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Washington, D.C. - In an effort to get the real story behind Dr. Lester Crawford's resignation last week as Food and Drug Administration Commissioner (FDA) Commissioner, Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) today led a group of five House members calling on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Inspector General Daniel R. Levinson to investigate the circumstances behind the move.
"We believe that the sudden nature of this action, combined with both conflicting reports about the resignation and recent difficulties at the FDA, warrant your office's involvement in this matter," Hinchey and his colleagues wrote to Levinson. "We are very hopeful that your office will be able to shed some light on this matter, specifically as it pertains to the presence of conflicts of interest such as inappropriate and undisclosed pharmaceutical company stockholdings among agency officials. As we hope you will agree, all such conflicts within the agency must be eradicated in order for the FDA to regain the public trust."
Crawford unexpectedly resigned as FDA Commissioner on Friday, but gave no specific reason for his decision. HHS has declined to give an explanation of Crawford's resignation, saying that it was a personnel matter. Various news reports have suggested that Crawford stepped aside because of conflicts of interest that may have included unreported drug company stockholdings.
"...Dr. Crawford's departure, a mere two months after confirmation to his position, raises significant questions," Hinchey and his colleagues wrote in their request. "As the Washington Post reported on September 25, this agency has been without a permanent leader for more than half the duration of President George W. Bush's Administration. Classifying this shift as a "personnel change" only serves to continue the tradition of bad behavior perpetuated by an agency that was created specifically for the protection of the American people."
Hinchey is the author of the Food and Drug Administration Improvement Act (FDAIA) of 2005, a sweeping reform bill that would end the financial link and inappropriately close relationship between the drug industry and the FDA, eliminate conflicts of interest on FDA advisory committees, and vastly improve the agency's post-market drug safety operations. The House approved the conflicts of interest component of the FDAIA as an amendment to the Agriculture, Rural Development, FDA, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2006. The measure still needs to go before a conference committee of House and Senate leaders.
"The FDA has been in absolute turmoil for years," Hinchey said. "Dr. Crawford's sudden resignation is yet another example of why we need transparency at the FDA so we can finally restore integrity and stability to this vital agency. The American people deserve much better than what they've gotten recently out of the FDA."
The other members who signed Hinchey's letter to Levinson are Congressman Sam Farr (D-CA), Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), and Congressman Raśl Grijalva (D-AZ).
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The complete text of the letter follows:
September 28, 2005
The Honorable Daniel R. Levinson
Office of the Inspector General
Office of Public Affairs
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Room 5541 Cohen Building
330 Independence Avenue SW
Washington, DC 20201
By Fax: (202) 260-8512
Dear Inspector General Levinson:
We write to respectfully request your attention to the circumstances surrounding the resignation of Dr. Lester M. Crawford from his position as Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last Friday, September 23. We believe that the sudden nature of this action, combined with both conflicting reports about the resignation and recent difficulties at the FDA, warrant your office's involvement in this matter.
We believe that Dr. Crawford's departure, a mere two months after confirmation to his position, raises significant questions. As the Washington Post reported on September 25, this agency has been without a permanent leader for more than half the duration of President George W. Bush's Administration. Classifying this shift as a "personnel change" only serves to continue the tradition of bad behavior perpetuated by an agency that was created specifically for the protection of the American people.
Congress and the public deserve to know what is going on with the leadership at the Food and Drug Administration. We are very hopeful that your office will be able to shed some light on this matter, specifically as it pertains to the presence of conflicts of interest such as inappropriate and undisclosed pharmaceutical company stockholdings among agency officials. As we hope you will agree, all such conflicts within the agency must be eradicated in order for the FDA to regain the public trust.
Thank you for your attention to this matter. If you are in need of additional information, please be in touch with Moira Campion of Congressman Hinchey's office at (202) 225-6335. We look forward to your prompt reply.
Sincerely,
Maurice Hinchey, Marcy Kaptur,
Lynn Woolsey, Raśl Grijalva, & Sam Farr
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