“President Biden’s pick to lead the Food and Drug Administration testified on Tuesday that, if confirmed, he will prioritize workforce retention and rebuilding trust in the agency.”
“Biden tapped Dr. Robert Califf, most recently a professor of medicine at the Duke University School of Medicine, on November 12 to be Food and Drug Administration commissioner. He previously served as FDA commissioner from 2016 to 2017 and was confirmed by the Senate 89-4, with bipartisan support. However, a lot has changed in the past five years—most critically, the emergence of the coronavirus pandemic.”
“With each of his priorities for the agency––such as emergency preparedness, consumer and patient protection, and modernization––’a common thread is my commitment to ensuring the agency is more inclusive, diverse, equitable and accessible in the work it does for the American public,’ Califf testified before the Senate Health Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. ‘As I work to implement these priorities, attracting and retaining FDA’s scientific workforce may be even more important than any particular policy because it is the agency’s day-to-day decision making that protects the public.'”
“He added in his prepared remarks that ‘the scientific and technical world is moving quickly—the FDA needs the talent to keep up and protect the public while supporting scientific innovation…'”
“If confirmed, Califf said he will understand the critical need to work with Congress and other parts of the executive branch. ‘I will also be a commissioner who can hit the ground running because of my past experience as a civil servant and in leading the agency,’ he said…” Read the full article here.
Source: Biden’s FDA Pick to Prioritize Workforce Retention, Trust – By Courtney Bublé, December 14, 2021. Government Executive.
