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Democrats Seek Ouster Of Consumer Products Chief

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The Associated Press

Published: October 31, 2007

WASHINGTON - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday called for the resignation of the head of the Consumer Product Safety Commission after the recall of millions of Chinese-made toys.

Nancy Nord, the agency's acting head, has been under fire in Congress for opposing Democrats' legislation to overhaul her agency.

'Any commission chair who does not, in the face of the facts that are so clear, say we don't need any more authority or any more resources to do our job, does not understand the gravity of the situation,' said Pelosi, who has been joined in her call for Nord's resignation by other Democrats in the House and Senate.

'I call on the president of the United States to ask for the resignation.'

Nord, in an Oct. 24 letter to the Senate Commerce Committee, said a Democratic bill doubling the agency's funding and giving it greater authority to inspect and recall products 'could have the unintended consequence of hampering, rather than furthering, consumer product safety.'

She specifically complained that the additional responsibilities the bill adds will make it more difficult for the agency to do its job.

The White House also opposes the legislation passed unanimously by the Senate Commerce Committee on Tuesday.

Nord and the White House say they are not against modernizing and expanding the agency, but several parts of the Democrats' legislation concerns them.

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