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.

• Senate Ag/FDA Appropriations to Be Marked Up May 17 and 19. We have been told for a few weeks that a Senate mark-up on Ag/FDA appropriations was coming. It has now been announced for the subcommittee on Tuesday, May 17 and full committee on Thursday, May 19. A floor vote later in the month is a possibility. The text of the bill is not yet available, but it is reported that the subcommittee had about 2% less to spend in FY 17 compared to FY 16. For more about the impending Senate mark-up and prospects in the Senate, please read this week’s Analysis and Commentary.

• Zika Funding Agreement Reached in Senate; Vote to Be Next Week. Senators Blunt (R, MO) and Murray (D, WA) have reached agreement on a $1.1 billion package to fund efforts to combat the Zika virus. This was less than the Administration request, but is expected to have broad bipartisan support at the level in the agreement. The amendment will be attached to one of the two or three funding bills expected to be considered by the Senate next week. The bulk of the money will be given to CDC, NIH, and to support international efforts. We expect some monies will be available for FDA activities related to a vaccine against the Zika virus, but this has not yet been confirmed.

• Califf Lays Out Priorities in Speech to FDLI. Dr. Califf’s speech to the Food and Drug Law Institute addressed his priorities for FDA and received wide media coverage. Here is a link to the speech.