Obama names consumer safety chief
Former South Carolina education superintendent named to head Consumer Product Safety Commission.
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Obama on Tuesday tapped former South Carolina education chief Inez Tenenbaum to head the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).
"It is a top priority of my administration to ensure that the products the American people depend on are safe. We must do more to protect the American public - especially our nation's children - from being harmed by unsafe products," Obama said in a written statement.
The CPSC is slated to receive $107 million under the president's proposed budget. Obama has pledged to double funding for the commission.
Tenenbaum, 58, served two terms as South Carolina's superintendent of education, completing her second term in 2007. She was one of Obama's earliest presidential campaign allies, and co-chair of his South Carolina campaign steering committee.
Tenenbaum lost a 2004 U.S. Senate race to Republican Jim DeMint. 
