Consumer groups oppose Baroody nomination

Eight consumer groups have united to oppose President Bush's nominee, Michael Baroody, as head of the Consumer Product Safety Commission. They urge the Senate to reject the nomination.

Baroody, currently executive vice president of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) "has not demonstrated a commitment to protecting the public from risks to safety," the eight groups said in a report issued on April 26. As a NAM official, Baroody oversaw efforts to dilute safety proposals pending before the CPSC and worked to weaken the agency he is now nominated to head.

The groups, which include Consumers Union — the publisher of Consumer Reports — said that, faced with product safety and public health issues, Baroody has consistently favored reducing business costs at the expense of consumer protection. Joining CU are the Center for Environmental Health, Center for Justice and Democracy, Consumer Federation of America, Kids in Danger, Public Citizen, Saferparks, and U.S. PIRG.

The consumer coalition cited efforts by NAM to oppose rulemaking that would lead to safer baby walkers and more effective product recalls. Under Baroody, NAM also tried to weaken the CPSC's enforcement powers and successfully lobbied the agency to drop plans to impose stronger penalties on lawyers engaged in unethical conduct. "The CPSC Chairman should champion product safety and work to uphold the mission of the agency without predisposition or bias," stated Rachel Weintraub, Director of Product Safety and Senior Counsel with Consumer Federation of America. "Mr. Baroody's record of advancing a public policy agenda that would weaken health and safety protections for consumers makes him ill-suited to lead a critical federal safety agency like the CPSC. It is difficult to believe that Mr. Baroody could suddenly reverse course and oppose initiatives that would harm consumers."

"Mr. Baroody is a poor choice to head an agency responsible for overseeing the safety of children's toys, clothing and nursery products. The well being of our kids is too important to turn it over to someone who has always taken the industry side where safety is concerned," said Sally Greenberg, Senior Product Safety Counsel for Consumers Union.

Baroody was nominated by President Bush in March to fill the seat of former chairman Hal Stratton who resigned last summer. A confirmation hearing is tentatively set for this May.

Previously: Bush to nominate Baroody as CPSC head