FDA can’t protect Valley families if it can’t make decisions

Raquel Mitchell

Submitted photo/InsideSources

American mothers aren’t asking Washington for special treatment. We’re asking the FDA to do the job it was created to do.”

OPINION — Every mother knows that when it comes to protecting her children, waiting and hoping for the best isn’t good enough. We ask questions. We look for answers. And when something threatens our family’s health or safety, we expect action. 

So why should we accept anything less from the Food and Drug Administration? 

Families rely on the FDA to evaluate the safety of products that end up in our homes, from the medicine in our cabinets to the food on our tables. We trust that the agency is doing its homework, making informed decisions and holding manufacturers accountable. 

What happens when the agency responsible for protecting our families can’t keep up with its own reviews? A troubling new report from the Government Accountability Office reveals just how serious that problem has become. 

From 2018 to 2025, the FDA took an average of 507 days to complete reviews of tobacco product applications. Despite making progress on a massive backlog, nearly 132,000 applications still lacked a final decision at the end of 2025. Worse, the agency wasn’t collecting the information necessary to determine whether it was meeting its own scientific review deadlines. 

For an agency entrusted with protecting public health, that should raise serious questions. 

And for mothers, it should raise alarms. 

We see the consequences of an overwhelmed regulatory system in our communities. Consider the flood of unauthorized e-cigarettes, including products manufactured in China, that have found their way into American stores. Many come in bright packaging with candy-like flavors and designs that appeal to young people. 

Parents are already fighting an uphill battle to keep these products away from their children. We shouldn’t also have to wonder whether the federal agency charged with regulating them is keeping pace. 

To be clear, unauthorized products can already be subject to FDA enforcement. However, completing reviews is essential to determining which products meet federal requirements and giving regulators a clearer picture of the marketplace. When that process stalls, uncertainty grows and enforcement becomes more difficult. 

The problem isn’t limited to what our children might encounter. It’s also about the choices available to the adults we love. 

Many American families have a parent, spouse or loved one who struggles to quit smoking. Potentially less harmful alternatives deserve careful scientific consideration. However, when reviews are unnecessarily delayed, adults seeking those alternatives have fewer clearly authorized options and little certainty about when decisions will come. 

And tobacco is only one example of why the FDA’s review process matters. 

Families waiting for new medical treatments, parents scrutinizing the ingredients in products they purchase, and caregivers making decisions for aging relatives all depend on a regulatory system that works. They deserve to know that scientific reviews are thorough, decisions are timely, and the agency can demonstrate that it is meeting its responsibilities. 

None of us wants an FDA that rushes products through review without asking difficult questions. An FDA that allows applications to languish without clear accountability isn’t serving families well either. 

Safety and efficiency are not opposing goals. A regulatory agency should be capable of delivering both. That’s why nominating Heidi Overton as FDA commissioner offers an important opportunity for change. 

Moms for America Action supports her nomination because families need leadership that understands the full weight of the FDA’s responsibilities. We need an agency that moves lifesaving medications and innovative treatments through rigorous reviews without unnecessary delays, ensures the food on our tables is safe and accurately labeled, evaluates medical devices efficiently, and keeps dangerous or unauthorized products out of our communities. These aren’t competing priorities. They are all essential to protecting American families. 

Overton has expressed support for reducing unnecessary regulatory burdens and accelerating access to medical innovation. Those priorities are encouraging, but families need more than promises. If confirmed, we hope she will translate that commitment into meaningful, measurable improvements across the agency. 

That means setting realistic deadlines, tracking whether they’re met, eliminating unnecessary delays, and making the results transparent to the American people. It means ensuring that sound science guides every decision and that FDA enforcement keeps pace with the products entering our communities. 

Most important, it means remembering whom the FDA is supposed to serve. Not bureaucrats. Not political interests. Not manufacturers seeking an easier path to market. American families. 

Mothers understand that protecting children requires vigilance and responsibility. We don’t get to ignore problems because they’re complicated or put off important decisions because we’re overwhelmed. We find a way to get the job done. We expect that same commitment from the federal government. 

Overton has an opportunity to help restore accountability to an agency whose decisions affect every American household. We stand behind her stated commitment to reform and will look for results if she is confirmed.

American mothers aren’t asking Washington for special treatment. We’re asking the FDA to do the job it was created to do. 

Protect our families. Follow the science. And stop making Americans wait for answers they deserve. 

Raquel Mitchell is deputy director of Moms for America Action. She wrote this for InsideSources.com. Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to azopinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.