Stronger FDA Hill Day This Tuesday, March 19th 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.
Stronger FDA Hill Day, This Tuesday, March 19th. Please Participate and Spread the Word. Alliance Hill Day will take place this Tuesday, March 19th. Below are details for the day’s activities:
8:00 am Breakfast and Orientation Session at the Capitol Hill Club. The day will begin at 8:00 am for breakfast and a brief orientation Session at the Capitol Hill Club. Location: 300 1st Street SE, Washington, DC 20003.
Meetings. We will be meeting with 50-60 member offices. At this juncture we are continuing to receive confirmation from members’ offices regarding finalizing meeting times and further details.
Information for Participants. Participants will receive an email with information regarding their meeting schedules and team assignments early Monday morning. This email will include all background materials including talking points and logistical information.
Bring Your Colleagues. We encourage you to bring your colleagues to participate as we are hoping to have a large presence on the Hill carrying our message.
RSVP. If you plan on participating and have not already sent an RSPV, please do so by e-mailing Tony Curry
Please Submit Testimony to the House Appropriations Committee. Attached are talking points for your consideration in drafting your comments on the importance of FDA appropriations. Written testimony can be e-mailed to committee staff no later than the close of business on March 20, 2013. The House Appropriations Committee has scheduled a hearing on FDA’s FY 2014 budget for April 11th.
Senate Action on FY 13 (Current Year) Appropriations. The Senate is considering an omnibus appropriations bill as an alternative to the House’s proposal for a continuing resolution to fund the rest of the year (March 27 to September 30, 2013). When the Senate left for the week on Thursday, to resume on Monday, it had gotten part of the way through consideration of the bipartisan Mikulski-Shelby bill. The Senate has gotten bogged down by the possibility of nearly 100 amendments and Majority Leader Reid has said he will move to close debate by the end of the day on Monday.
Process after Senate Approval. As originally conceived, it was believed there was a chance that the House would accept the Mikulski-Shelby bill -- either in its entirety or with modest changes. The large number of amendments, many aimed at offsetting the effect of sequestration on certain states/industries/populations, generally has the effect of making this less likely. Since Congress wants to recess for Passover and Easter by next Friday, the more complex the bills and the politics become, the more likely that the final legislation will come closer to the House CR.
How is FDA Faring in the FY13 Proposals? As described in more detail in this week's Analysis and Commentary, FDA appears to do better under the Senate bill than it would under the proposed House CR, although there are some unanswered questions.
President’s Budget Request for FY 14. We are being told that the target date for release of the President’s FY 14 budget request is April 8.
Meetings with Agriculture Appropriators. This past week the Alliance continued its meetings with the staff of the House and Senate Agriculture Appropriations Committees regarding FDA funding in the sequester and the FY 2013 and FY 2014 appropriations cycles.