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player ready...The nation’s top official for consumer product safety has asked Congress in recent days to reject legislation intended to strengthen the agency that polices thousands of consumer goods, from toys to tools.
On the eve of an important Senate committee meeting to consider the legislation, Nancy Nord, the acting chairwoman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, has asked lawmakers in two letters not to approve the bulk of legislation that would beef up the agency’s authority.
Nord opposes provisions that would increase the maximum penalties for safety violations and make it easier for the government to make public reports of faulty products, protect industry whistle-blowers and prosecute executives of companies that willfully violate laws.
The measure is an effort to buttress an agency that has been under siege because of a raft of tainted and dangerous products manufactured both domestically and abroad.
Nord’s opposition to important elements of the legislation is consistent with the broadly deregulatory approach of the Bush administration. .
Tony Fratto, a White House spokesman, said Nord had not coordinated her effort to kill the legislation with the White House. But he said the administration shared many of her concerns and that Allan Hubbard, President Bush’s top economic adviser, was preparing to send a letter to Congress “that is probably even more forceful than Nord’s.”
The Senate Commerce Committee is set to vote Tuesday on the legislation, sponsored by Sens. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) and Mark Pryor (D-Ark.).
The bill would more than double the agency’s budget, to $141 million, over the next seven years, raise staffing levels about 20 percent and provide new powers to police the marketplace. It would raise the cap on the maximum penalties to $100 million, from $1.8 million.
Consumer advocates said they were stunned by the letter.
“It was remarkable to send a letter like that to a committee, when you’re in dire straits and you need increased funding and you’ve acknowledged that,” said Ellen Bloom, an official with Consumers Union.