Johnson & Johnson CEO William Weldon Gets the Call from Congress

It seems the first hearing regarding the past year's recalls of children's medicines at Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) didn't satisfy the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. So, it's planning a second session, and this time it wants to hear from J&J Chairman and CEO William Weldon (pictured).

Committee Chairman Edolphus "Ed" Towns (D-N.Y.) on Tuesday announced that the panel will hold a second hearing on June 30 -- since postponed -- to continue to examine the circumstances surrounding the recall of more than 135 million bottles of infant and children's medicines produced by J&J's McNeil Consumer Healthcare unit.

Among the medicines recalled were such widely used products as Children's Tylenol, Infants' Tylenol, Children's Motrin and Children's Benadryl.

No Stand-Ins, Please

This time, the committee doesn't want to hear from a stand-in. Weldon was invited to the first hearing, but couldn't attend due to a back surgery. Colleen Goggins, worldwide chairman of Johnson & Johnson Consumer Group, testified instead. Now, though, the committee wants explanations straight from the top.

In the letter to Weldon, Towns says the hearing will also examine the circumstances surrounding the "phantom recall" of a particular Motrin product that was revealed during the first hearing. While not binding, such invitations are generally accepted.

The committee announced late Tuesday that it's postponing the second hearing originally set for the 30th of June due to scheduling conflict. A new date hasn't been set. Johnson & Johnson still hasn't informed DailyFinance of Weldon's intentions regarding his appearance in front of the committee.