Congress proposes big cuts to FDA budget
In an attempt to address what they call America’s “destructive spending pattern,” members of the U.S. House Appropriations Committee have proposed a $285 million cut to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) 2012 spending bill.
WASHINGTON, D.C.—In an attempt to address what they callAmerica's "destructive spending pattern," members of the U.S. HouseAppropriations Committee have proposed a $285 million cut to the U.S. Food andDrug Administration's (FDA) 2012 spending bill.
"As is the goal of all our appropriations bills thisyear, this legislation reflects hard decisions to cut lower priority programs,reduce spending in programs that can be scaled back, and target funds wherethey are needed most so that our nation continues on the path to fiscalrecovery," said Rep. Harold Rogers, R-Ky., and chairman of the committee.
The proposed budget, which the committee voted on by voicein late May, would bring the FDA's total budget for next year to $3.7 billion.The bill would also set the FDA's appropriations level at $2.2 billion, about$300 million below current levels and almost $600 million below PresidentBarack Obama's request.
In addition to the funding it collects from Congress, theFDA also receives funding from the pharmaceutical and medical deviceindustries, which pay the agency to review new product applications.
Some industry and consumer groups have been pushing for anincrease in FDA spending since the end of the Bush administration, in aresponse to high-profile drug contamination cases.
The bill was expected to pass as this issue went to press.
