Appropriations Subcommittee Notes Lack of Funds to Support FDA
The Appropriations Subcommittee of the U.S. Senate recently held hearings to evaluate the status of funding for the Food and Drug Administration, including the financial needs of the organization. A report about the hearings posted in the New York Times notes that the subcommittee members acknowledged the lack of funds available, with support from both parties.
Dr. Andrew C. von Eschenbach, the FDA Commissioner, was asked to testify and, more specifically, requested to describe the need for additional funds and how those funds would be expended. He plans to respond with a number of different scenarios with different levels of funding. Members of the Appropriations Subcommittee responded favorably to information presented, acknowledging that the FDA is dramatically underfunded.
The hearings resulted after President Bush issued his budget request for Fiscal Year 2009, described on HospitalBuyer. Mr. von Eschenbach responded to the planned appropriations by speaking out, citing the inability of the FDA to complete its responsibilities with insufficient funds.
The Senate then passed a resolution to increase the amount of funding for the FDA in FY 2009. The increase proposed would raise the amount of funding for 2009 by 25 percent compared to 2008. The amount proposed by Bush only included a 3 percent increase for 2009 compared to 2008.
April 21, 2008 Related topics: Legal & legislative, Finance