News item about a statement by the US Government Accountability Office to a Senate hearing on drug shortages.  The director of health care at the GAO indicated that even though the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has a drug shortage programme, it is constrained in its ability to prevent shortages because it lacks the authority to require manufacturers to report actual or potential shortages or take actions to mitigate shortage situations.  In a detailed report on the FDA response to drug shortages, the GAO recommends that the FDA should be given additional powers to deal with such situations.