Originally Published MX September/October 2005
BUSINESS NEWS
Crawford Confirmed as FDA Chief |
| Lester M. Crawford has been confirmed as FDA commisssioner. |
In July, following a contentious hearing process, the U.S. Senate finally confirmed Lester M. Crawford, DVM, PhD, as permanent FDA commissioner. President Bush nominated Crawford to the top spot at the agency in March, but the confirmation was delayed for five months by a bipartisan group of congressional critics who questioned Crawford's leadership on a number of issues, including drug safety and approval, policy enforcement, agency staffing, and fiscal management.
The most vocal critic of the nominee was Senate finance committee chair Charles Grassley (R–IA), who questioned Crawford's performance at the agency with regard to both regulatory policy enforcement and personnel management. Citing a need for structural changes at the agency, Grassley said that "Crawford has not stepped up to the plate. I have seen no recognition of the depth and breadth of the problems at FDA. I have only seen a few short-term Band-Aids. The evidence is overwhelming that FDA must change to better protect the American people. Unfortunately, the systemic problems at FDA demand visionary leadership. Dr. Crawford has not shown me he is the leader to fix FDA."
On the fiscal front, Grassley challenged Crawford's handling of travel expenses and bonuses paid to senior FDA officials, which increased from $160,000 a year when Mark B. McClellan, MD, PhD, was commissioner to more than $500,000 in the past year under Crawford.
Crawford received key support from Senator Edward Kennedy (D–MA), who said, "Crawford is well qualified to be commissioner. He deserves to have full authority as commissioner."
The Senate vote in favor of the nomination was 78–16.
Crawford, 67, is a veterinarian and food-safety expert with a doctorate in pharmacology. He has held the title of acting FDA commissioner since March 2004 when the former head of the agency, Mark McClellan, left to head up the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS; Baltimore). Crawford was named deputy commissioner in February 2002 and also served as acting commissioner prior to McClellan's appointment in November 2002.
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