Oversight panel sets sights on management at FDA
Committee to focus in part on budget cuts; three former commissioners agree resources are a major problem.
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is embarking on a series of hearings that will take aim at federal agencies' competency, and started off Tuesday with the Food and Drug Administration.
Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., said several recent health crises involving dangerous drugs and contaminated food have shaken the agency.
"The warning signs are clear: FDA is an agency in crisis," he said.
The committee will focus on FDA budget cuts, scientific integrity, the agency's ability to enforce regulations and the legal authorities the agency has to do its job, Waxman added.
Three former FDA commissioners offered the committee their takes on the agency's problems, all agreeing that resources are a major problem. Waxman and other committee members honed in on ways to protect the food supply.
FDA has had to address recent deadly E. coli outbreaks, widespread salmonella contamination in peanut butter and a deadly pet food recall, yet the agency funnels its scant funds and management priorities primarily to drug approvals and safety, the commissioners said.
"Currently, FDA has no mandate for leadership on prevention of food safety problems, no funding to do important research to find ways to prevent food-borne illness and no tools to hold companies accountable for implementing food safety measures and taking quick action when a problem is discovered," former FDA Commissioner David Kessler said.
"Food safety cannot be relegated to second-tier management," Kessler added.
FDA announced Monday it was creating the position of assistant commissioner for food safety. The top food safety official at the agency was previously several rungs away from answering directly to the commissioner.
Waxman indicated he supports the new position, but he wants more done, including possibly increasing inspections.
FDA has one inspector for every 60 food facilities, Waxman said, compared to the Agriculture Department, which places inspectors in every meat facility it oversees. FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach said the agency strategically deploys its inspectors based on risk factors that red-flag certain food facilities.
Waxman said the committee will digest what it heard today before contemplating its next move. He also said he is not yet sure what other agencies the committee will scrutinize.