Letter to The Honorable Daniel R. Levinson

September 21, 2006

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

Dear Inspector General Levinson:

One full year after Dr. Lester Crawford left his post as Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, a number of questions remain unanswered regarding the circumstances of his abrupt departure. We are deeply troubled by the length of time it has taken your office to come to a definitive conclusion on this important matter.

Over the past year, we have seen the release of surveys demonstrating a lack of confidence in the FDA, with both agency employees and the American public indicating a loss of faith in an agency that has long been a trusted protector of consumer safety. As the nation continues to await the appointment of the FDA's next permanent commissioner, we are very concerned that the absence of a report from your office on the circumstances surrounding Dr. Crawford's sudden resignation will only perpetuate financial and other conflicts of interest at the agency. Therefore, we respectfully request an update on the status of your investigation, including an estimate on when the public can expect to learn the results of your work.

We enclose a copy of the original correspondence regarding this matter that we sent to you on September 29, 2005. We expect to be kept informed of any progress, and we certainly hope this matter can be brought to closure so that the lack of a comprehensive response will not be an issue at FDA's FY 2008 appropriation hearing. Thank you for your consideration of our request. We look forward to your reply.
Sincerely,

Maurice Hinchey, Sam Farr, Lynn Woolsey, Marcy Kaptur, Raúl Grijalva

http://www.house.gov/list/press/ny22_hinchey/morenews/092106FDAIGprobe.html