8 Questions Congress Should Ask J&J CEO Bill Weldon About the Tylenol Recalls

When Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) CEO William Weldon goes to Congress on Sept. 30 to testify about the Tylenol recalls he will likely be well-prepared. After all, he's had four months to get his story straight about why J&J's McNeil Healthcare unit got so out of control that its products were recalled eight times in a year.

Nonetheless, it will be an uncomfortable few hours for Weldon as he's grilled by the House Oversight Committee. Here are the questions he should expect to be asked:

1. What was the role of McNeil president Peter Luther, who presided over the Tylenol factory in Fort Washington, Pa., that was closed down because its production standards were so lax? Luther has been an invisible man in terms of his public profile even though his tenure coincides withe the beginning of the Tylenol crisis.
2. Why did worldwide chairman Colleen Goggins resign so soon after testifying to Congress in May about the Tylenol recalls? Was it because she incorrectly told the committee that J&J was not trying to deceive the public with a secret "phantom" recall of Motrin (when in fact deception was the whole point)? Or was it because she was telling the truth when she said she didn't know anything about it, thus revealing that she was not in control of the business she was supposed to be running?
3. Did the FDA agree to J&J's phantom recall of Motrin? If not, why did J&J tell its employees it had a deal with the FDA when there was none?
4. Why did you wait nine months to recall Tylenol after learning of contamination in the product?
5. Was there a second secret recall of McNeil products, as hinted at in J&J's internal emails?
6. How far along is the FDA's criminal investigation of J&J?
7. Why did J&J pull its advertising for Tylenol before it issued the recall?
8. And what does J&J know about whether Tylenol causes asthma in children?

Amazingly, despite the cloak-and-dagger handling of the brand, Tylenol retains strong consumer loyalty, greater even than Pfizer (PFE)'s Advil.

Related:

• Stabbed in the Back: J&J CEO Blames Retiring Chairman for Tylenol Crisis
• A Phantom Returns: Congress Asks Why J&J Delayed Tylenol Recall for 9 Months
• Could a Tylenol-Asthma Link Kill the Colossus of the Bathroom Cabinet?
• Why Hasn't McNeil's President Resigned Over the Tylenol Recall? (Among Other Unsolved Mysteries at J&J)
• It's a Trap! Congress Wants to See J&J CEO Squirm Over Tylenol Recalls