Pelosi Says CPSC Chair Should Resign

After Consumer Product Safety Commission acting chair Nancy Nord opposed Senate legislation designed to strengthen the agency, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is calling for Nord's resignation. The Washington Post's Annys Shin has the story:

Pelosi said Nord's position on the bill makes her the wrong person to lead the agency. "Any commission chair who, in the face of the facts that are so clear, says we don't need any more authority or any more resources to do our job does not understand the gravity of the situation," Pelosi said.

Or maybe Nord does understand the gravity of the situation, but cares more about businesses' bottom lines than consumer safety.

Many of Nord's arguments were echoed yesterday by a coalition of business groups that includes the National Association of Manufacturers, the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association and the National Retail Federation.

"Our concern is the bill as drafted will lead to additional litigation without protecting the consumers from unsafe products," said Edward D. Krenik, a lobbyist for the Power Tool Institute. "We hope changes will be made as the process continues."

The Senate Commerce Committee approved the bill by a voice vote.

More like this

By Liz Borkowski  Reports of toys and other products containing dangerous levels of lead continue to pour in, with Curious George dolls and lipstick being the latest items to come under scrutiny. Companies and health officials have to decide what to do about products currently on the market, and…
It was kind of depressing to see the post on Effect Measure ( href="http://scienceblogs.com/effectmeasure/2007/10/chemical_plants_internal_dange.php#more">Chemical plants: internal dangers, external costs) about the half-measures being taken to safeguard chemical plants and facilities. The…
We've been following the crescendo of stories illustrating the severe limitations of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (here, here, and here): CPSC lacks the resources to test products adequately, it canât levy hefty enough fines to deter corporate wrongdoing, and it can announce a recall…
On Thursday, the Senate approved legislation that will boost funding for the Consumer Product Safety Commission, increase the agencyâs enforcement power, and effectively ban lead in all childrenâs products. The House bill passed in December contained similar provisions, although that chamber raised…