Timing of Appropriations 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.
Timing of Appropriations. We continue to receive strong signals that the appropriations process will be moving faster this year than in the past. To make this point, the House appropriations committee acted on two bills before departing on its two-week Easter recess: the Legislative Branch Appropriations bill and the Military Construction and Veteran’s Affairs Appropriations bill. Initial action on the agriculture appropriations bills (including FDA) is likely to occur before the end of May.
CBER moving to White Oak Campus Over Next 8 Weeks. The long-awaited consolidation of CBER onto the White Oak campus is about to occur. More details are available on the FDA's own web site. This is an important step in a process that began more than 20 years ago -- with a report that found that FDA was located in more than 50 buildings, many of them substandard and few of them near each other. This led to the decision to consolidate much of the agency on the White Oak campus and to the upcoming CBER move.
Ryan Budget Resolution Passes the House; Dead on Arrival in Senate. As has been reported previously, the House FY 15 budget resolution does not threaten FDA funding in FY 15 because it preserves the current allowances for defense and non-defense spending. However, starting in FY 16 and thereafter, it would harshly squeeze non-defense spending and would make it far more difficult for appropriators to find additional monies for FDA’s growing responsibilities.
Alliance Advocates for the Funding of FDA, Not Just Any One Part. To understand why, read today’s Analysis and Commentary.