Obama names activist to head Bureau of Consumer Protection

Tom Barlow
Updated

Those who are convinced that President Obama is anti-business will probably shout "Aha!" when they see his choice for the new head of the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Consumer Protection. David C. Vladeck is a long-time part of the legal team for Public Citizen, a not-for-profit group that was founded to "represent consumer interests in Congress, the executive branch and the courts."

And represent it does. Its successes in the past decade include:

  • Fighting the drug industry's claim of immunity from lawsuits in Michigan

  • Defending New York's new fast-food calorie disclosure rule

  • Eliminating a loophole in the 2007 mandatory fuel standards legislation

  • Fighting the move to repeal estate taxes on the very wealthy

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