Posted by D. Cupples | Today's Washington Post reports:
"The chief of the Consumer Product Safety Commission [Nancy Nord] and her predecessor [Hal Stratton] have taken dozens of trips at the expense of the toy, appliance and children's furniture industries and others they regulate, according to internal records obtained by The Washington Post. ...
"The records document nearly 30 trips since 2002 by the agency's acting chairman, Nancy Nord, and the previous chairman, Hal Stratton, that were paid for in full or in part by trade associations or manufacturers of products ranging from space heaters to disinfectants. The airfares, hotels and meals totaled nearly $60,000, and the destinations included China, Spain, San Francisco, New Orleans and a golf resort on Hilton Head Island, S.C....
"Critics have long charged that the agency has become too close to regulated industries, opting for 'voluntary' standards and repeatedly choosing not to take legal action against businesses that refuse to recall dangerous products."
Is it any wonder that our toothpaste and toys seem to have posed safety threats? So much for relying on "voluntary" standards -- which is like leaving a sweet-toothed child alone with the key to the candy cabinet and saying, "Don't spoil your dinner."
During the Clinton Administration, CSPC chairman Ann Brown did not travel at industry's expense.
Update: Crooks & Liars (via Memeorandum) reports that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is calling for Nord to resign.
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