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Cato In the Media

Cato Institute - Washington,DC,USA

In July and September, the FDA issued 'approvable letters' to the makers of two silicone- gel breast implants, meaning the companies can market their ...

Cato Daily Dispatch for December 28, 2005

"The Homeland Security Department, created in response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, has failed to fulfill 33 of its own pledges to better protect the nation, according to a report released Tuesday by House Democrats," reports The Associated Press.

"The report concludes that gaps remain in federal efforts to secure an array of areas, including ports, borders and chemical plants. There also are still delays in the department's sharing terror alerts and other intelligence with state and local officials, the review said."

Chapter 50 of the Cato Handbook on Policy says: "[T]he problem of homeland security is so vast that the [Department of Homeland Security] will be tempted to do everything. The nature of bureaucracy is to grow and to do more. This is exactly what the department needs to avoid at all costs. To be effective, the department must do everything it can to be as nimble, responsive, and adaptive as our terrorist enemy. Therefore, instead of trying to do the impossible or attempting to do everything and doing nothing well, homeland security must focus on those threats that pose the most catastrophic consequences and for which there are cost-effective defenses. First and foremost, that means not focusing on the last attack and disproportionately directing homeland security efforts against preventing the same thing from happening again."

"Concerns about drug safety and political meddling dogged the Food and Drug Administration in 2005," reports USA Today. "The culmination was Commissioner Lester Crawford's abrupt resignation in September, just two months after his confirmation.

"Crawford's tenure as FDA chief, which after two stints as acting commissioner added up to two years, was marked by controversy: [1.] Safety concerns led to the withdrawal of two popular arthritis drugs: Vioxx in September 2004 and Bextra in April of this year. [2.] In July and September, the FDA issued 'approvable letters' to the makers of two silicone-gel breast implants, meaning the companies can market their products as soon as they answer remaining questions. Opponents said the companies haven't studied patients long enough to prove the devices are safe. [3.] Some members of Congress held up Crawford's confirmation because the FDA had not yet allowed Plan B emergency contraception to be sold over-the-counter."

In Chapter 40 of the Cato Handbook on Policy, Michael Cannon, Cato's director of health policy studies, proposes the elimination of the FDA. He argues, instead, for a market-based certification of the safety and efficacy of initial uses of new drugs and medical devices: "It is past time for Congress to break the FDA monopoly on initial safety and efficacy certification and restore the right of individuals to control their own health care. A model for reform already exists in the private sector. The United States already has an essentially free-market process for certifying drug efficacy."