Congress to Return November 14; Government Funding Top Priority

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.

• Congress to Return November 14; Government Funding Top Priority. Congress is out of session and election season is in full swing. They return November 14, with a list of things leadership hopes to accomplish. Only government funding is “must-pass.” This week’s Analysis and Commentary column considers possible outcomes of the lame duck fight over appropriations bills.

• Continuing Resolution Includes Temporary Cut in Government Funding. As discussed in the September 30 Analysis and Commentary, the Continuing Resolution has implications for the FDA -- including a surprising Across-the-Board (ATB) cut that will knock nearly 0.5% out of what FDA (and other federal agencies) can spend. The 10-week loss to the FDA is about $2.5 million.

• Attendees Needed -- Alliance In-District Meeting in Bakersfield with Representative Valadao (R, CA) – Oct. 26. The Alliance is meeting with Representative David Valadao on October 26th in Bakersfield. We need additional attendees to this event -- a connection to Bakersfield would be great; but a connection to California would be just fine as well. Please e-mail Ladd Wiley -- if a member of your organization has an interest. .

• Alliance Annual Member Meeting is Tuesday, November 15 at 1 p.m. This year, we will be repeating our very successful post-election analysis by the bipartisan political leadership team at Akin Gump. This one always fills the room to capacity, so let Lynnette Bechtel know if you will be joining.