Senate HELP Committee Approves Nomination of Mark McClellan as FDA Commissioner
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee yesterday unanimously approved the nomination of Dr. Mark McClellan as FDA commissioner, the AP/Nando Times reports. However, committee Chair Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) said that he will not send the nomination to the full Senate for a vote until McClellan responds to a list of questions about his plans for the FDA (AP/Nando Times, 10/9). McClellan, a physician with a doctorate in medical economics, has served as a White House health policy adviser and as a member of the Council of Economic Advisers in the Bush administration. He has represented the Bush administration in negotiations with Congress on a Medicare prescription drug benefit and proposals to extend health coverage to the uninsured. McClellan, a native of Austin, Texas, graduated from the University of Texas with degrees in English and biology. He earned his medical degree from Harvard Medical School and received an economics degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. McClellan practiced as a physician at Stanford University, where he also taught health care economics, before he joined the Bush administration (California Healthline, 10/8). The Senate will likely confirm McClellan as FDA commissioner before Congress adjourns this month, the AP/Nando Times reports (AP/Nando Times, 10/9).
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