Philip Lee, assistant secretary for Health and Human Services,last week signed a memo lifting a temporary hiring freeze onthe FDA. The agencywide freeze prevented FDA from hiringpersonnel needed to implement the Prescription Drug User FeeAct, even though the jobs were to be financed by that program.

Lee imposed the freeze last Dec. 8 throughout the Public HealthService, including FDA, to assess total employment in light ofthe vice president's national performance review and thepresident's executive order to reduce federal employment by12 percent by 1999.

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