Conflict of Interest Could Mar Product Safety (Sen. Dick Durbin)

On Thursday, the Senate Commerce Committee will consider the nomination of Michael Baroody to be the Chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the agency tasked with protecting individuals and families from dangerous products including toys, child safety seats and power tools.

Two weeks ago, I sent a letter to the Acting Chair of CPSC, Nancy Nord, seeking more information on the agency’s handling of a recall of a popular magnetic toy. The toy in question had caused dozens of serious injuries in children and was responsible for the death of a 5 year old boy in 2005. The CPSC recalled nearly 4 million units of the product, but in many cases, the product remained on the shelves. After 6 weeks, the CPSC recalled an additional 4 million units. Simply put, that’s unacceptable.

Now President Bush has nominated Mr. Baroody to Chair the CPSC. Baroody’s professional actions and background are inconsistent with the mission of this important watchdog agency. As a lobbyist for the National Association of Manufacturers, Mr. Baroody’s job was to protect business from the same agency he’s now being asked to run. In addition, Mr. Baroody’s extraordinary severance package – a $150,000 payout – raises a significant conflict of interest between Baroody and the industry he’d be asked to watch over. I’ll continue to oppose this nomination and I urge the President to withdraw Mr. Baroody from consideration. American consumers deserve someone who’ll focus on protecting our families and our children, not businesses.

The CPSC is a vital agency with an enormous task – protecting consumers from harm. In the coming weeks I’ll be meeting with Chairwoman Nord, and hope to receive some answers to my questions. In the meantime, I’ll be working to stop the administration from pursuing Mr. Baroody’s nomination. This agency is far too important to allow someone to lead it down the path of protecting businesses, rather than meeting the responsibility of fully protecting our families.