F.D.A. Chief Writes Congress for Money

[flashl]

Source: NY Times

WASHINGTON — After being pummeled for weeks on Capitol Hill over the president’s budget, Food and Drug Commissioner Andrew C. von Eschenbach has written Congress that the agency needs an immediate infusion of $275 million to ensure that imported foods, drugs and medical devices are safe.

The request was made in a letter to Senator Arlen Specter, Republican of Pennsylvania, that offers a detailed spending plan for such things as opening new foreign offices, increasing inspections and constructing new databases to track drug hazards.

Presidential appointees rarely diverge so forcefully from the president’s own spending plans, or at least avoid doing so in writing. Dr. von Eschenbach’s action surprised agency observers and was taken as perhaps a sign of the president’s waning influence in the closing months of his presidency.

...

Dr. von Eschenbach has endured withering criticism from both Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate. In the wake of repeated scandals involving tainted drugs and food, there is a bipartisan consensus on Capitol Hill that the F.D.A. needs to conduct far more inspections of foreign drug plants and imported food.

NY Times

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/14/washington/14fda.html?ref=us

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