Declarations

Phantom Oversight

“We need to uncover the true extent of what the FDA knew and when they knew it and determine whether or not they acted appropriately and timely.”

—Congressman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), calling on lawmakers to interview FDA officials about their knowledge of a “phantom recall” of Motrin. Drug maker Johnson & Johnson, under fire from federal overseers, claims regulators approved a measure in which the firm secretly bought up 88,000 defective packets of the pain reliever.

Distracted by Loopholes

“It’s a very difficult law for us to enforce because there are loopholes in that law.”

—Capt. Susan Culin, commander of the police traffic division in Fairfax County, Virginia. who says the state’s texting while driving law is nearly impossible to enforce. Texting is illegal but dialing a phone number is not – meaning it’s hard for an officer to know the difference. County police have issued only 16 tickets for texting this year, in a county of more than 1 million residents who spend an inordinate amount of time sitting in traffic.

Fraud Suits Help Public Relations

“No-fault fraud has become rampant in New York and knows no boundaries. Significant reform of the current laws and regulations that will give insurers the means to effectively combat this fraud continues to be long overdue.”

—Seth Ingall, regional vice president of New York operations for Geico, which last month sued a slew of medical facilities for $9 million over alleged no-fault frauds. The lawsuits, along with several others filed earlier this year by the company, come as insurers and their lobbyists are increasingly calling for reform of the Empire State’s no-fault insurance laws.