Bush Pick to Head Safety Agency Withdraws

Baroody Spokesman Blames "Smear Campaign" for Lobbyist's Retreat

By Joseph S. Enoch
ConsumerAffairs.com

May 23, 2007

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President Bush’s pick to head the Consumer Product Safety Commission succumbed to pressure from Democratic Senators and consumer advocates who vehemently apposed having an industry lobbyist head the consumer agency.

Just one day before the Senate Commerce Committee was set to vote on Bush’s controversial pick, Michael Baroody, the executive vice president of the National Association of Manufacturers withdrew.

“It became clear that he wasn’t going to get the vote, so I think he realized there just wasn’t any point in going forward,” Hank Cox, NAM spokesman and Baroody’s self-described “close friend,” said somberly.

Bush’s nomination drew so much heat because Baroody has virtually built his career around fighting against consumers' rights for the benefit of industry.

“His nomination to this critical post was astoundingly inappropriate and would have put American families at further risk because of his interest in weakening safeguards against potentially dangerous products,” Joan Claybrook, president of the nonprofit consumer watchdog group Public Citizen, said in a prepared statement.

Within days of Bush’s nomination, Democratic Senators showed dismay that Bush would pick someone with Baroody’s background.

Even an ex-CPSC commissioner couldn’t believe it. “This had shock and awe written all over it,” Ann Brown, who chaired the commission from 1994 to 2001 said. “He was the worst possible choice to lead the CPSC.”

Cox said some Senators lied in their “smear campaign” against Baroody.

“The unprincipled smear campaign waged against Mike, aided and abetted by unethical release of his financial records, was inexcusable,” NAM president John Engler said in a prepared statement.

The financial records Engler refers to is a $150,000 severance NAM was set to give Baroody if he became the CPSC’s chairman. That sum would have legally been considered “excessive” and would have precluded Baroody from partaking in any actions involving NAM – a rarity at the agency.

In a prepared statement, the White House said it is reluctantly accepting Baroody’s withdrawal.

“We are disappointed he will not have the opportunity to strengthen the CPSC's ability to protect American consumers,” according to the statement.

In the likely event Baroody would not have won the vote before the Commerce Committee, Bush still would have had the opportunity sneak Baroody in through a recess appointment. Recess appointments are generally reserved for emergencies. However, Bush has frequently relied on it to get controversial nominations into high level posts.

Cox said Baroody did not want it to come to that.

“Mike Baroody has been in town (Washington, D.C.) almost 40 years and he is a man of dignity and character.”

Consumer advocates are pleased with the outcome, but are concerned about the future of the commission.

No Quorum

“The good news is that the Bush administration’s candidate has been withdrawn,” Consumer Federation of America spokesman Jack Gillis said. “The bad news is that this agency remains leaderless and without a quorum of commissioners.”

The CPSC needs at least three commissioners to perform regulatory activities and to levy fines. The commission has not had three commissioners since former chairman Hal Stratton, another Bush appointee, abruptly resigned July 15, 2006 to become a lobbyist.

According to the Consumer Product Safety Act, which created and governs the CPSC, the two remaining commissioners can continue their regulatory activities for six months after a vacancy has been created. After those six months, their powers are stripped until the President fills the vacancy and as of Jan. 15, 2007, that has been the case.

If Bush takes as long as he did last time to find a replacement, the commission will remain powerless for another six months.

Regardless, Consumer advocates and Brown are still hailing this a success.

“Not having a quorum is definitely better,” Brown said. “Not that we want to be down a commissioner, but who knows how long he would’ve been in there. Possibly well into the next administration.”

“The Baroody nomination drew attention to the important mandate of the CPSC to be the nation’s strongest advocate for consumers and the safety of their products,” Sally Greenburg, senior product safety counsel for the Consumers Union wrote in an e-mail. “We urge the administration to look for a candidate with the qualifications to further that mission.”

“Now there needs to be some pressure on the White House to nominate a qualified candidate,” Brown said.

For months, CPSC spokespeople have assured ConsumerAffairs.com that no new regulations were being held up by the lack of a quorum. But CPSC spokesperson Julie Vallese changed her tune today.

“The time is coming where the lack of a quorum may start holding things up,” she said.

Vallese said nothing is being held up currently, but “that’s not going to last forever. … In the coming months, things are going to come up for a vote.”

Vallese wouldn’t say what regulation is soon to be pending a vote, however, the agency is currently working on:

• A rule that would limit the percent of lead found in children’s jewelry.
• Legislation that would make upholstered furniture less flammable.
• Updated design legislation for portable generators.
• Safety standards for all-terrain vehicles.

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