FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach is temporarily suspending a controversial plan to close over half of the agency's testing labs across the country, according to Congress Daily (subscription).

Senior members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the FDA's employee union have expressed serious concern about the proposal. The move to close seven of the 13 testing facilities is particularly strange considering the recent spate of public health nightmares caused by contaminated foods and unsafe drugs.

Read more on the proposal in OMB Watch's latest issue of The Watcher: " Amidst Increased Scrutiny, FDA Wants to Shut Testing Labs."