Chairman Rick Scott of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging will hold a hearing on February 26, 2026, to examine how Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulatory processes may delay patient access to therapies, especially for those with rare diseases. The hearing, titled “From Regulator to Roadblock: How FDA Bureaucracy Stifles Innovation,” aims to discuss the effects of these delays on patients and their families and consider ways to improve regulatory clarity and predictability.
The committee will hear from members and expert witnesses about the impact of delayed treatments. They will also explore how an efficient review process focused on patients could help strengthen U.S. biomedical leadership and speed up the delivery of lifesaving therapies.
This event follows a letter sent in November 2025 by the committee to FDA Commissioner Dr. Martin Makary, seeking information about the agency’s efforts to support innovation in rare disease drug development and increase approvals for such conditions. Chairman Scott stated his commitment to ensuring that “the FDA fulfills its mission to protect patients while fostering innovation and maintaining America’s leadership in biomedical research.”
Additional details about witnesses and livestream access will be available at aging.senate.gov.
The hearing is scheduled for Thursday, February 26, 2026, at 9:30AM ET in Hart Senate Office Building, SH-216. A live broadcast will be available online.
Chairman Scott invites public participation through written statements from individuals, patient organizations, researchers, and other stakeholders. Submissions should not include personal identifying information and must be emailed to RareDiseaseStatements@Aging.Senate.Gov by 5:00PM ET on March 5, 2026.
The Senate Aging Committee addresses issues affecting older Americans such as Social Security, Medicare, long-term care, retirement security, fraud prevention tools like a fraud hotline according to its official website, as well as oversight of federal programs nationwide as detailed here. The committee maintains offices in both the Dirksen Senate Office Building for the majority staff and Hart Senate Office Building for minority staff according to its website. Rick Scott serves as chair with Kirsten Gillibrand as ranking member as noted here.
