Next Round For Commissioner Nominee: Crawford Placed On Hold After Clearing Senate Health Committee
This article was originally published in The Pink Sheet Daily
Executive Summary
The nomination of Acting Commissioner Crawford to the permanent FDA post passed the committee. A full Senate vote will be delayed by a long-anticipated hold placed by Sens. Murray and Clinton, who demand the agency first make a decision on the OTC switch of Barr's Plan B emergency contraceptive.
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Acting Commissioner Lester Crawford's nomination to become full commissioner cleared the Senate Health Committee by a voice vote June 15. A vote by the full Senate will be delayed however, since Sens. Patty Murray (D.-Wash.) and Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) have placed a hold on the nomination. The hold will remain in effect until FDA issues a yes or no decision on the over-the-counter switch application for Barr's Plan B emergency contraceptive, according to a joint statement issued by the senators. The senators announced their intention to place a hold on Crawford's nomination in April, after an "unsatisfactory" meeting with the nominee about a timeline for the Plan B decision (1 (Also see "Senate Health Members Take A Time-Out From Crawford Vote To Discuss Plan B" - Pink Sheet, 13 Apr, 2005.)). Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) has also placed a hold on Crawford's confirmation due to concerns about FDA's relabeling of condoms (2 (Also see "Crawford’s FDA Confirmation Woes Grow With Sen. Coburn’s Threatened Hold" - Pink Sheet, 13 May, 2005.)). The committee was able to move ahead with its vote following the conclusion of the HHS Inspector General's investigation, which cleared Crawford of several anonymous personal conduct allegations (3 (Also see "Crawford Investigation Finds "No Evidence" On Three Of Four Personal Conduct Allegations" - Pink Sheet, 8 Jun, 2005.)). - John Rancourt |