Extra $275 Million for FDA Delayed By Lawmakers’ Fight Over War Funding

The Senate Appropriations Committee passed an amendment last week granting the FDA an immediate $275 million infusion, a sum FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach recently told a senior Republican lawmaker was necessary.
 
The amendment stipulates that $35.5 million be used for CDRH operations and related field activities of the Office of Regulatory Affairs and $21.8 million be used for the FDA Office of the Commissioner, Office of Operations, Office of Scientific and Medical Programs, Office of International and Special Programs and Office of Policy, Planning and Preparedness. The remainder is to be used for the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition and other activities.

The amendment makes the $275 million available through the end of fiscal 2009 and stipulates that $100 million must be used for drug, device and biologic safety activities, $40 million for modernizing the agency’s science and workforce, $10 million for capital spending on laboratory facilities outside the Washington, D.C., area and $125 million for food protection.

Von Eschenbach detailed ways the money could be used in his May 5 response to a request by Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor.

The FDA said, if authorized, the funding in von Eschenbach’s assessment would not all be spent during fiscal 2008 and would enable the agency to implement HHS’ Import Safety Action Plan.

The FDA’s money was removed from the House version of the amendment, now H.R. 2642, which the Senate is scheduled to vote on this week. Senate and House staff were not able to say if the FDA’s money would be added to H.R. 2642 during the Senate’s action.

Von Eschenbach’s letter, which contains nine pages of detail, can be accessed at www.fdanews.com/ext/files/vonEschenbachSpector.pdf.