Consumer Product Safety Commission
Sunday, February 03, 2008 04:59 PM
January 28 2008: The Consumer Product Safety Commission has been raided - as a matter of policy of the President and the GOP Congress using the tools of reducing staff size - reducing budgets - and refusing to make appointments of commissioners. The net result - which is standard conservative GOP policy - is to lessen supervision of the industrial and commercial operations in the US. In 2007 some of the impact was illustrated by the lead paint problem with toys imported from China. There are countless other impacts which threaten the safety of consumers, or which less the value of the products they pay for from United States industry.
Mr. Oberman: (Countdown Host at
MSNBC - the following comment was made to his presentations 11 8 07 and is here
for your information.)
At www.Presidential-Appointments.org, we are hearing that the Senate is not about to confirm any nomination of the President to be Chair and Commissioner because it would guarantee five years, the length of the appointments, for the White House policy on consumer matters. This is why there is no particular push by the consumer support organizations to get a Chair nominated and confirmed immediately.
If there continues to be more political and public pressure on the CPSC and Acting Chair Nord the White House may well do a recess appointment before the Senate reconvenes after the holiday recess later this winter. The idea would be that this would shift some of the heat to the Democrats in the Senate, but the Senate - obviously feeling a little heady about their prospects in 2008 - would then be able to make a full five year appointments in early in 2009 - perhaps with a Democratic Party President in the White House.
The coverage you have given the subject has given an solid perspective about the appointment issues involved in the CPSC situation, and the long term policy of the GOP since President Reagan to loosen product supervision of business firms.
John Isaacson
Director
www.Presidential-Appointments.org
November 2 2007: The Consumer Product Safety Commission has been in the hands of "Bush Regulators" for several years, people committee to the business computer where consumers are protected only when product violations are flushed into the open. Staffs are small, and the leadership is pure business, from top to business. Nancy Nord, the acting chair, is in the soup today - toys loaded with lead are doing her in, not to speak of the use of manufacturer's planes, golf courses, and free lunch. The Congress and the press are out for her head, and are likely to get it.
September 20 2007: Today the Congress has begun to move to improve operations of the Consumer Product Safety Commission. This will increase the size of the commission staff, which the Bush White House has diminished, and increase the size of the budget under the pressure of lead reported in toys. The President has not nominated a Chair for the Commission, nor a third Commissioner.
September 19 2007: Children are chewing lead off toys distributed by major toy companies such as Mattel - that company purchased those from Communist China. It is beyond the wildest imagination that Mattel Toys and similar companies were not aware of the lead content in the toys. If they failed to examine for small magnets and other parts, or could not see such a casually obvious problem - they have a further level of fault - negligent fault that some parent is going turn into a serious civil suit for damages against those companies. It is time, however, for the US toy industry to ask the President to nominate a Chair for the Consumer Product Safety Commission - soon. Without such a force from the industry - they are due for a serious public relations assault from the public, the press, and this page.
This agency is governed by three Commissioners nominated by the President and confirmed by the United States Senate. Commissioners serve seven year terms, and one is designated as Chair. In general, the mission of the Commission is to supervise the safety and quality of consumer goods.
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Updated Sunday, February 03, 2008 04:59 PM
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Policy: The last three Republican Presidential administrations have made it a matter of policy to limit the effectiveness of agencies which limit or restrict the freedom of United States Business. While this was, and is a general policy of these Republican administration to so favor business, the Consumer Product Safety Commission has been a prime target to incapacitate. Budgets have been reduced, personnel reduced, and in general, everything done which could limit the effectiveness of the agency.
Commissioner Appointments: Bush has re-appointed one Commissioner, appointed a second Commissioner. She was confirmed by the Republican Senate and is presently "Acting Chairman." His third nomination, Michael Baroody who was lobbyist and Vice President for the National Association of Manufacturers was so unpopular with the Democratic Senate this year that Baroody withdrew his nomination before it was considered. That appointment infuriated numerous consumer protection groups. The Chairmanship has not been filled. This vacancy leaves the Commission without executive leadership and of course, cripples its ability to function to protect consumers against defective products. This is the plan, of course.
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Presidential Appointments:
Chairman: Vacant - for about 6 months as of 2/17/07. Nancy A Nord, one of the Commissioners of the CPSC is acting Chair.
Commissioner: (6 year term) Nancy A. Nord - appointed in 4/05 for appointment that ends in October 2012.
Commissioner: (6 year term) Thomas Hill Moore - appointment ends October 2010
Commissioner: Vacant
Internet Sites:
Consumer Product Safety Commission: Home page, with information about Product Recalls.
General Information about CPSC: General Information Page
Consumer Product Safety Commission: President Bush nominated Michael Baroody, Executive Vice President and senior lobbyist of National Association of Manufactures to be Chairman - 3/2/07- raising hackles among Consumer Rights groups. Expected to to be Confirmed - relatively routinely by Senate.
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