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[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 803 Introduced in House (IH)]

110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 803

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 6, 2007

    Ms. DeLauro (for herself, 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, and Mr. Welch of Vermont) 
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 20 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 shunned her regulatory responsibilities: 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.
                                 <all>
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