Senator asks Obama to change leadership at CPSC

Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida sent a letter to the White House yesterday asking to president to change the leadership of the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

After writing that he'd already discussed the matter with White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, Nelson's letter identifies his main issue with the CPSC's current approach:

I believe we have a serious problem with the CPSC. More specifically, the agency is doing too little, too late to help residents of Florida and other states who are reporting serious health and safety problems associated with living in homes built with tainted drywall imported from China.

The CPSC has the power to ban future imports or issua a recall on defective or hazardous products. But the commission hasn't take any action.

As the Consumer Reports Safety Blog has reported, the federal government is now ramping up a multi-agency investigation of drywall imported from China that is suspected of releasing sulfur gases believed to be causing corrosion and health problems.

A spokesman for the CPSC told Consumer Reports the agency has been looking into possible defects surrounding drywall imported from China for the last two months and has now initiated a formal compliance investigation.

“The agency is on the ground in Florida in a fact-finding mode,” said CPSC spokesman Joe Martyak. “Our goal is to determine if, and to what extent, there is any safety risk involved with imported Chinese drywall.”

Sen. Nelson, however, wrote that the CPSC's problems go beyond the recent drywall issue:

And this is no the first time the commission has failed to act quickly to protect consumers from dangerous products. When confronted with the issue of Chinese-made toys found to contain extreme levels of lead, it took far too long to act.

For the past three years, the commission has been under the leadership and direction of acting Chairwoman Nancy Nord, who has come under bipartisan criticsm for, among other things, being too cozy with manufacturers. Given her record, it's my belief new leadership is required.

Mr. President, I'm asking you to call on Ms. Nord to resign. I believe that the CPSC needs leaders who will stand up and protect the rights of consumers. It is my hope that you will take action to remove her from office for "neglect of duty" pursuant to Section 4(a) of the Consumer Product Safety Act, as amended (15 U.S.C. 2053 (a)), prior to the expiration of her term in 2012.

Nord was nominated for the CPSC by President George W. Bush and began her term in 2005. The other sitting commissioner is Thomas Moore, who was first tapped by President Bill Clinton in 1995. The third commissioner's seat has been vacant since 2006 when Hal Stratton resigned.

President calls for FDA reform as Republicans continue to attack the budget

Acknowledging that the Food and Drug Administration is "underfunded and understaffed," President Obama vowed in his weekly address to renew the nation's commitment to food safety.

The President decried the current patchwork of food safety regulation, much of which was enacted around the turn of the century, as outdated and ineffective. The FDA has the capacity to inspect only about 5% of the food processing plants and warehouses. "That is a hazard to public health," Obama said. "It is unacceptable."

President Obama said he approached food safety "not just as your President, but as a parent."

"When I heard peanut products were being contaminated earlier this year, I immediately thought of my 7-year old daughter, Sasha, who has peanut butter sandwiches for lunch probably three times a week. No parent should have to worry that their child is going to get sick from their lunch."

The government will direct $1 billion to modernize labs and hire additional food safety inspectors to help prevent recurrences of the spinach contamination of 2006 and the recent outbreak of salmonella at the Peanut Corporation of America.

The President announced the nomination of Dr. Margaret Hamburg as Commissioner of the FDA along with Dr. Joshua Sharfstein as Principal Deputy Commissioner. The Administration will also create a Food Safety Working Group chaired by the Secretaries of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture and other senior officials to recommend upgrades to our food safety laws.

Consumers Union has called for the Food and Drug Administration to inspect all food processing facilities at least once per year. CU strongly believes that the best way to safeguard our food supply is to unify the government's food safety functions under a single agency.

Meanwhile, the Senate's top Republican tax writer, Chuck Grassley of Iowa, used the Republican weekly address to deliver a scathing attack on the Administration's tax plans.

"[The President's] plans fail to recognize that Americans are not an endless source of tax dollars to pay for government spending," Grassley said, arguing that raising taxes on Americans making more than $250,000 would be devastating for small businesses.

"Tell these business owners their taxes will go up. Odds are, they'll cut spending. They'll cancel orders for new equipment, cut health insurance for their employees, stop hiring, and lay people off.

Grassley said that, if enacted, the President's budget would amount to the "biggest tax increase in history."

"Americans need leadership, and they need confidence now," Grassley continued. "They need their President and their elected representatives to connect all the dots. Jobs are hard-won. The government should first, do no harm."

Reports: Hamburg to be Obama's FDA pick

President Obama intends to nominate Dr. Margaret Hamburg, a former New York City health commissioner, to lead the Food and Drug Administration, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal are reporting.

Hamburg is a former health commissioner in New York City and served as assistant secretary in the Health and Human Services Department for President Bill Clinton. She later served as vice president of biological programs at the Nuclear Threat Institute.

The Wall Street Journal is also reporting that Joshua Sharfstein, Baltimore's health commissioner, is in line to become a deputy FDA commissioner.

The FDA, one of the few major federal agencies without a new leader, has been defending itself on Capitol Hill today. A bi-partisan parade of lawmakers pledged to overhaul the country's food safety system today at a House hearing held in response to food-borne illness outbreaks such as the ongoing one involving peanut products.

UPDATE: Consumers Union, the publisher of Consumer Reports, issued a statement supporting the potential nominations of both Hamburg and Sharfstein.

"Dr. Hamburg's nomination would mean that FDA would have the leadership it needs at a time when it faces huge challenges," said Jean Halloran, CU's director of food policy initiatives. "Chief among the challenges facing FDA is food safety. The FDA has been understaffed and underfunded for too long, and has not been able to do its job of policing the marketplace to keep it safe. Dr. Hamburg would first have to help FDA get the budget and authority it needs so it can visit food processors every year, instead of once every ten years, and can inspect their records and impose meaningful penalties on violators."

Ellen Bloom, federal policy director for CU, said, "Dr. Sharfstein is a great choice to help refocus the agency on its primary mission – to protect public health and safety. His years as a health policy advisor for Congressman Waxman coupled with his management experience as Baltimore’s health commissioner are just what the doctor ordered for FDA."