DEMOCRATIC LAWMAKERS 'TROUBLED' BY FOOT-DRAGGING ON CRAWFORD PROBE

Five Democratic lawmakers have asked HHS to give them an update on the agency's investigation into former FDA Commissioner Lester Crawford's "sudden" resignation from the FDA one year ago.

In a statement released Sept. 21, Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.) said he and four of his House colleagues asked HHS Inspector General Daniel Levinson last September to initiate a probe of Crawford's departure and are still waiting for Levinson's report.

Reps. Sam Farr (D-Calif.), Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.), Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) and Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) joined Hinchey in signing the letter to Levinson.

Levinson's investigation was supposed to focus on whether Crawford had any financial conflicts of interest, said Hinchey. The lawmakers are "deeply troubled" by how long it has taken Levinson to reach a "definitive conclusion" about the matter.