IV 

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 reVerDate Aug 31 2005 03:36 Nov 07, 2007 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR803.IH HR803

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•HRES 803 IH 

sponsible 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; 


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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 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) has lost confidence in Consumer Product 

3 Safety Commission Chairwoman Nancy Nord; and 


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1 (2) urges the President to request her resigna2 tion and to nominate a new candidate to head the 

3 Consumer Product Safety Commission. 

Æ 


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