Media Examines FDA Commissioner Nominee Mark McClellan
The San Jose Mercury News today profiles Dr. Mark McClellan, President Bush's nominee for FDA commissioner, who will appear before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee today in the "first step" of the confirmation process. McClellan, who has an M.D. from Harvard and a Ph.D. in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, currently serves as Bush's primary health care adviser and sits on the White House Council of Economic Advisers. He represented the Bush administration during negotiations with Congress on a Medicare prescription drug benefit and proposals to extend health insurance coverage to the uninsured. McClellan previously was a professor at Stanford University, where he worked as an internist. In addition, he has published several studies in economic and medical journals. According to the Mercury News, the confirmation process could be completed prior to the congressional recess this month. If confirmed, McClellan would become the youngest FDA commissioner ever (Jacobs, San Jose Mercury News, 10/5). NPR's "Morning Edition" also reports today on the confirmation hearing. The segment includes comments from former FDA Commissioner Dr. David Kessler and Dr. Alan Garber, a Stanford University professor who hired McClellan to conduct medical and policy work (Silberner, "Morning Edition," NPR, 10/7). The full segment is available online.
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