Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act of 2013 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.

• Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act of 2013. Congress finished FY 13 appropriations before departing for recess and the President signed the legislation earlier this week. The general impact on FDA is described in the analysis previously provided, and more specific details are included in today's Analysis and Commentary. As described, FDA did better than almost all federal agencies in this legislation. However, the agency must still absorb the $209 million sequester, meaning that almost all FDA programs will have less money to work with than in 2012.

• President’s Budget Request for FY 14. We expect this to be released on Tuesday, April 8. However, this date might slip.

• House and Senate Pass FY 14 Budget Resolutions. At the end of last week, prior to departing for recess, both the House and Senate passed FY 14 budget resolutions. Each represents a completely different vision of how to reduce the annual deficit in FY 14, as well as how to balance the budget over a period of years. The House focuses on further spending cuts and entitlement changes, while the Senate showcases tax and revenue increases along with more modest spending and entitlement cuts. As passed, the two bills are so different that they cannot be conferenced in any customary way. Instead, they provide a basis for discussing what kind of package is possible that could win support from Congress and the President (i.e., sets up a renewed discussion of whether some large, multi-trillion dollar, 10-year deficit reduction package is possible).