(CNN) - Presidential hopeful, Democrat John Edwards said Wednesday he sent a letter to President Bush calling for the resignation of Nancy Nord, the acting chair of the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
The former senator from North Carolina revealed his disapproval for Nord's performance during a town hall meeting at a middle school in Amherst, New Hampshire, when he announced his import safety plan.
Nord has come under fire from both Congress and the Bush administration over the flurry of product recalls over the past year. It was discovered last week that Nord had accepted travel expenses from toy industry leaders.
Part of Edwards' food, toy and medicine imports protection plan includes doubling the funding for CPSC, stationing FDA inspectors in China and India, and banning industry gifts and travel to U.S. regulators. Similar measures to improve import safety were proposed by President Bush this week.
Other Democrats have called for Nord's resignation, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
– CNN Political Desk Assignment Editor Katy Byron
From CNN Politics
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Sounds like a prudent policy position to me!
We need someone in the position that is looking out for the consumers, and not someone who's top priority is safguarding corporate profits!
Go get um President-elect Edwards!
Resignation sounds a little lenient. Her Chinese counterpart was executed.
Nord should leave and somebody in charge should have got her out before Edwards had to get involved. China has been poisoning us for along time and everyone thinks it's fine to sit back and do nothing. This has got to stop and hopefully the next president will take care of our country!
If this is in fact true, officials should consider bringing charges up against this woman. Thanks to her hundreds of pets died, children were poisoned, etc etc. This just makes me physically ill.
I see where John Edwards is going with this. Clever man!
If Nancy Nord is replaced with someone competent, we can get George Bush recalled!
If ever there was one, W is certainly a defective product.
Good idea, but most of the Shrub's Departments are being run by second-string hacks who serve as Acting Directors because no one wants to work for the lame duck, and Congress won't confirm anyone as a full-time obstructionist.
How about we start bringing these jobs back to America instead of continued support of communist China and our 200 billion a year trade deficit with an economy we can't compete with.
When are people gonna wake up to the fact that many of our consumer goods from China maybe cheaper in the store, price wise, but after you take the fact of the deficit spending and add on incredibily bad quality control it's not worth trashing our economy over. Big business of course loves this setup cause they can lower wages in this country with competition at the same time as using illegal labor here and the middle to lower economic class in this country gets screwed.
Whether John Edwards has a shot at the White House or not I'm glad he is going after the unaccountable people running this government. It's about time someone has the guts to stand up and say we've had enough.
Ummm . . . I know this isn't the point, but . . ."House majority leader Nancy Pelosi????" Try Speaker of the House. What's the prerequisite to write for the "Ticker?"
ms. byron,
not to argue semantics, but ms. pelosi is not the house majority leader, which is in fact steny hoyer. rather, nancy pelosi is the first female speaker of the house in our nation's history.
The shocking thing about Senator Edwards' letter is not that he would ever expect a response, but that he expects people to believe he sincerely cares about anything, let alone recalls.
I'm not a big Edwards fan, but he's right on this. This agency has been gutted by Bush under the guise of fiscal responsibility, but in reality to create less of an imposition to corporations breaking the law(or stretching to the extreme) – similar to the EPA, but with bigger cuts.
This is a very important agency, that when doing it's job properly, is an example of what the federal govt. can do for the people of this country if run correctly. kick her to the curb.
I'm not sure this is such a great idea. After all...this department has probably been defunded for 6 years...and was likely underbudget at that time. If there is evidence of wrong doing..mabye...but the reduction in money and feet on the ground in this department–is the White House budget director's issue, and of course the Prez. Don't shoot the messenger!!!
If Edwards would have remained in the Senate then maybe his call to remove Nord would have some force behind it. By the way where is your DETAILED plan for dealing with Iraq.
Also not an Edwards fan, but as long as he's calling for resignations of those elected and not elected non-performers, he should consider the democratic leadership in congress, which is currently rated just below a slugs belly.
Why are people only now concerned about product safety.
What do they expect would happen when US Corporations outsource jobs to sweatshops in China and India?
That's what happens when corporations get greedy...and the government enodorses it no matter what the cost in lost jobs and safety hazzards.
As a response to Ivan, you can find Edwards' plan for Iraq at his campaign website. Just look for "Issues" near the top of the page.
This is a good idea and Edwards has plenty more. Now that the Hill's true colors are showing, we can really find a pres. not just follow the media circus.
Gee....this is the First thing I agree with that he's said. She should be forced to suck on all the Toys made in China...and then have some of the bad foods shipped in. OUTRAGEOUS!!
Ralph Nadar needs to head the CPSC.
China cannot be trusted. The full accountability for product safety and quality must be put on the Executives and Board of the companies selling these toys. Those individuals must be held criminally accountable with specific jail sentences for the distribution of harmful toys.
Enough is enough. The balance of less govt vs. more self policing big business is skewed too much in favor of corporate america.
Just appoint Ralph Nader to the position. If that doesn't scare corporations into toeing the line, I don't know what will.
I'll be glad when Edwards, Brownback, McCain, Richardson, Obama, Bidenand the rest of the second rate loons are gone.
Edwards By the way where is your DETAILED plan for dealing with Iraq.
Posted By Ivan, Chicago. Illinois : November 7, 2007 5:53 pm
lol,you might not get a answer ever...lol he's been to interested in mrs clinton right now.
When I was growing up in the forties, the worst thing you could say about something was "It was made in Japan" It was the biggest insult we could use and we even used it about people we didn't like. We have come along way, Baby!
Bush to Edwards: sitdown and shutup pretty boy