NYT: 2 Republicans in Senate Vow to Block F.D.A. Pick

[DeepModem Mom]

2 Republicans in Senate Vow to Block F.D.A. Pick
By GARDINER HARRIS
Published: September 15, 2006

Two Republican senators have promised to block the nomination of Dr. Andrew C. von Eschenbach to become commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, illustrating just how difficult filling the top job at the agency has become.

Senator David Vitter, Republican of Louisiana, said Thursday in an interview that the Bush administration must legalize imports of some prescription drugs before he would allow the nomination to proceed....

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Senator Jim DeMint, Republican of South Carolina, will block Dr. von Eschenbach’s nomination unless the F.D.A. takes steps to remove the abortion drug RU-486 from the market, said Wesley M. Denton, Mr. DeMint’s press secretary.

“Senator DeMint believes that a qualified F.D.A. nominee would publicly discourage RU-486’s use and take immediate steps to remove it from the market,” he said. “We’ve reached a breaking point here, and the senator’s not going to budge until they wake up over at F.D.A.”...

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For the past year, a vote on Dr. von Eschenbach’s nomination has been stymied by Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton, Democrat of New York, and Patty Murray, Democrat of Washington State, who insisted that the F.D.A. must make a decision on a three-year-old application to allow over-the-counter sales of Plan B, an emergency contraceptive....

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/15/washington/15fda.html?hp&ex=1158292800&en=e193cf6ac3862469&ei=5094&partner=homepage