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July 14, 2009
Former CPSCers and Others Offer Tips to Tenenbaum
By Arunjana Das
Good working relationships with staff and a bipartisan approach to Congress and industry groups are keys to success under Inez Tenenbaum’s new chairmanship, former CPSC staffers and various stakeholders say. Tenenbaum became Chairman of CPSC on June 23. As she takes over the reins, former staffers, industry groups, consumer advocates and others have several suggestions to make.
Getting up to Speed on Relevant Issues
Most former CPSC staffers suggest regular meetings and discussion briefs with the current staff to help the new chairman get up to speed on prevalent consumer product safety issues.
“The staff is very anxious to get the new chairman up to speed,” said Hal Stratton, the former CPSC chairman (2002-2006). “They are very good about preparing presentations about issues to the new chairman.”
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To read more stories, see the archives. | Eric Stone, former director of the legal division and acting director of the recalls and compliance division, said that Tenenbaum should meet directly with CPSC staff who are working on projects.
“This will give her the ability to ask questions of the experts and obtain more accurate, unfiltered information,” he said. This, he said, will also help her form bonds with the staff and convey to them more about who she is and what she cares about.
“The more she walks around and talks to the staff, and the more her personal staff does so, the quicker she will learn about what is really happening – and perhaps equally important – what needs to happen within CPSC,” he said.
Quin Dodd, the chief of staff to Commissioner Nancy Nord when she was acting chairman, said that Tenenbaum should read original material (CPSC statutes, regulations, briefing packages, etc.) personally rather than rely on summaries and interpretations.
“Having a decent grasp on the statutes in particular is important in order to be able to put issues in context,” he said. “She will find that there is no magic product safety wand and that the staff is continually (and appropriately) constrained by statutory limitations on the Commission's authority.”
What She Should Avoid
Several former staffers have forwarded suggestions on what Tenenbaum should avoid doing during her tenure. While most agreed that she should avoid appearing unduly influenced by industry, several others cautioned her against some other probable pitfalls.
Dodd said that she should resist the temptation to "regulate by press release."
“When the agency wants to be heard, it has a strong bully pulpit and can get national media coverage,” he said. “But that power should be used wisely.”
Dave Schmeltzer, a former CPSC Compliance Director, explained that one pitfall that past chairmen had sometimes fallen into was isolating their personal staff from the rest. “There should be no nuclear groups,” he said.
Stone cautioned her against being perceived as playing favorites among agency interests. “If she extends her reputation as an honest broker open to input from all, she should avoid this pitfall,” he said.
For industry groups, transparency and openness are the needs of the hour.
“She should never abandon her commitments to ‘common sense rulemaking’ and openness, balance and transparency,” said Carter Keithley, president of Toy Industry Association.
Tenenbaum on Taking Over
The following comes from a July 9 CPSC press release announcing that Tenenbaum became chairman June 23.
“‘I am honored to have been nominated by the President to lead CPSC and plan to be a consumer advocate for families across the United States,’ said Chairman Tenenbaum. ‘My life’s work has been to improve the quality of life for children and it will continue to be my highest priority at CPSC.’”
“Ms. Tenenbaum identified three major areas of focus for her common sense approach to serving as Chairman. ‘First, I want CPSC to be more accessible and transparent to parents and consumers. By creating an electronic database of product incident reports that consumers can search and by collaborating with state and local agencies and consumer groups, we can give the public confidence that CPSC is working openly and in their best interest,’ she stated.”
“Second, Ms. Tenenbaum will prioritize education and advocacy during her tenure. ‘My background is in public education and I believe strongly that all consumers should be informed about product hazards, especially those that impact children. I encourage every consumer to log on to CPSC.gov and sign up to receive free e-mail alerts about recalls,’ she added.”
“Third, Ms. Tenenbaum is committed to enforcing the law and working to keep dangerous imports out of the hands of consumers. She stated, ‘Parents should know that CPSC will improve the standards for toys and durable nursery products to help keep kids safe. We will also create a system that uses third party laboratories, tracking labels, and CPSC staff at major ports, to do our part to ensure that product imports are safe and comply with U.S. safety rules.’”
“Working closely with the outstanding staff and Commissioners at CPSC is central to the Chairman’s leadership of the agency.” |
Priorities
Policy
Former staffers and consumer product safety groups, not surprisingly, feel that the topmost priority currently is the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) and addressing the issues related to it.
“I would urge her to be flexible in her interpretation of the CPSIA,” said David Baker from the Law Offices of David H. Baker. “The law is not perfect, but if given a reasonable interpretation, is very workable.”
“Clear practical regulations under the CPSIA requirements are desperately needed,” said Robert Waller, president of the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association. “In
developing and implementing regulations and guidelines, the commission should take whatever time they need to assess unintended consequences and get it right,” he said.
Resources
On staff and resources, industry groups feel that more is always better since the agency is considerably undermanned.
“The Commission should continue adding resources such as staff and the new laboratory facility,” said Wayne Morris, division services VP at the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers. In addition, he said, the role of China and other exporting countries also should remain a top priority.
Former staffers, however, caution that being in charge of an underfunded agency means the new chairman needs to be careful about resource allocation.
“There are more tasks than people in the agency,” said Mike Brown, a former CPSC general counsel and executive director. Tenenbaum, hence, needs to decide early on what kind of resource allocation will be optimal, he added.
“There will never be enough resources at CPSC to do everything,” said Chuck Samuels, of Mintz Levin. “Which is why it is important to talk to all the stakeholders, get understanding of their views, see what is important to them and collaborate,” he added.
Congress and Stakeholders
Former staffers and consumer product groups insist on the need to have a healthy working relationship with the Congress and industry groups.
“It is important to have an open door with everybody affected by the agency,” Stratton said.
Pamela Gilbert, executive director to former Chairman, Ann Brown, suggested that Tenenbaum should call the chairs of relevant committees in the Congress, have meetings with them and keep them updated about the issues they are interested in. “Any congressional inquiry, no matter how junior the member is, has to be responded in a timely manner,” she said. (Brown declined to comment for this story.)
On the agency’s relationship with outside groups, Nancy Cowles, executive director of Kids In Danger, said, “There is much healing to be done with the agency which has seen consumer advocates as adversaries to be defeated rather than partners in protecting consumers and those groups.” She also asserted that industry has had too much sway in the past, essentially with veto power, but it simply should be one of the sectors with which CPSC works.
Don Mays from Consumer Union said that it is important to have open dialogue with industry and consumer groups, as well as standards-setting organizations. “Although there may be polarized opinions between these groups, understanding both sides of an argument is as important as is relying on common-sense and solid science to help direct decision-making,” he said.
“Her role is to be inspirational and transformational,” said Alan Korn from Safe Kids. He said that the new chairman will need to be inspirational to staff and parents, and be transformational and make a mark on the agency. “She is America’s mother in safety,” he added.
Arunjana Das is just finishing an internship with Product Safety Letter. She is a 2009 American University graduate, earning a degree in Journalism and Public Affairs with specialization in Economics. She also holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi. She is about to begin an internship with Kiplinger Personal Finance Magazine and hopes to seek employment in the field of Business and Finance Journalism. Contact her at arunjanadas@productsafetyletter.com
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