In various recall notices, we have repeatedly said that now is not the time for recriminations about the recall process in the U.S. Apparently House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), where CA most definitely does not stand for consumer affairs, is calling for CPSC head Nancy Nord (pictured) to resign.The entire recall system is broken, but it's not broken because of anything Nancy Nord did or didn't do. It's broken because years of budget cuts cut the agency to shreds. It's broken because the CPSC doesn't have control over things the USDA and FDA control. It's broken because consumerism was stripped out of the federal government when the Office of Consumer Affairs was shuttered almost a decade ago. While OCA didn't recall items, they were one more official voice that could summon resources for consumers.
So the OCA is killed off, the CPSC's budget is torn to shreds over years and suddenly Representative Pelosi wants Nancy Nord to resign? Why? Apparently the issue stems from Nord's comments to not overwhelm the agency's infrastructure with money and resources now, but to let them create a cogent plan to increase resources and responsibility.
The political grandstanding has no place in this debate. One does not right a decade of wrongs by writing a check. You don't double an agency's budget in a dysfunctional federal government bureaucracy and then scream for scalps when caution, prudence and good planning is suggested.
Here is an idea for consumers reading this today. Call someone who represents you in Congress and urge them to support the CPSC, but to give them time to create a strong moving-forward plan. If you happen to be a big donor to political campaigns, reminding the office of that certainly wouldn't hurt.
You can call Representative Pelosi's office too. Faced with multiple defeats and the inability to muster enough votes to override a lame duck President when she has control of the House, the Speaker is now going after soft targets.
She ought to be ashamed of her behavior. The CPSC does need help and does need reform. Getting rid of people who actually know what is going on is not the way to do that.
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