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Lead paint in toys? No worries. Tainted food? Meh.
The New York Times reported yesterday that the head of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, Nancy A. Nord—you guessed it, a Bush appointee—objected to Congress giving the agency more money to better protect consumers.
From the Times:
Ms. Nord opposes provisions that would increase the maximum penalties for safety violations and make it easier for the government to make public reports of faulty products, protect industry whistle-blowers and prosecute executives of companies that willfully violate laws.
Hmm, it’s hard to believe that Nord, a former lawyer at Eastman Kodak and an official at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, would put business before consumers.
Fortunately, the U.S. Senate today adopted sweeping reforms for the consumer agency, despite Nord’s objections.
In future news, Nord plans to rename the agency the Screw Over Consumers Commission.
In These Times is only able to publish the fierce, deeply-reported articles we do because of readers like you who contribute a few dollars each month to keep us independent.
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Sanhita SinhaRoy, managing editor of American Libraries magazine, is a former managing editor of In These Times and a former copy editor of Playboy. (Yes, she did read it for the articles.)
