U.S. Senator Bill Nelson Critical of Consumer Product Safety Commission over drywall problems

In a critical letter to President Obama dated April 7, 2009, Florida Senator Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) indicated that Nancy Nord, the Chairwoman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, should be fired for "neglect of duty" prior to the end of her term in 2012 for not acting more quickly to protect and warn consumers over defective Chinese drywall. The Senator feels new leadership is immediately necessary and that current leadership is doing "too little, too late" to help residents of Florida and other states that are reporting serious health and safety problems associated in living in homes built with imported drywall from China. Nelson indicates in his letter, "The CPSC has the power to ban future imports or issue a recall on defective or hazardous products. But the Commission hasn't taken any action." The Senator also referred back to the CPSC's delay in failing to act more quickly in dealing with the extreme levels of lead found in imported Chinese toys and the resulting public outrage.