Bush Recommends Funds for FDA
The Bush administration is calling for increased funding for the next year’s budget for the Food and Drug Administration. The request came after a recent large-scale recall of raw tomatoes, as described in the New York Times.
The suggested amount by the President was $275 million. Those funds will be in addition to the $1.77 billion outlined in the initial budget proposed by Bush for fiscal year 2009. The Senate already passed a bill in May that will increase the Agency’s funding.
The funds will support the opening of new offices across the world, including China, Central America, and India. It would also provide support to hire almost 500 additional personnel. That is in addition to the mass hiring efforts already planned by the Agency, noted previously on HospitalBuyer.
Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach, Commissioner of the FDA, stated that the funds would allow for a significant expansion of staffing, by about 15 percent. He previously wrote to Sen. Arlen Specter requesting an immediate cash infusion of $275 million, also described on HospitalBuyer.
The Agency’s efforts to protect the food supply have specifically come under fire. The House and Energy Committee is planning to hold hearings to address those issues. That is in addition to the Agency’s challenges in maintaining drug and product safety.
June 11, 2008 Related topics: Legal & legislative