As reported here yesterday, House Ways and Means chair Charles Rangel (D-NY) has agreed to offer a tax package counter-proposal to the Senate's $8.3 billion, ten-year package, approved last week as part of S. 2, the Senate minimum wage bill. Rangel is collaborating with Committee ranking member James McCreary (R-LA) to craft a package that will clear the Committee and the House quickly. Reports are that they will put a $1-1.5 billion proposal before the Committee for mark-up on Monday, but the elements of the package are still under discussion.

The New York Times had a great write-up yesterday on House Government Reform Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA). Over the years when Waxman served as minority ranking member for the committee, we've watched him take both industry and agencies to task over everything from misleading drug advertisements to manipulation of science. Let's hope he brings that same underdog spirit to his new post. Already he's held hearings on waste, fraud and abuse in Iraq contacting and on political interference in government climate science, and more oversight hearings are planned for the coming months.

The New Standard reports that neither the FDA nor the pharmaceutical industry have proven the safety of hundreds of drugs already approved for the market. How does such a regulatory gaff occur? From the article by Michelle Chen: Under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, the FDA can approve drugs despite unresolved safety concerns, but it can also require further studies by the manufacturer once a drug is released onto the market. The problem is manufacturers aren't holding up their end of the bargain. According to an FDA notice in the Federal Register, for FY 2006, 71 percent of the required further studies are pending and 3 percent are delayed. Meanwhile, only 15 percent are ongoing and a mere 11 percent have been submitted.

Yesterday on Capitol Hill, two top government investigators testified before the House Homeland Security Appropriations Committee that their investigations have been obstructed - specifically because of delays they have encountered in dealing with the department's office of general counsel. This office just happens to be headed up by Philip Perry, Vice-President Dick Cheney's son-in-law. Philip Perry (arrow) w/ In-LawsPhoto: Robert Galbraith / REUTERS