Behind the Curtain

If you subscribe to GAP’s monthly eNews, then you know that yesterday we sent out a quick update about how a Senate Committee passed comprehensive consumer product safety reform legislation – which specifically includes whistleblower rights provisions.

At the time, it was strange that Nancy A. Nord, Chairwoman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the agency that S. 2045 greatly empowers (by extending its authority, budget and staff), was coming out against the bill in the days before its passage by the committee. One has to wonder what her rationale is, considering it is her job to protect consumers from dangerous products.

Today, the Washington Post broke a story about how Nord and her predecessor took “dozens of trips” on the dime of several industry lobbyists that she is in charge of regulating, including those from “toy, appliance and children’s furniture.”

Altogether, it appears that Nord received almost $60,000 worth of travel and expenses for her trips, which included “China, Spain, San Francisco, New Orleans and a golf resort on Hilton Head Island, S.C.”

And this is the person who is supposed to be protecting us and standing up for our interests.

-- Dylan Blaylock