Chronology of Committee Work

Members Call on the Science Board to Assess Resources Needed to Remedy FDA's Funding Crisis

Reps. Henry A. Waxman, John D. Dingell, Bart Stupak, and Frank Pallone, Jr., called on members of one of FDA’s own advisory committees to provide Congress with its assessment of the resources needed to remedy the crisis at the agency stemming from years of chronic underfunding.

Chairman Waxman Requests GAO Examination of Regional Fishery Management Council Expenditures

Chairman Waxman wrote to Comptroller General David Walker to request that GAO examine the expenditures of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council (WESPAC) in response to concerns about WESPAC’s questionable usage of federal funds.

Chairman Waxman Requests Progress Update on Greenhouse Gas Regulations

Chairman Waxman wrote to EPA Administrator Johnson to request an update on the agency’s progress in implementing controls on greenhouse gas emissions.

Chairman Waxman Requests Unredacted EPA Documents

In a letter to EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson, Chairman Waxman requests complete, unredacted copies of Administrator Johnson’s briefing slides regarding California’s petition for a Clean Air Act waiver to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles.

Chairman Waxman Requests Briefing on Inspections of Chinese Drug Manufacturer

In a letter to FDA Commissioner von Eschenbach, Chairman Waxman requested a briefing on FDA inspections of all facilities owned by the Shanghai Pharmaceutical Group that produce drugs for the United States. The Chinese company is currently under criminal investigation in China for the production of tainted leukemia drugs and manufactures at least one drug for export to the United States.

Oversight Committee Requests Executive Compensation Information from Fortune 250 Companies

The Oversight and Government Reform Committee is asking the compensation committee chairs of each of the Fortune 250 companies to provide information about how executive compensation consultants are utilized by these corporations in setting executive pay. This inquiry is part of an ongoing investigation into the role played by compensation consultants at large publicly traded corporations. In December 2007, the Committee held a hearing and released a report on this subject.

Committee Requests Information Regarding DOD Greenhouse Gas Emission Compliance

Chairman Waxman and Ranking Member Davis requested information from Secretary Gates on how the Department of Defense will comply with a recently enacted provision of law barring the government from purchasing alternative fuels for vehicles and planes, such as fuels from a coal-to-liquids process or tar sands, if those fuels have higher greenhouse gas emissions than conventional fuels.

Waxman and Kennedy Request GAO Examination of FDA Resource Shortfalls

Today Rep. Henry A. Waxman and Sen. Edward M. Kennedy wrote to Comptroller General of the United States David Walker requesting an examination of the staffing, information technology, and other resources necessary for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to successfully carry out its oversight of foods, drugs, biologics, and medical devices.

Full Committee Business Meeting on January 29, 2008

The full Committee held a business meeting to consider postal naming and commemorative bills.

Full Committee Holds Hearing on CDC Program Providing Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening

The full Committee held a hearing on “Addressing the Screening Gap: The National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program.” The hearing examined the National Breast and Cervical Cancer program which is administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to provide mammograms, pap smears, and other screening exams for breast and cervical cancer to low-income women without another source of coverage.

Committee Releases Updated Schedule of Depositions and Interviews for Major League Baseball Players

Today the Oversight and Government Reform Committee released an updated schedule of depositions and interviews related to allegations in Senator Mitchell’s Report to the Commissioner of Baseball of an Independent Investigation into the Illegal Use of Steroids and Other Performance Enhancing Substances by Players in Major League Baseball.

Update: The deposition previously scheduled for Tuesday, January 29, has been rescheduled to Friday, February 1.

Update: The deposition previously scheduled for Wednesday, January 30, has been rescheduled to Monday, February 4.

Members of Congress Question FDA Proposal Designed to Create Liability Shield for Drug and Device Companies

Today Representatives Henry A. Waxman, John D. Dingell, Frank Pallone, Jr., Rosa L. DeLauro, and Edward Markey, and Senators Edward M. Kennedy, Patrick J. Leahy, and Christopher J. Dodd, questioned the basis for a new Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposal that was apparently designed to shield pharmaceutical and device companies from liability for injuries sustained by American consumers as a result of unsafe products.

Chairman Waxman Requests FDA Provide Documents Regarding Drug Company Marketing Loophole

On January 22, Chairman Waxman wrote to FDA Commissioner von Eschenbach requesting documents related to the FDA’s draft guidance allowing drug companies to use journal articles to promote potentially dangerous off-label uses of drugs and medical devices without prior FDA review and approval. According to FDA minutes of a meeting, Dan Troy and other drug company representatives urged FDA to issue guidance to protect the companies from “Federal prosecutors pursuing distributors of this information for criminal conduct.”

Chairman Waxman Schedules Hearing to Examine Preservation of White House E-mails

On February 26, the Committee will hold a hearing to investigate White House compliance with the Presidential Records Act. Statements made at the January 17 White House press briefing contradict information provided to the Committee, which revealed that a 2005 White House analysis found no archived mail for hundreds of days between 2003 and 2005.

Investigation into Mortgage CEO Compensation Expands

As part of its ongoing investigation into executive pay, the Oversight Committee asked Countrywide Financial, Citigroup, and Merrill Lynch to provide documents relevant to the compensation of Angelo R. Mozilo, Charles Prince and E. Stanley O’Neal.

In addition, the Committee invited the chairs of the compensation committees at these companies to testify on March 7 about how the compensation and severance packages for these executives were determined and on what basis they were approved.

Update: The hearing previously scheduled for February 7 has been rescheduled to March 7.

Committee Requests Action Plans for Uranium Contamination in the Navajo Nation

In letters to five federal agencies, Chairman Waxman and Ranking Member Davis request that the agencies prepare and submit five-year action plans for cleaning up the widespread uranium contamination in the Navajo Nation.

Hearing on Steroids in Major League Baseball and the Mitchell Report

The full Committee held a hearing entitled “The Mitchell Report: The Illegal Use of Steroids in Major League Baseball.” This hearing examined Senator George Mitchell’s investigation into the illegal use of steroids in Major League Baseball.

Oversight Committee to Examine Mortgage CEO Severance Packages

As part of its ongoing investigation into executive pay, the Oversight Committee invited three CEOs implicated in the subprime mortgage crisis to testify on February 28 about their severance and compensation packages: Mr. Angelo Mozilo, the CEO of Countrywide Financial; Mr. Charles Prince, the former CEO of Citigroup; and Mr. E. Stanley O’Neal, the former CEO of Merrill Lynch.

Update: The hearing previously scheduled for February 7 has been rescheduled to February 28.

Investigation Into EPA's Denial of State Greenhouse Gas Regulations Advances

Following EPA’s failure to meet the Committee’s deadline for producing documents, Chairman Waxman requests that the agency agree to production deadlines and provide relevant EPA officials for interviews.

Chairman Waxman Releases Report on Information Security Breach at TSA's Traveler Redress Website

At the request of Chairman Henry Waxman, Committee staff have been investigating how TSA could have launched a website that violated basic operating standards of web security and failed to protect travelers’ sensitive personal information. As this report describes, these security breaches can be traced to TSA’s poor acquisition practices, conflicts of interest, and inadequate oversight.

Chairman Waxman Schedules Hearings on Steroid Use and the Mitchell Report

On January 15 and February 13, the committee will hold hearings to obtain additional information regarding the Report to the Commissioner of Baseball of an Independent Investigation into the Illegal use of Steroids and Other Performance Enhancing Substances by Players in Major League Baseball, commonly known as the “Mitchell Report.”

Chairman Waxman Initiates Investigation into EPA Decision

In a letter to EPA, Chairman Waxman requests that the agency preserve and produce all documents relating to Administrator Johnson’s decision to block California’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles.

New Questions Raised About White House Records Preservation

In letters to the White House and the National Archives, Chairman Waxman asks whether the White House has preserved its records according to the obligations of the Presidential Records Act, and what the White House has done to prepare for the transition of presidential records to the Archives in January 2009.

Chairman Waxman Requests Information on Expanded HIV Testing

Chairman Waxman asks CDC Director Gerberding and HRSA Director Duke to conduct additional analysis to answer questions about the impact of the expanded testing program on the demand for care and treatment of HIV. Chairman Waxman also asks Dr. Gerberding to explain CDC’s position on the role of prevention counseling provided in conjunction with testing.

Chairman Waxman’s Statement on EPA Denial of California Waiver Request

Chairman Henry A. Waxman released the following statement today in response to EPA’s denial of California’s waiver request:

“EPA’s decision ignores the law, science, and commonsense. This is a policy dictated by politics and ideology, not facts. The Committee will be investigating how and why this decision was made.”

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