FDA's Retention Bonuses Rise to the Top ... Goes to Managers, Not Scientists

FDA's Retention Bonuses Rise to the Top | Critics Say Money Goes to Managers, Not Scientists Coveted by Drug Firms | By John Solomon and Marc Kaufman | Washington Post Staff Writers | Thursday, August 2, 2007; Page A01

Before paying $48,823 in cash bonuses to its chief of regulatory affairs in 2005, the Food and Drug Administration asked her to sign a simple declaration: "If I am unable to receive a retention allowance, I am likely to leave the federal government for a higher paying position in the private sector," wrote Margaret O'K. Glavin.

Glavin's statement did not detail a specific job offer, but that did not impede the payment. Over the past 4 1/2 years, she has collected more than $178,000 in cash bonuses -- on top of her $159,840 annual salary.

FDA officials justified Glavin's bonuses by saying her pay should be close to the salaries of those employed by companies she regulates, namely Washington lobbyists. The private-sector comparison has prompted large cash bonuses for top agency officials to quadruple since 2002, to $13.6 million in 2005, according to FDA officials and salary information provided to Congress. ...