Bush has driven leaderless FDA into the ground with religious ideology

[DeepModem Mom]

LAT: The FDA Awaits a Cure for Its Malaise
Problems pile up in the absence of a permanent chief and political disputes over ideology.
By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Times Staff Writer
April 30, 2006

WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration has been without a permanent leader for more than two-thirds of President Bush's tenure, and major unresolved problems are piling up at the federal agency in a time of huge medical and scientific change.

With the FDA stuck in the bureaucratic equivalent of slow gear, critics as well as supporters — in a rare point of agreement — say the agency is in danger of losing its standing in setting regulatory policy in the rapidly evolving medical and scientific fields.

At the heart of the continuing stalemate over Senate confirmation of a permanent FDA commissioner is the unresolved question of what role religion and ideology should play in making science policy.

Many experts think the impasse could continue for the rest of Bush's term.

The last permanent FDA commissioner, Lester M. Crawford, was confirmed in 2005 then quit unexpectedly after two months. The current nominee, acting chief Andrew C. von Eschenbach, a cancer specialist with ties to the Bush family, may never get a vote in the Senate....

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-fda30apr30,0,179626.story?coll=la-home-headlines

[wiley]

1. They got that story right

[leftchick]

2. Remember Kessler?

those were the days....

http://www.aegis.org/news/wsj/1996/WJ961109.html

Politics & Policy: FDA's Kessler Will Leave Post After Six Years

The Wall Street Journal - Tuesday, 26 November 1996.
Bruce Ingersoll, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WASHINGTON -- Food and Drug Administration Chief David Kessler is leaving government after more than six years of acclaim and controversy as the chief crusader against smoking and a strong enforcer of public-health regulations.

Dr. Kessler plans to resign as soon as a successor is named, conceivably by the end of January. He told Vice President Al Gore and other administration officials that he was ready to leave the FDA after accomplishing most of his objectives, including speeding up the approval of new drugs and overhauling the nation's food-labeling system.

In a statement yesterday, President Clinton hailed Dr. Kessler's public service, saying his efforts to improve the nation's health "will continue to be felt for generations to come." Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala, who in a meeting Friday persuaded Dr. Kessler to stay on until a new FDA commissioner could be found, cited in particular his "profoundly positive effect" on children's health issues.

The departure of Dr. Kessler, a politically skilled holdover from the Bush administration, won't be mourned by many congressional Republicans, including House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who once denounced him as a "thug" because of his regulatory zeal.

[wiley]

5. Thanks. I remember him well.

The last time the FDA was an independent public health agency that was not corrupted and diseased by Republican greed and politics.

[alfredo]

3. faith based drug testing. Yeah, that's the ticket.

[China_cat]

4. Lester Crawford is a veterinarian.

Sorry, but it is insulting to tell people that their health concerns and the regulation needed for their safety will be decided by someone who maybe spayed their cat.