[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 819 Introduced in House (IH)]
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 819
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the House has
lost confidence in the performance of Consumer Product Safety
Commission Chairwoman Nancy Nord, and urging the President to request
her resignation.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 13, 2007
Ms. DeLauro (for herself, Ms. Hooley, Mr. Doggett, Mr. Hare, Mr. Holt,
Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Emanuel, Mr. Ryan of Ohio, Mr. Cardoza, Ms. Eshoo,
Ms. Sutton, Mr. Courtney, Mrs. Maloney of New York, Ms. Wasserman
Schultz, Ms. Richardson, Mr. Larson of Connecticut, Mr. Welch of
Vermont, Mr. Ackerman, Mr. Frank of Massachusetts, Mr. Capuano, Mrs.
Boyda of Kansas, Ms. Tsongas, Mr. Waxman, Mr. Dicks, Ms. Matsui, Mr.
Thompson of California, Mrs. Jones of Ohio, Mr. Kagen, Mr. Moore of
Kansas, Mr. Murtha, Mr. Fattah, Mr. Gene Green of Texas, Mr. Scott of
Georgia, Mr. Kennedy, Ms. Kaptur, Mr. Space, Mr. Peterson of Minnesota,
Ms. Hirono, Mr. Hall of New York, Ms. Shea-Porter, Mr. Perlmutter, Mrs.
Lowey, Mr. Kildee, Mr. Crowley, Mr. Butterfield, Mr. Visclosky, Mr.
Becerra, Mr. Wynn, Mr. Stupak, Mr. Lewis of Georgia, Ms. Lee, Mr. Van
Hollen, Mr. Bishop of Georgia, Ms. Schwartz, Ms. Kilpatrick, Mr.
Blumenauer, Mr. Inslee, Mr. Olver, Mr. Lynch, Mr. Loebsack, Mr. Wilson
of Ohio, Mr. Cohen, Ms. Watson, Mrs. Christensen, Mr. Hinchey, Ms.
Clarke, Mr. Hinojosa, Ms. Jackson-Lee of Texas, Mr. Davis of Illinois,
Ms. Velazquez, Ms. Berkley, Mr. Filner, Mr. Stark, Mr. Jackson of
Illinois, Mr. Neal of Massachusetts, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Wu, Mr. Ortiz,
Mr. DeFazio, Mr. McNerney, Mr. Meek of Florida, Mr. Davis of Alabama,
Mr. Moran of Virginia, Ms. Moore of Wisconsin, Mr. Pallone, Mr.
Rothman, Mr. Nadler, Ms. Slaughter, Mr. Murphy of Connecticut, Mr.
Farr, Mr. Berman, Mr. George Miller of California, Ms. Bordallo, Mr.
Delahunt, Mr. Lampson, Mr. Faleomavaega, Mr. Abercrombie, Mr. Baca, Mr.
Bishop of New York, Mrs. Capps, Mr. Chandler, Mr. Cummings, Mr.
Ellison, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Israel, Mr. Kanjorski, Mr. Kind, Ms. Zoe
Lofgren of California, Mrs. McCarthy of New York, Ms. McCollum of
Minnesota, Mr. Meeks of New York, Mr. Price of North Carolina, Mr.
Rahall, Mr. Reyes, Mr. Rodriguez, Ms. Roybal-Allard, Ms. Linda T.
Sanchez of California, Ms. Loretta Sanchez of California, Mr. Udall of
Colorado, Mr. Udall of New Mexico, Ms. Waters, Mr. Wexler, and Ms.
Woolsey) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the House has
lost confidence in the performance of Consumer Product Safety
Commission Chairwoman Nancy Nord, and urging the President to request
her resignation.
Whereas the mission of the Consumer Product Safety Commission is to protect the
public against unreasonable risks of injury associated with consumer
products;
Whereas, since 1974, the first year the Consumer Product Safety Commission
(CPSC) went into operation, United States imports have quadrupled, and
the CPSC is responsible for overseeing more than 15,000 types of
products, yet it now operates with approximately 400 staffers, fewer
than half the number of staff when the agency was established;
Whereas 80 percent of the toys Americans buy are Chinese imports, and in recent
months more than 25 million toys manufactured in China were recalled
because of lead paint and other hazards;
Whereas, instead of prioritizing and addressing serious threats to public health
or dealing with the CPSC's own limitations, Commission Chairwoman Nancy
Nord stubbornly pushes back and actively opposes legislation to grant
the CPSC much needed authority and resources;
Whereas Federal employees in regulatory agencies are generally prohibited from
receiving any ``gift,'' including payment or reimbursement of travel
expenses, from someone who is seeking action from, doing business with,
or regulated by that agency, or whose interests may be substantially
affected by the performance or nonperformance of an employee's official
duties;
Whereas prohibiting gifts to Federal employees is aimed at preventing a
government employee from becoming beholden to anyone in the private
sector who might affect the independence or judgment of that employee;
Whereas Chairwoman Nord and her predecessor, Hal Stratton, took nearly 30 trips
at the expense of the toy, appliance, and children's furniture
industries who had interests before the Commission, and the airfares,
hotels, and meals of such trips totaled nearly $60,000;
Whereas the CPSC made travel bookings before the trips were approved and the
CPSC's ethics official traveled with the chairwoman as a guest of a
regulated industry;
Whereas Chairwoman Nord was reported to have taken a trip totaling $3,730 to San
Francisco in 2005 sponsored by the Toy Industry Foundation, an
association that represents the makers of 85 percent of the toys sold in
the United States;
Whereas Chairwoman Nord was reported to have taken a trip in February 2006,
which was paid for by the Toy Industry Association to attend the
American International Toy Fair in New York;
Whereas, in February, Chairwoman Nord accepted more than $2,000 in travel and
accommodations from the Defense Research Institute to attend its meeting
in New Orleans on ``product litigation trends,'' according to the
agency's internal records;
Whereas the CPSC Inspector General Christopher W. Dentel has asserted that he
will take steps to see to it that the relevant records detailing travel
expenses are secured and an investigation initiated; and
Whereas Chairwoman Nord is the wrong person to lead the CPSC as its chief
regulator as she has chosen to side with the companies that manufacture
these dangerous products rather than protect America's consumers: Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) has lost confidence in Consumer Product Safety
Commission Chairwoman Nancy Nord; and
(2) urges the President to request her resignation and to
nominate a new candidate to head the Consumer Product Safety
Commission.
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