Sen. Sherrod Brown: New Leadership Needed at the Consumer Product and Safety Commission

[marmar]

from HuffPost:




Sen. Sherrod Brown
New Leadership Needed at the Consumer Product and Safety Commission
Posted November 2, 2007 | 04:45 PM (EST)



This year our nation has witnessed recall after recall of contaminated products including toys, vitamins, pet food, and tires. Our fundamentally-flawed trade policy, mixed with a resistant consumer protection agency, has eroded nearly 40 years of safety standards in our nation -- safety standards that allowed parents to trust that their children's toys were lead free.

I am proud to cosponsor legislation authored by Senator Pryor that would strengthen the Consumer Protection Safety Commission -- the agency charged with keeping our families safe from contaminated products.

Earlier this week, however, a New York Times story revealed that CPSC Acting Chairwoman Nancy Nord is actively working against these improvements. That is just plain shameful.

This morning's Washington Post revealed that -- in addition to fighting agency improvements -- Chairwoman Nord has enjoyed trips across the country paid for by the very toy companies she is responsible for regulating. That is just plain outrageous. These were trips paid for by the toy industry, the industry now under scrutiny for cutting corners. Corners that earn big profits for industry CEOs and send toxic toys into our children's bedrooms.

Parents have the right to trust that their children's toys are safe. Every American has the right to trust that their government is doing its job to keep us all safe. Sadly, that does not appear to be the case with the CPSC.

Instead of working to strengthen her agency, Chairwoman Nord claims that her agency simply does not have the resources to improve. She claims that the legislation now working its way through Congress would over-burden the agency.

Why then -- one must ask -- did Chairwoman Nord fail to ask for more money when she met with the Senate Appropriations Committee earlier this year? The 2008 budget that Chairman Nord defended before Congress doesn't even increase the Commission's resources enough to account for inflation. It leaves this agency less well equipped to prevent harm to children and the rest of us.

She stood up before the House Financial Services Appropriations Committee and defended this budget, never once asserting the need for additional resources. What better opportunity could she have had to exercise her right to voice her views on funding? ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rep-sherrod-brown/new-leadership-needed-at-_b_70949.html

[msongs]

1. new democratic party leadership needed in the house and senate as well nt

[marmar]

2. Sad but true....

n/t

[geomon666]

3. New leadership is needed everywhere in this government.

It's corrupted through and through.

[shaniqua6392]

4. Yep. I was just thinking the same thing.

The Dems will bend over backward and take it without the benefit of lubrication. Excuse my pun. But I am so sick of them right now. They give Shrub everything he wants and then some. They stomp their feet and then vote yes on the things they should vote no on. They surely don't give a crap whether the products we use are safe. I wish we were not stuck with them all. Maybe some day we will have another choice.