February 18th, 2011, Fairfax,VA—Americans for Limited Government (ALG) praised Congressman Stephen Fincher (R-TN) today for introducing House Resolution 98 which demands that the Food and Drug Administration rely on legitimate science in making regulations or findings.
In an exclusive interview with ALG, Fincher explained that the sense of the House resolution is designed to put the FDA on notice that they, “need to be careful not to legislate from the Executive branch.”
The Resolution specifically urges the Commissioner of the FDA to, “give the greatest weight in making critical policy decisions to readily available hard science data, including evidence from the natural sciences, physical sciences and computing sciences.”
Bill Wilson, President of Americans for Limited Government noted, “Mr. Fincher’s resolution will put the FDA on notice that they need to be constrained by actual science and not political science, and it is a good first step in reining in their dramatic overreach.”
The U.S. Government Accounting Office has found numerous instances of the FDA failing to follow its core mission with respect to the oversight of products within its jurisdiction, and that they are not using up to date scientific technologies to make determinations.
Fincher expressed that he is “troubled” by the fact that the FDA may be acting upon “whim” and not following hard science. His resolution will put the FDA on notice that they should not take actions unless warranted by real scientific determinations instead of other considerations.
The Resolution concludes by stating that the Commissioner of the FDA should :
(1) give the greatest weight in making critical policy decisions to readily available hard science data, including evidence from the natural sciences, physical sciences, and computing sciences; and
(2) avoid paternalistic policy decisions that are not grounded in hard science.
The Resolution has been referred to the House Energy and Commerce Committee for consideration.
Click here to read H.Res 98
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