Consumer protection chief Nord goes before House panel as critics call for her resignation

WASHINGTON — A Consumer Product Safety Commission Democrat urged Congress Tuesday to provide more money for toy safety, pleading for patience to let the agency rebuild as the embattled chairwoman clings to her job.

In prepared testimony, Thomas Moore said he was pleased the House was moving to improve product safety standards and provide more money and staff to an agency criticized for perceived recall delays under acting head Nancy Nord.

"The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission needs help," Moore, a Clinton appointee, told a House Energy and Commerce panel. "It needs additional resources, more staff and greater authority to protect consumers from potential product hazards."

But he added: "The downsizing and dismantling of the agency has been going on for a while, so I ask you to be patient with all of us at the agency as we rebuild our staff expertise and, with your strong support, refocus our efforts on providing a greater level of product safety."

Nord in her prepared testimony did not directly address the flurry of congressional criticism lodged against her in recent weeks over recall problems and allegations that she and her predecessor accepted thousands of dollars worth of free trips from industry.

But she made clear that it was important for CPSC and Congress to work together to fix problems as the busy holiday season approaches.

"As acting chairman, I believed that it was important for me to be proactive and come forward to Congress with my ideas to strengthen the commission's hand in enforcing our laws and protecting the American public from unsafe products," said Nord, a Bush administration appointee.

Last week, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats demanded Nord's resignation after she opposed a legislative measure that would in part authorize the hiring of more staff and a doubling of CPSC's budget. Nord says she opposes separate provisions in that measure that would extend protections to whistleblowers and make it easier for the government to make public reports of faulty products.

Nord and her predecessor as chair, Hal Stratton, also reportedly accepted free trips worth thousands of dollars at industry expense. The purported aim: To share information with industry about "CPSC priorities" and discuss toy safety.

Nord has said all trips were cleared by CPSC attorneys. She has requested the Office of Government Ethics to review whether the trips created, as critics say, an improper appearance of conflicts of interest.