Strom Law Blog

Last Tuesday the White House announced that President Obama will nominate long time South Carolina politician Inez Tenenbaum for Chair of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

Tenenbaum is the former South Carolina schools superintendent, serving from 1998 to 2007. She ran for the US Senate in 2004. Tenenbaum has been an advocate for children and families throughout her career.

President Obama stated that a “top priority of [his] administration is to ensure that products the American people depend on are safe.” He is confident that under new leadership, the agency will “achieve high standards of product safety that the American people deserve.”

Obama will also revitalize the CPSC by increasing the budget to $107 million, a 71% increase from the 2007 fiscal year. He will increase the number of commissioners from three to five. The President also announced Tuesday his intent to nominate Robert Alder, a professor of Legal Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flager Business school whose research has focused on consumer protection and product liability, for Commissioner when the additional seats are added.

Current Chair of the CPSC, Nancy Nord, was appointed by former President Bush in 2005. Members of Congress and other political figures have asked President Obama to encourage Nord to resign from her position. During Nord’s term as Chair, there have been a record number of recalls after unsafe products were released into the marketplace. Some of these recalled products included toys and cribs that were dangerous to young children. Her current term is set to expire in October of 2012.