So I got a press announcement from FDA this week announcing it was embarking on a “major hiring initiative” to fill more than 1,300 positions within the next several months as part of a multi-year hiring effort. The new employees will be medical officers, consumer safety officers, health care and regulatory scientists, and other such professionals involved in protecting the public from unsafe food and drug products. And I said, “Great! FDA is finally stepping up to its charter and working to provide the manpower demanded for a truly effective safety monitoring and inspection program.”

I read on. It turns out that many of these positions will be located in the Washington metropolitan area, specifically Rockville, Silver Spring, and College Park, MD. That’s logical since that’s where FDA is largely based. And there will also be new hirings across the country in FDA’s five regions, 20 districts, more than 179 resident posts, and the newly created FDA offices overseas.

And I stopped. What was that? “