Beefing up the FDA.

• Author: Peters, Charles
• Position: TILTING at windmills - Brief article

One place where more government employees are definitely needed is in the inspection and enforcement branches of almost every regulatory agency, whether it is regulating health, safety, or financial institutions. These functions, already shortchanged in 2001, were eviscerated by the George W. Bush administration.

Take just one recent example: job injuries are habitually underreported to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, according to the Government Accountability Office. Obviously, OSHA needs more staff to find out what the true figures are. As for food safety, haven't you read enough stories about contaminated meat, poultry, and vegetables to make you a little...