White House seeks control on health, safety

Under a new proposal, the White House would decide what and when the public would be told about an outbreak of mad cow disease, an anthrax release, a nuclear plant accident or any other crisis.

The White House Office of Management and Budget is trying to gain final control over release of emergency declarations from the federal agencies responsible for public health, safety and the environment....

On Friday, a nonpartisan group of 20 former top agency officials sent a letter to the OMB asking the White House watchdog agency to withdraw its proposal, saying it "could damage the federal system for protecting public health and the environment." ...

Michael Taylor, former deputy commissioner at the FDA under the first Bush administration, warned that the OMB's involvement in the dissemination of information on "imminent health hazards" is dangerous.

Taylor cited the severe November hepatitis outbreak from contaminated green onions at a Mexican fast food restaurant near Pittsburgh.

"OMB's proposal says it gets to weigh in on any agency statement that would have a significant impact on an industry. Any FDA warning or recall would have that nationwide impact. So should the FDA commissioner have to go to John Graham [administrator of the OMB's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs] for permission to warn people about the possible danger from tainted green onions?" Taylor asked....

--St. Louis Post-Dispatch

(Link via BuzzFlash.)