Devastating Consequences for FDA and more
Advocacy at a Glance offers you the bullet point summary of current advocacy issues associated with the goals of the Alliance for a Stronger FDA.
Fiscal Cliff Draws Closer. There is barely more than 2 weeks before the U.S. hits “the fiscal cliff.” For FDA, the chief component is the 8.2% cut in the agency’s budget that will occur as part of across-the-board (ATB) cuts that will occur on January 2, 2013 (“sequestration”).
Devastating Consequences for FDA. This would be a devastating blow to the agency -- the immediate withdrawal of between $320 million and $350 million in FY 13 agency funding (including both appropriated and user fee revenues). There is no fixed list of activities that the FDA will drop without this money, but significant programmatic and manpower reductions would be impossible to avoid. Mission failure may not be an option for FDA, but it will be very hard to avoid.
The Latest on Negotiations. In this week's Analysis and Commentary, Steven Grossman provides an update on the status of the discussions to avoid the fiscal cliff.
Hill Meetings. This past week the Alliance held meetings with the staff of both appropriators and authorizers on the House side regarding the impacts sequestration would have on FDA. Thank you to those who participated in the meetings.
BIO CEO: Cuts to FDA = Costs to Economy. In an article appearing in Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News, Biotechnology Industry Organization President and CEO Jim Greenwood highlighted the damaging impacts sequestration and mandated funding cuts at FDA would have on the nation’s public health and economy, stating, “Programs vital to the health of our nation—quite literally—should not suffer dramatic cuts. Making cuts to these programs could actually cost our nation more in the long run. The unintended consequences could impact our economic health, as well as our public health.”