Senate by Voice Vote Confirms FDA Commissioner Mark McClellan as New CMS Administrator

The Senate by voice vote confirmed FDA Commissioner Mark McClellan as the new CMS administrator with no debate. Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), who had placed a hold on the McClellan nomination, said that he agreed to lift the hold because Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) had secured the votes required for confirmation. "We're trying to move the ball forward here, to make progress" toward reimportation, Dorgan said. Dorgan added that Frist had agreed to begin a process that could lead to legislation that would allow the reimportation of lower-cost, U.S.-manufactured prescription drugs from other nations. Frist said that he, Dorgan and others would begin to develop legislation to allow the safe reimportation of prescription drugs, although "no timetable was specified."

In a statement, Frist said that McClellan is "an extremely bright and capable public servant" who will provide "strong leadership at this critical time" at CMS. Dorgan, a member of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, had placed the hold on the nomination because McClellan had said that he would testify before the committee about the safety of reimportation only after his confirmation as CMS administrator. However, McClellan on Wednesday agreed to testify before his confirmation.