Bush Appointment of Product Safety Commissar: Another Fox in Henhouse

by Mike Hall, May 16, 2007

In television’s golden quiz show era, contestants who didn’t win the big prize often were presented with “lovely parting gifts,” maybe a set of steak knives, a month’s supply of laundry detergent or even a clock radio.

Keeping that tradition alive and well, the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) is presenting its outgoing senior lobbyist, Michael Baroody, with a parting gift—a $150,000 severance payment as he leaves that stage for a new job, The New York Times reports.

So what you say? Well, Baroody is President Bush’s choice to head the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the U.S. agency that enforces consumer safety laws against companies, many of which are members of NAM. Consumer groups are lamenting the choice of Baroody, and this latest bit of news is likely to heat up the confirmation battle.

Of course, this is not the first “fox in the henhouse” drama staged by the Bush administration. Like for instance, Bush’s multiple recess appointments of Richard Stickler, a former mine executive, to head the nation’s Mine Safety and Health Administration.

As the Times says about Baroody:

He is the latest in a line of industry officials and lobbyists to be given senior jobs by Mr. Bush at federal safety agencies that oversee matters like workplace and mine safety and transportation as the administration has sought to roll back hundreds of regulations that businesses viewed as excessive.

The $150,000 severance, combined with Baroody’s long-time relationships with the same NAM members he may have to investigate, might give the appearance of a conflict of interest. Federal ethics rules say that if an appointee to a federal agency receives an “extraordinary payment” from an employer after the employer learns the employee is being considered for the post, the nominee must remove himself or herself from agency matters concerning the former employer.

In a letter to the CPSC general counsel, Baroody conceded the

Mr. Baroody said…the payment would not prevent him from considering matters involving individual companies that are members of the manufacturers’ association, many of whom are defendants in agency proceedings over defective products or have other business before the commission. Nor would it preclude him from involvement with smaller trade groups like those representing makers of home appliances and children’s products that have alliances with the association.

That assurance, along with that of a White House spokesperson that government ethics lawyers have approved Baroody’s letter, isn’t likely to improve the opinion of the coalition of consumer groups that already expressed their opposition to Baroody’s nomination.

In a statement last month, the coalition, which includes the Consumers Union, Consumer Federation of America, Public Citizen and others, wrote:

Mr. Baroody has overseen efforts to weaken safety proposals pending before the Commission as a top executive at the National Association of Manufacturers and has failed to demonstrate a commitment to protecting the public from product safety hazards.

While Mr. 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 Gov. George Pataki to veto legislation that mandated fire safe cigarettes.

But the Times reports the Bush administration is not concerned about the $150,000 payment and stands firmly behind Baroody, even as several U.S. senators say they will fight his appointment. The paper notes: 

…officials said they would not be surprised if Mr. Bush, as he has done for other nominees that Democrats have found objectionable, bypassed the Senate and appointed Mr. Baroody to the commission during a congressional recess.

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