Advocacy at a Glance

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.

• Join Us Next Week Wednesday February 18th: Freshman and Sophomore Hill Dayand After-Event Get-Together Reception. The Alliance has arranged a series of meetings with the staff of Freshman and Sophomore members of Congress for Wednesday, February 18th. The purpose of the meetings is to provide staffers with consumer, patient, and regulated industry perspectives on the critical importance of FDA and to provide basic background on how the agency works.  Alliance Members and other interested parties are encouraged to participate in the meetings. Please e-mail Tony Curry if you are interested in participating in the Hill Meetings. There will be an informal get-together reception for those who participated in the day’s advocacy activities from 5:00 to 6:30 pm at Sonoma Restaurant and Wine Bar, which is located 223 Pennsylvania Avenue SE,  Washington, DC.
  • Prep Call for Participants: Tuesday, February 17th at 2:00 pm.  We will be holding a conference call to go over messaging points and logistical information for the Hill Meetings at 2:00 pm Eastern on Tuesday, February 17th. Call-In Information: 1-888-216-3633; Access Code: 24083.

• House Ag/FDA Appropriations Subcommittee Announces Important Dates. It is now confirmed that the House subcommittee will hear testimony from FDA on the morning of March 4. Also, appropriations committee and other Members have the opportunity to ask the subcommittee for more money for FDA. Most offices have specific forms to fill out to request that the Member ask the subcommittee for monies. Members then decide on which requests to send. The deadline is mid-March, so highly important that Alliance members start now to contact representatives with whom they have a relationship. We will also raise this during the freshman/sophomore FDA 101 meetings that the Alliance will be holding on February 18 (Wednesday next week).

• Commissioner Hamburg Discusses Her Tenure Leading FDA. Friends of Cancer Research, an Alliance member, had the opportunity to interview Dr. Hamburg about her experiences as FDA Commissioner, first in January and then again this past week. It makes for interesting reading. Part 1 can be found here. Part 2 can be found here.