltmaker, that is just as impossible an idea, unless I make several of the same quilt, using only one or two fabrics - and if I never use any of the fabrics in my stash but only those purchased new after Nov 2008 and provided with the General Conformity Certificate (GCC). Articles would still have to be permanently labeled with the tracking code. So the proposed amendment would definitely benefit mass producers, but it wouldn't change the situation for people who do special orders or one-of-a-kind items.
Resale in the form of garage sales, thrift stores and resale shops would be the easiest to make an amendment for, and I hope they do, but the special interest consumer groups are pushing very hard for the total elimination of those (potentially) lead-laden toys and garments currently in existence.