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Product Safety Honchos Get Free Ride

Regulated companies pick up travel tabs for federal agency heads

By Zach Samalin,  Newser Staff

Posted Nov 2, 2007 4:00 PM CDT
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(Newser) – Leaders of the US agency that regulates product safety have accepted free trips from reps of the industries they oversee, a move critics call a flagrant breach of ethics, the Washington Post reports. Consumer Product Safety Commission chief Nancy Nord and predecessor Hal Stratton have taken 30 trips since 2002, with trade associations, manufacturers, and lobbying groups picking up the $60,000 tab.

The bill includes Stratton's $11,000 trip to China, covered by a fireworks manufacturer. Lawyers with clients involved in product liability suits paid for many of the trips. "This is a blatant violation of the ethics code," one critic said. Regulations bar freebies if they would cause a "reasonable person to question the integrity" of the agency. The agency defends them as a way to keep industries informed.

Nancy Nord, acting chair of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2007, before a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing on lead-tainted children's products imported from China. (AP Photo/Lauren Victoria Burke)
Nancy Nord, acting chair of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2007, before a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing on...   (Associated Press)
Mattel Chief Executive Officer Robert Eckert, left, listens as Nancy Nord, acting Chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, right, testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2007, before the Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing on toy safety standards. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Mattel Chief Executive Officer Robert Eckert, left, listens as Nancy Nord, acting Chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, right, testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 12,...   (Associated Press)
Nancy Nord, acting Chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2007, before the Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing on toy safety standards. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Nancy Nord, acting Chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2007, before the Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing on toy...   (Associated Press)
Nancy Nord, acting-chairman of the Consumer Products Safety Commission, warns of the potential hazards of fireworks as the Fourth of July holiday approaches, in Washington, Wednesday, June 27, 2007. The CPSC estimates that in 2006 about 9,200 people were treated in hospital emergency rooms for fireworks-related injuries. (AP Photo/J....
Nancy Nord, acting-chairman of the Consumer Products Safety Commission, warns of the potential hazards of fireworks as the Fourth of July holiday approaches, in Washington, Wednesday, June 27, 2007. The...   (Associated Press)
Nancy Nord, acting chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, attends a news conference held by the commission at the University of Maryland, College Park, in College Park, Md., Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2007. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Nancy Nord, acting chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, attends a news conference held by the commission at the University of Maryland, College Park, in College Park, Md., Tuesday, Aug....   (Associated Press)
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Democrats rage over safety agency trips
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US • Money

 
ethics • product recall • Consumer Product Safety Commission • Nancy Nord • Hal Stratton

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