US consumer safety head opposes strengthening agency's powers

In an evident case of conflict of interest, newly published reports also show that Nord and her predecessor at the CPSC took numerous trips paid for by lobbyists and lawyers for manufacturers under investigation for consumer hazards.

In the past two months, more than 13 million toys have been recalled for lead levels nearly 200 times the federally accepted limit. Far from signaling that “the system is working,” as White House spokeswoman Dana Perino suggested, the number of recalls throughout the toy, pharmaceutical, food and other industries suggests the potential for a public health catastrophe for which the government is unwilling to prepare or prevent.

The Senate bill introduced in September, called the CPSC Reform Act of 2007, would substantially increase the agency’s budget, which has seen years of cuts and currently operates on $63 million. The legislation would raise the budget to $80 million by 2009, still a grossly inadequate amount for the task of supervising a $614 billion import market.