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Antidrug aides' '06 role alleged

By TIMES WIRES
Published July 18, 2007

WASHINGTON

White House officials arranged for top officials at the Office of National Drug Control Policy to help as many as 18 vulnerable GOP members of Congress by making appearances and sometimes announcing federal grants in their districts in the months leading up to the November 2006 elections, said Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Waxman said documents obtained by his panel suggest that the appearances by the drug control officials were part of a larger White House effort to politicize the efforts of federal agencies that "may be more widespread than previously known." White House officials denied the allegation. 

WASHINGTON

FDA food safety lapses lead to plan for panel

The Food and Drug Administration came under withering criticism by a House panel Tuesday for its handling of recent food-safety violations, and the Bush administration later disclosed plans to establish a working group to review the safety of food and other imports.

The FDA's food-safety program is woefully understaffed and "simply cannot keep up with the flood of imported food," said Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee's oversight and investigations subcommittee.

Acknowledging the challenge it faces, the FDA said it is working on a plan to improve its system of ensuring food safety, and a White House official said the administration is forming a panel on import safety to be chaired by Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt that will include other Cabinet officers.

WASHINGTON

Citing dispute, U.S. won't meet visa quota

The United States won't meet its commitment to provide at least 20,000 visas for Cubans to migrate from the island this year because the Havana government has placed "unreasonable constraints" on its diplomatic mission there, the State Department said Tuesday.

The admission that Washington would fail for the first time to meet a key obligation under a 1994 migration accord with Havana came after the Cuban Foreign Ministry chided Washington for issuing visas too slowly, suggesting that the delay was a deliberate attempt to destabilize its government.

The United States accused Cuba of denying visas to Interest Section personnel, failing to approve positions to fill 47 staff vacancies, and blocking the importation of materials and supplies.

How many visas the United States will issue for Cubans was unclear, and an Interest Section official declined to give more details.

[Last modified July 18, 2007, 01:57:31]