Lobby Day a Success 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.

  • Lobby Day a Success. The Alliance held its Hill lobby day this past Wednesday, March 19. Fifty Alliance members participated in over 60 Hill meetings. Some thoughts on the Alliance’s position, what we said, and what Hill staffers said in response, is covered in this week’s Analysis and Commentary.

  • House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Hearing on FDA FY 2015 Budget, March 27th. The House Appropriations Committee Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Subcommittee is holding its annual hearing on FDA’s FY 2015 budget on March 27th at 10:00 am. Commissioner Hamburg will testify.

  • Alliance Social Media Advocacy Campaign Next Week -- Please Have Your Organization Ready to Tweet Next Week. On March 27, to coincide with the above-referenced hearing, the Alliance will be conducting a social media advocacy campaign through Twitter to raise awareness of the importance of federal appropriated resources for FDA in the FY 2015 appropriations cycle. We are asking our membership stakeholder organizations to join in this effort to ensure that the Alliance’s key messages are heard on Capitol Hill at this important time in the appropriations process. An Action Alert will be issued early next week with more specific details on the campaign.

  • Alliance Provides Testimony to House Appropriations Subcommittee. The House Agriculture/FDA appropriations subcommittee has been receiving testimony through March 20. The Alliance submitted its views on the need for FDA funding and advanced our “ask” of $2.784 billion in budget authority appropriations. A similar opportunity exists on the Senate side, where testimony is due April 4. If you are considering submitting remarks and need help, just let us know.

  • FDA’s Funding Needs Featured in Journal of Pharmacy Technology. The case for better FDA funding is laid out in a recent article in the Journal of Pharmacy Technology. The authors focus on FDA’s expanding role in post-market safety surveillance, dietary supplements, drug imports, and drug shortages and compounding.

  • No 302(b) Allocation Yet. With the President’s budget request released a little over 2 weeks ago and Congress adjourned this week, we are still in the early stages of this year’s appropriation process. However, the consensus is that things are going to pick up quickly and that late April and May mark-ups are possible. One sign of movement will be the scheduling of appropriations committee hearings. Another will be when the appropriations committees agree how much money each subcommittee will be allowed to spend (the so-called 302 (b) allocation). Each chamber can adopt their own allocations and the differences resolved later when individual bills are considered. However, it is hoped that the appropriations committees will pre-conference this issue so that both Houses are working from the same subcommittee totals.

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Alliance Hill Day: Important Feedback to Members

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"Please Congress, We Want Some More!"