McClellan, at a hearing on his nomination at the Senate Finance Committee, said he would answer the senators' questions "as soon as this confirmation process is concluded."
The senators want him to appear before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, which McCain leads and where the nominee could expect more aggressive questioning than he received yesterday.
Told of McClellan's comments, Dorgan spokesman Barry Piatt said: "That's an absurd response that borders on the arrogant. He doesn't get to choose which senators can ask him questions." McCain spokesman Marshall Wittman said the senator is still awaiting a formal response from McClellan.
As commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, McClellan has been the Bush administration's leading voice in opposition to allowing prescription drugs into this country from Canada, where they often are cheaper. McClellan, other government officials, and pharmaceutical companies have raised questions about safety.
Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson recently named McClellan to lead a panel to study whether and at what cost drugs could be safely imported. Critics argued that the study would be one-sided, although Thompson pledged the panel would be balanced.
Drug importation has widespread support in Congress and across the country as a result of several years of double-digit increases in prescription drug prices.
Nearly two-thirds of those surveyed in an Associated Press poll released last month said the government should make it easier to buy cheaper drugs from Canada or other countries.
AARP, the 35-million-member seniors organization, released a letter yesterday that chief executive William Novelli sent to 16 drug manufacturers, urging them to support drug importation legislation "with strict procedures to ensure safety."
The nomination of McClellan, who is a physician and economist, is expected to clear the Senate easily once it comes to a vote. In 2002, the Senate confirmed him to lead the FDA with no opposition.
