Political Quotes

“Madam President, I rise today to object to the partisan effort to improperly ``stack'' two consecutive nominations for the Consumer Product Safety Commission, CPSC. Peter Feldman has been nominated not only to fill the remainder of a term that would expire in October 2019, but also for an additional 7- year term on top of that. Stacking these nominations contradicts the aim of the Consumer Product Safety Act, which established the CPSC as an independent agency with commissioners serving staggered terms to prevent any one Congress from having an outsized influence on the agency. It also violates Senate practice of considering one nomination at a time, particularly when the first term would not expire for over a year. Both Senate Commerce Committee minority staff and the Congressional Research Service were unable to identify an analogous nomination where the beginning of a term started this far into a new Congress. To be clear, I do not object to Mr. Feldman's nomination to the Commission. In fact, I voted to confirm him to fill the unexpired term. However, confirming Mr. Feldman to a second, 7-year term today would undermine the CPSC's independence and set a dangerous precedent for future nominations. The CPSC plays a critical role in protecting the public from consumer product-related injuries, and we must do all we can to defend the agency from partisanship. For this reason, I must regretfully vote no on Mr.…”