White House Disregard for Product Safety

We have become used to President Bush appointing friends and others of like-minded ideology to important agency posts. Now it seems as though the White House has made a new friend — vacancy.

As BNA news service (subscription) reports this morning [1], the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) — an independent agency charged with protecting the American public from dangerous products — can no longer promulgate new regulations. CPSC has been dealing with a commissioner vacancy since July 2006 and, under agency rules, no longer possesses the voting quorum necessary to regulate on behalf of public safety. President Bush hasn't nominated a new commissioner, severely diminishing CPSC's power.

This lapse, combined with proposed budget cuts to CPSC [2], tells the American people that product safety is not a priority of this administration. Sen. Mark Pryor (D-AR) is pushing for legislation [3] to allow CPSC to operate without a quorum for another six months, but this will only be a temporary fix. The White House ought to be ashamed of its underhanded attempts to delay product safety regulation.