A year ago, the embattled agency wanted a public relations campaign that would “create and foster a lasting positive public image.” But a competition for a $300,000 contract was not held for the lowest bid, which is required by government policy. Instead, FDA officials came up with a plan to ensure the work would go to a Washington DC public relations firm with ties to the FDA official arranging the deal.

Now, two Republican Senators - Wyoming’s Mike Enzi, the ranking member on the Senate, Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, and Oklahoma’s Tom Coburn - want the FDA to provide info on its contract process (back story here). They also sent a letter to Daniel Levinson, Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services, asking for an investigation.

In their letter to FDA commish Andy von Eschenbach, the lawmakers chastise him and his staff for “apparent disregard for proper and transparent procedure.” And Enzi is quick to point out some irony: “These actions are disappointing and could severely damage the image of FDA.”

The background: an FDA official in charge of the PR campaign intended to contract with Qorvis, a Washington public relations firm specializing in crisis communications. Instead using competitive bidding, as required, the FDA signed a deal with Alaska Newspapers, an Alaska Native company that does not have to compete for federal work because it qualifies for special set-asides. Under the alleged scheme, ANI was to hand the work over to Qorvis.

“We are concerned that FDA officials entered into this contract with ANI as a subterfuge for the purpose of receiving services from Qorvis as an ANI subcontractor, which appears to have effectively bypassed a fair and transparent contracting process,” the Senators wrote.