[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 77 (Tuesday, May 19, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5608-S5609]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    CONFIRMATION OF MARGARET HAMBURG

 Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I commend my Senate colleagues for 
confirming the President's nominee for FDA Commissioner, Dr. Margaret 
Hamburg. Strong, new leadership is needed to improve the operations and 
morale of the agency and make the FDA again the world class agency that 
Americans trust to protect the health of their families.
  Dr. Hamburg's expertise in community health, biodefense, and nuclear, 
biological, and chemical preparedness is well-known and highly 
respected, and her experience makes her eminently well-qualified to 
lead the FDA at this difficult time.
  As a student and researcher, Dr. Hamburg learned first hand about 
many of the issues which confront the FDA. Later, at the Office of 
Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, as assistant director of the 
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at NIH, and as 
the commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental 
Hygiene, she proved herself to be a brilliant scientist and leader. Her 
skills were particularly impressive on tuberculosis, which was the 
leading infectious killer of youths and adults in the city in the 1990s 
and had become resistant to standard drugs. Within 5 years, the TB rate 
in New York City fell by 46 percent overall, and 86 percent for the 
most drug-resistant strains.
  Dr. Hamburg's impressive experience was further enhanced by her 
service as President Clinton's Assistant Secretary for Policy and 
Evaluation at HHS, as a member of the Institute of Medicine, and as 
vice president for Biological Programs at the Nuclear Threat 
Initiative.
  Dr. Hamburg will face many challenges as FDA Commissioner but she is 
obviously well-prepared to deal with them. She has impressive 
experience in both clinical practice and research, and her background 
makes her ideal to lead the FDA as it combats food-borne illnesses, 
works with other agencies to combat disease outbreaks, and protects our 
food, drugs, and medical devices. Her confirmation marks the beginning 
of a welcome new era at FDA, and I look forward very much to working 
with her.
  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I rise today to congratulate Dr. Margaret 
Hamburg on her confirmation last night by the Senate to be commissioner 
of the Food and Drug Administration. I wish to also thank Dr. Hamburg 
for her previous public service and her willingness to once again go 
through the process of Senate confirmation. The vetting process for 
executive nominees is thorough and not without some degree of personal 
and professional sacrifice. I thank Dr. Hamburg for her willingness to 
serve.
  Dr. Hamburg is an internationally recognized leader in public health 
and medicine, and an authority on global health, public health systems, 
infectious disease, bioterrorism and emergency preparedness. This 
background is especially important given that the swine flu--H1N1 
influenza--has been on the front pages for several weeks and spread 
across the globe during that time. Dr. Hamburg has a tremendous amount 
of experience with emergency preparedness.
  The FDA has a very broad and critical mission in protecting the 
public health. Dr. Hamburg is in charge of an agency that regulates $1 
trillion worth of products a year. The FDA ensures the safety and 
effectiveness of all drugs, biological products such as vaccines, 
medical devices, and animal drugs and feed. It also oversees the safety 
of a vast variety of food products as well as medical and consumer 
products, including cosmetics.
  As commissioner of the FDA, Dr. Hamburg is responsible for advancing 
the public health by helping to speed innovations in its mission areas, 
and by helping the public get accurate, science-based information on 
medicines and foods.
  Another core mission of FDA is approving drugs and ensuring their 
safety. However, the FDA can not ensure the safety of deadly products 
such as tobacco--it kills people, not cures them. Yet this week the 
HELP Committee, of which I am the ranking member, is set to consider 
legislation that would require the FDA to regulate tobacco. At a time 
when federal dollars are stretched and resources are limited, I have 
serious concerns about adding more statutory responsibilities at FDA. 
In addition, given the recalls of spinach, peanuts, peppers, and 
tomatoes over the past two years, FDA's resources are already stretched 
too thin on the food safety front.
  I represent a State that has substantial agricultural interests. Food 
safety and food labeling are critically important to me and my 
constituents. I am hopeful that Dr. Hamburg and I can work together on 
protecting the American food supply.

[[Page S5609]]

  Additionally, I look forward to working with the new commissioner to 
restore the FDA's status as one of the strongest regulatory agencies in 
the world. I have no doubt that with the right leadership in place and 
with Congressional oversight, the FDA will again be the gold standard 
and our regulatory process the envy of the world.
  Given Dr. Hamburg's expertise in emergency preparedness, pandemics 
and public health, I am pleased that the Senate acted quickly on this 
nomination. Again, I would like to congratulate Dr. Hamburg on her 
confirmation.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, yesterday the Senate confirmed Dr. 
Margaret ``Peggy'' Hamburg as Commissioner of the Food and Drug 
Administration, FDA.
  Dr. Hamburg comes to the job at a time when our Nation's food safety 
system is in crisis. In the last couple of years we have seen 
nationwide outbreaks associated with spinach, tomatoes and peppers, and 
peanuts and peanut butter. With peanuts, we also saw the biggest food 
recall in our nation's history as hundreds of companies recalled 
thousands of products from crackers to ice cream to even pet food. Our 
food safety problems don't just start and stop at home: we have also 
seen chemically tainted pet food, milk products, and seafood from 
China.
  It is no secret that our food safety system is in serious trouble. It 
is all over the headlines. It's also no secret that the FDA the agency 
responsible for protecting nearly 80 percent of our food hasn't kept 
up, with its outdated statutes, eroding budgets, and inadequate 
resources and authorities.
  Congress hasn't passed a major food safety bill in decades, and we 
are seeing the results of that inaction. More than 76 million Americans 
become sick because of a food-borne illness each year, 325,000 are 
hospitalized, and 5,000 die. Companies lose the confidence of their 
customers and shareholders, and they lose profits. Some experts 
estimate that the peanut growers will lose $1 billion as a result of 
the latest outbreak. Kellogg, just one company among hundreds, lost $70 
million.
  The time for comprehensive food safety reform is long past due. In 
March, Senator Gregg and I introduced the FDA Food Safety Modernization 
Act, a bipartisan bill that gives the FDA the new authorities and 
resources it needs to protect our food supply. This bill improves the 
FDA's capacity to prevent, detect, and respond to food safety problems, 
whether it's salmonella-tainted peanut butter from Georgia or melamine-
spiked baby formula from China.
  For the first time in a long time, we are also seeing leadership on 
food safety from the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue. The Food Safety 
Working Group, led by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen 
Sebelius and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, is doing what hasn't 
been done in decades: taking a comprehensive, coordinated look at the 
outdated food safety laws on the books and making recommendations on 
reform.
  Last week I had the opportunity to attend a first-ever listening 
session hosted by the White House focused on food safety reform. This 
was a chance for members of Congress, the administration, consumer 
groups, and industry to come together and talk about the challenges 
facing the safety of our food supply as well as the solutions.
  Dr. Hamburg, with her public health expertise and impressive record 
of success as former health commissioner of New York City, is a welcome 
addition to the working group. I had a chance to meet with Dr. Hamburg 
before her confirmation. During our meeting, as well as in her 
confirmation hearing, she made clear her commitment to the long term 
goal of transforming food safety oversight at FDA to focus on the 
public health goal of prevention. I am confident that she is the right 
person to tackle this challenge and others facing the FDA, and to 
restore morale and public confidence in the agency. I look forward to 
working with her and the other members of President Obama's food safety 
working group to enact FDA food safety legislation this year.

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