Reg•Watch is retroactively declaring March 22, 2007 Scrutinize the FDA Day (see below). Here's one more bit of news before this soon-to-be widely celebrated holiday comes to a close. This morning, the House Energy and Commerce Committee subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held its second hearing on the FDA drug approval process. Panel Democrats grilled FDA commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach on how the agency has become powerless in regulating drugs, especially after they reach the market. Committee Chairman John Dingell (D-MI) repeatedly criticized the culture at FDA as a contributing factor. OMB Watch has reported on the increasing need for reform in the agency's drug approval process. The hearing also featured testimony from Marcia Crosse — not the desperate housewife, but the Government Accountability Office director for health care. Crosse's testimony pointed out FDA has begun initiatives to correct some of the problems detailed in a 2006 GAO report, but it is too soon to tell how effective those reforms will be. Also of note, at least one lawmaker, Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) mentioned FDA's new guidance on advisory members which Reg•Watch mentioned earlier today.

In today's New York Times, there appears a story by reporter Gardiner Harris about FDA's new guidance intending to reduce conflicts of interest on agency advisory boards. (Note: The story refers to the proposal as "rules" but it is actually "draft guidance" which, unlike rules/regulations, does not carry the force of law.) The guidance is a response to an increasing problem at FDA: Scientists determining the public safety of drugs and medical devices often have financial ties to the products or industry on which they are commenting. There are pros and cons to the draft guidance. The good:

Today, OMB Watch released a full report titled A Failure to Govern: Bush's Attack on the Regulatory Process (download it here). This report outlines President Bush's recent amendments to Executive Order 12866 — Regulatory Planning and Review. The report details the potential impacts the amendments will have on federal agencies and the American public, as well as what the changes mean to democracy at large. A Failure to Govern: Bush's Attack on the Regulatory Process