Lawmakers Question FDA’s Hiring of PR Firm, Bonuses for Officials

Top members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee are asking the FDA if it has spent some of its limited funds hiring public relations (PR) or crisis management firms, including the Washington, D.C., PR firm Qorvis Communications.

Reps. John Dingell (D-Mich.), the committee chairman, and Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), chairman of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, wrote to FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach requesting information and records on any contracts or communications the FDA has had with such companies, their purpose and how much the agency has spent.

“From giving extravagant bonuses to headquarters personnel while starving its field force to wasting much needed resources on a flawed reorganization plan, FDA’s mismanagement of its resources has been staggering,” Dingell said. “I’m not convinced that these resources are being used wisely. … When money to protect Americans from unsafe food and drugs is scarce, luxuries like public relations firms and fat bonuses should not even be a consideration.”

The lawmakers’ letter specifically names Qorvis Communications, but Don Goldberg, who heads the firm’s crisis communications practice, said the company has never done any work nor bid on any contracts with the FDA. He said matters never advanced beyond preliminary discussions, and he has no idea how the company came to be cited in the congressmen’s letter.