WASHINGTON -- The Food and Drug Administration could face a tough new assignment from Congress: Eliminate all conflicts of interest on outside advisory panels whose votes heavily guide the agency's decision-making.

US Representative Maurice Hinchey, Democrat of New York, attached such language to an agriculture appropriations bill passed by the House last week. The funding measure next moves to the Senate, where the FDA conflicts section faces a tough fight; opponents include Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts.

Regardless of the Hinchey proposal's fate, such congressional chatter might trigger the FDA to act forcefully on its own.

Under congressional pressure, the agency said earlier this year that it intends to bar advisers with financial ties to drug and medical device companies that exceed $50,000. Even researchers whose grants or consulting fees amount to less than $50,000 during the previous 12 months would be affected under the draft guidance; they would be allowed to serve as FDA advisers but could not vote on the meeting's outcome. The FDA is still sifting public comments and has not issued a final proposal.

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