Comer Opens Hearing on Rooting Out Illicit Products and Restoring Trust in FDA 

WASHINGTON—Today, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) delivered opening remarks at “Restoring Trust in FDA: Rooting Out Illicit Products.” In his opening statement, Chairman Comer emphasized that major reforms are needed at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to Make America Healthy Again after the Biden Administration’s FDA failed to meet its mission. He highlighted how President Trump’s Administration is taking action to promote innovation and reduce red tape at the FDA, while the previous administration stood idly by as mental health declined, chronic disease and childhood obesity rates worsened, and illicit and counterfeit products entered the U.S. Chairman Comer concluded that FDA reform must be focused on innovation, safety, and responsiveness to improve Americans’ health and restore the agency’s effectiveness. 

Below are Chairman Comer’s remarks as prepared for delivery. 

Welcome to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Today, we will examine solutions to ensure the Food and Drug Administration keeps our nation’s food and drug supply safe for all Americans.  

There might not be another federal agency that more profoundly impacts every American’s daily life than the FDA.  

The FDA oversees the safety of the food, drugs, and medical devices we rely on.  

These responsibilities make it a key pillar of public health in the United States. 

But Americans aren’t getting healthier. 

Americans’ life expectancy is four years less than other developed countries despite spending more than any other country on health care.  

Six in ten Americans suffer from chronic disease.  

One in five Americans lives with a mental illness. 

Nearly twenty percent of America’s children are considered obese. 

So, you would think FDA under the Biden Administration would have prioritized making Americans healthier right? 

Wrong.  

President Biden’s FDA pushed burdensome gender identity requirements on clinical trials that made compliance more expensive.  

They turned a blind eye to the Chinse Communist Party targeting our children by flooding our streets with illicit tobacco and nicotine products.  

They neglected infant formula facility inspections that led to mothers and fathers across the country being unable to buy the formula their children needed.  

And they failed to work hand in hand with U.S. Customs and Border Protection to root out illicit pharmaceuticals, food, tobacco, and CBD. 

We are facing a national epidemic of chronic disease, mental health, and obesity and the FDA under the previous administration sat on its hands.  

Thankfully President Trump and Secretary Kennedy are taking action to Make America Healthy Again.  

Soon after his return to office, President Trump signed an executive order removing unscientific pseudoscience compliance burdens for clinical trials.  

FDA recently restarted approvals of safer alternatives to traditional tobacco products, and I’m hopeful more will come soon to bring greater clarity to the market.  

Secretary Kennedy announced Operation Stork Speed which will provide families with access to safe infant formula for their babies and prevent shortages going forward.  

And President Trump’s efforts to re-secure the southern border have returned law enforcement’s ability to stop the influx of illicit pharmaceuticals, food, tobacco, and CBD coming into the country.  

This Committee has spent years investigating failures at FDA and our findings are clear. The Biden Administration stifled innovation with red tape and put bureaucrats before the health of the nation. 

Reform is essential. FDA must prioritize innovation, safety, and the health of all Americans.   

The FDA needs better systems to identify and address drug shortages.  

Quick approval of innovative medicines and techniques identified with AI in support of President Trump’s promise to cure cancer is a necessity.  

FDA must work with food producers to make our food healthier while not upending supply chains. 

Incentivizing domestic manufacturing of pharmaceuticals is essential to improving the safety and efficacy of prescription drugs and will enable more research. 

Clearly and effectively regulating hemp products will reduce confusion and prevent intoxicants and poisonous contaminants from infiltrating the market. 

These examples are just scratching the surface of the dysfunction and failures within the FDA.  

Today I’m hopeful we can take a deep dive to better understand how we can improve FDA to make Americans healthier.   

I now yield to the Ranking Member.