Representatives Waxman and Slaughter just announced their co-sponsorship of HR 839, the “Restore Scientific Integrity to Federal Research & Policymaking Act.” Now, while I certainly object to the “restore” bit — I do agree with much of the verbiage, to wit: “Appointments to scientific advisory committees shall be made without regard to political affiliation, unless required by federal statute.” Also, that federal agencies would be required to ensure that “no individual appointed to serve on a federal advisory has a conflict of interest that is relevant to the functions to be performed, unless such conflict is promptly and publicly disclosed and the agency determines that the conflict is unavoidable.” During my tenure at the FDA I was the senior official in charge of advisory committees and I’m here to tell you that what Henry and Louise are advocating is already status quo ante Grassley. But there is one conflict that I need to make known — my wife and Representative Slaughter’s daughter roomed together in college.
Henry and Louise
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