Durbin Statement on Announcement of New CPSC Nominees
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement today after President Obama announced his intent to nominate Inez Tenenbaum as the new Chair of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Robert Adler as a new CPSC Commissioner. The President also announced a 71 percent funding increase for the consumer safety agency over President’ Bush’s FY07 budget; a nearly $2 million increase over the funding democrats secured last year.
“With today’s announcement, President Obama is sending notice that the CPSC is on its way back to being the nation’s premier consumer watchdog agency.”
“Two years of near constant recalls exposed the failed leadership and scant resources of the CPSC. Mismanagement, underfunding, and confusion about the agency’s mission have all contributed to the CPSC’s decline.”
“Last year Congress passed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act to strengthen oversight, improve product testing and guarantee the safety of children’s toys. Today’s announcement sets the stage for the CPSC to once again be our government’s strongest voice for consumer protection.”
“I strongly support the President’s nominees and will look forward to working with them to ensure that the CPSC has the tools and resources it needs.”
Durbin chairs the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government - the subcommittee which oversees the CPSC’s budget – and has been a leader in strengthening the beleaguered consumer watchdog agency. Last year, Durbin was instrumental in passing the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act and was responsible for providing the largest funding increase in the history of the agency to help address critical staffing shortfalls, technology upgrades, and laboratory space needs.
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