Senators: Baroody "Worst Person" to Run Safety Agency

Industry Lobbyist's "Excessive" Severance Pay Questioned

By Joseph S. Enoch
ConsumerAffairs.com

May 17, 2007

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“Michael Baroody is maybe the worst person to lead the Consumer Product Safety Commission.”

Consumer advocates have bellowed that statement since President Bush named Baroody, a lobbyist who defends manufacturers, often at the expense of consumers, on March 2. Today, two Senators echoed the statement of consumer advocates by writing a letter to George Bush requesting he reconsider his appointment.

“Mr. Baroody is an inappropriate choice to lead the independent government agency tasked with protecting consumers from unsafe products,” wrote Sens. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) and Bill Nelson (D-Fla.). “During his professional career, Mr. Baroody has supported numerous positions that would shield companies from liability and favor corporate interests over consumer protection.”

Baroody is currently the executive vice president of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM). NAM is one of the nation's largest trade groups and it vigorously opposes aggressive product safety regulation.

Before his 13-year-stint stint with NAM, Baroody worked with some of America’s most powerful Republicans, weakening legislation that oversees manufacturers.

"Excessive" Severance

Nelson and Durbin discussed their concerns about Baroody’s past in the letter, but seemed particularly worried by the “excessive” severance pay NAM plans to extend to Baroody if he is appointed chairman.

“It has recently come to our attention that Mr. Baroody will receive a $150,000 severance payment upon his departure from NAM,” the Senators wrote.

“While it is rare that someone would receive such a payment upon a voluntary departure, what is even more significant is that this sum represents an 'extraordinary payment' under applicable ethics rules, and will require Mr. Baroody to recuse himself from any CPSC matter involving NAM business.”

Almost every decision the agency makes either involves NAM member companies or NAM’s input. For example, NAM recently prevailed on the agency to relax the requirements for when companies must notify the agency about defective products.

Nelson and Durbin concluded their two-page letter by requesting that Bush withdraw his nomination.

“This vacancy provides an opportunity for the Administration to clarify its support for the mission of the CPSC – and to protect the public from unreasonable risks of injury from consumer products,” the Senators wrote. “Mr. Baroody’s background clearly illustrates that he cannot provide this leadership.”

No Comment

The White House did not return a phone call from ConsumerAffairs.com requesting comment on whether Bush will consider the Senators’ suggestion.

Baroody’s nomination is scheduled to go before the Senate Commerce Committee, which Nelson sits on, on May 24.

It seems unlikely Baroody will survive the committee’s vote. Many Democratic Senators in the committee have voiced their concerns about Baroody and although Republicans have remained mum, the committee consists of 12 Democrats and 11 Republicans.

If the vote doesn’t go the way Bush likes, he still has the ability to wait until Congress is in recess and sneak Baroody in with a recess appointment – a tactic Bush has frequently relied on since Democrats took control of Congress.

Consumer Groups Protest

Among consumer groups earlier protesting Baroody's appointment are the Center for Environmental Health, Center for Justice and Democracy, Consumer Federation of America, Consumers Union, Kids in Danger, Public Citizen, Saferparks and, U.S. PIRG.

Last month, the groups released documents showing that Baroody has overseen efforts to weaken safety proposals pending before the Commission as a top executive at the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and has failed to demonstrate a commitment to protecting the public from product safety hazards.

There are more than 27,000 deaths and 33 million injuries each year associated with consumer products under CPSC's jurisdiction.

President Bush announced Baroody's nomination to the chairmanship of the CPSC on March 1. Baroody is currently the executive vice president of NAM, where he has overseen efforts to dilute safety proposals pending before the Commission and to weaken the very agency he is now nominated to head.

"The CPSC Chairman should champion product safety and work to uphold the mission of the agency without predisposition or bias," said Rachel Weintraub, Director of Product Safety and Senior Counsel with Consumer Federation of America.

"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 Baroody could suddenly reverse course and oppose initiatives that would harm consumers."

"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.

"Time and time again, faced with product safety and public health issues, Baroody has sided against consumers," said Joan Claybrook, president of Public Citizen. "His work has degraded safety and eroded hard-won public health protections."

NAM's Agenda

Baroody directs NAM's public policy agenda. NAM, with at least 14,000 corporate members, represents the nation's largest manufacturing firms on Capitol Hill, before the executive branch and in the courts.

Consumer groups could find no evidence that NAM or Baroody have ever advocated for stronger regulatory safeguards. While Baroody was leading NAM's advocacy efforts, he and NAM's CPSC Coalition pursued a number of anti-consumer activities:

• Opposed a CPSC proposal to improve safety standards for baby walkers. Instead, NAM blamed parents for improperly supervising their children;

• Opposed a petition from consumer organizations to improve the way the consumers find out about recalls of potentially dangerous children's products;

• Supported diluting guidelines companies used to determine whether they must report substantial product hazards; and

• Urged New York Governor George Pataki to veto legislation that mandated fire safe cigarettes.

"We are concerned that someone with Baroody's background will not be able to be the champion for safety that our children need," stated Nancy Cowles, Executive Director of Kids in Danger.

"Whether it is keeping dangerous children's products off the store shelves or getting them out of our homes and child care facilities after they have been recalled, we are looking for a CPSC Chairman who will put kids first."

"Michael Baroody's nomination is putting the fox in the henhouse and that's the wrong decision for America's safety," said Ed Mierzwinski, Consumer Program Director with the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG).

CPSC's Mission

Created by Congress in 1972, the CPSC has the authority to set safety standards, require labeling, order recalls, ban products, collect death and injury data, inform the public about consumer product safety and contribute to the voluntary standards setting process.

It has at least 15,000 consumer products under its jurisdiction, including many of the products that are used by children -- including strollers, swings, cribs, high chairs, baby walkers and toys.

"The agency's work is highly technical, deals in life-and-death issues and, at times, sparks intense confrontations with manufacturers, stated Kathy Fackler of Saferparks.

"Nothing in Baroody's resume suggests he is qualified for this position. Chairmanship of this agency requires the ability to focus on the well-being of consumers rather than the economic growth of manufacturers. I do not believe that Baroody is the right choice to carry out that important role."

Since the 1980s, the agency has been slowly starved of staff and resources. While there has been an exponential increase in consumer products since its creation more than 30 years ago, CPSC's staff is projected to be cut to 401 full time employees (FTEs) this year -- which would be an all-time low and less than half than the number of people employed by the agency in the 1970s. Additionally, its budget measured in real dollars has plummeted.

"Revelations that the CPSC has been asleep at the wheel on issues like lead in children's lunchboxes show that we need renewed leadership at the agency," stated Alexa Engelman of the Center for Environmental Health, "Confirming Baroody, who has advocated to reduce consumer safety regulations for industry, would further weaken the Commission's ability to protect consumers."

"The American public, under law, must have a CPSC Chairman who has the expertise and commitment to put consumer protection and child safety first," the groups said. "We urge members of Congress to reject this inappropriate nomination."

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