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FDA nod stalled over Plan B pill

BY GLENN THRUSH | NEWSDAY WASHINGTON BUREAU

March 16, 2006

WASHINGTON - Hillary Rodham Clinton is invoking senatorial privilege to bottle up Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach's nomination as Food and Drug Administration commissioner until the agency releases a ruling on over-the-counter distribution of Plan B morning-after contraceptives.

The Bush administration hasn't acted on Plan B's application for three years, angering abortion rights advocates but satisfying abortion foes.

Von Eschenbach is already acting FDA commissioner, so the parliamentary "hold" Clinton invoked isn't likely to have much impact on the agency's far-ranging drug-approval functions, experts say. But yesterday's move was politically significant - giving both Democrats and Republicans a new issue with which to rally their abortion-focused bases in an election year.

"It is past time for the FDA to stop dragging its heels and make a decision on Plan B," Clinton wrote in a joint statement with Sen. Patty Murray (D-Washington). "We will place a hold on the nomination of Dr. von Eschenbach until the FDA issues a decision on Plan B, yes or no."

The hold means Von Eschenbach may never be confirmed by the Senate during Bush's term. "The FDA needs a full-time commissioner," said White House spokesman Ken Lisaius. "We hope the Senate gives the nominee timely consideration and provides him with an up-or-down vote."

Von Eschenbach, a Bush family friend who also runs the National Cancer Institute, took over the FDA's helm in September after Commissioner Lester Crawford resigned. Democrats viewed Von Eschenbach's selection yesterday as a provocative act by the White House intended to spur a partisan fight.

In early 2005, Clinton and Murray held up Crawford's nomination until he agreed to rule on Plan B. Soon after, administration officials backed off that commitment, infuriating both senators, who are still smarting over what they think was a double-cross. "This is a 'fool me once' kind of situation," said Murray spokeswoman Alex Glass. "We're not going to be fooled again."