President Obama Names New FDA Chief to Lead Reform Efforts
President Barack Obama (D) has reportedly tapped former New York City Health Commissioner Margaret Hamburg to lead the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Baltimore Health Commissioner Joshua Sharfstein to act as her deputy. A bioterrorism expert and physician, Hamburg previously served as an assistant health secretary in the Clinton administration and helped decrease the rate of drug-resistant tuberculosis during her tenure at the New York City Health Department.
Her selection has drawn praise from consumer watchdogs, food safety advocates and medical groups such as the American Public Health Association, which said both nominations reflect Obama’s “commitment to protecting consumer safety.” “You’ve got an organization that’s demoralized and one that really wants to enhance its scientific integrity,” an association spokesperson was quoted as saying. “[Hamburg’s] all about integrity and science . . . She can be tough when she needs to be, and she’s going to need to be real tough in that job.”
Obama also announced the creation of a Food Safety Working Group dedicated to upgrading food-safety laws. He has requested an additional $1 billion from Congress to bolster inspection programs and modernize FDA laboratories, faulting the Bush administration for leaving the agency “underfunded and understaffed.” Obama noted that the number of foodborne illness outbreaks has increased to 350 per year, from 100 per year during the 1990s. See MSNBC.com, March 11, 2009; The Washington Post, March 15, 2009.
