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.

• Presidential Transition Planning Underway, and to Kick Into Over-Drive Right After Election Day; Congress Returns November 14. Congress returns November 14 and only government funding is “must-pass.” Last week’s Analysis and Commentary considered possible outcomes of the lame duck fight over appropriations bills. Meantime, the public’s attention (as well as political Washington’s) will turn dramatically toward Presidential Transition, starting the day after Election Day. In an anonymous-looking office building near the White House, both candidates have teams of people planning for the transition. This week’s Analysis and Commentary recounts some of the basics of transition, much of it forgotten in the 8 years since we last had a change of Presidents.

• Alliance Annual Member Meeting/2016 Election Re-Cap 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. Former Senator Kay Hagan (D, NC), Former Congressman Vic Fazio (D, CA), former Congressman Tom Loeffler (R, TX), and longtime Republican insider Jamie Tucker will provide their perspective on the election result. This one always fills the room to capacity, so let Lynnette Bechtel know if you will be joining.

• Alliance Meetings with FDA Planned for November. We have a meeting at White Oak planned with Dr. Rachel Sherman, Deputy Commissioner for Medical Products and Tobacco, on November 15 in the morning. We also have a meeting scheduled with Dr. Peter Marks, new Director of the CBER, in the morning on November 16. Let Lynnette know, if you are interested in joining either meeting.

• Economic Impact of the FDA. In addition to FDA’s significant impact on America’s public health, it also has an important impact on the economy. FDA regulates more than 20% of the products on which consumers spend their dollars. Also, many of the products FDA regulates have a positive impact on the productivity of American workers. The Alliance is working on updating its document describing the important role FDA-regulated products have on the U.S. economy. Does your industry organization have statistics on job creation or the benefit of your products to the economic well-being of the country? Does your patient organization have information looking into the economic burden of your disease state, and how a cure or treatment might alleviate that burden? We’d love to get any data you have, and if you are interested in working on this project – we’d be thrilled to have you join our work group. Just e-mail Ladd Wiley with ideas or interest you might have.