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.
- President Trump Offers Initial FY 18 Budget Proposals. On March 16, the President released his initial government funding proposals, briefly describing how he would shift $54 billion from non-defense discretionary spending to defense accounts. Because this is a broad overview of the entire government, there were no references to FDA’s food safety responsibilities and just a couple of sentences about its medical product responsibilities. This week's Analysis and Commentary answers questions we’re being asked about the President’s proposals and the potential impact on FDA.
- Alliance Responds to the President’s Proposals. In response to the President’s proposal, on Thursday this week, the Alliance issued a statement to the media, Congress, and Alliance members.
- New Executive Order Directs Agencies to Identify Opportunities for Greater Efficiency Through Reorganization. In order to improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability of the federal government and devolve more functions to state/local governments and the private sector, all federal agencies have been directed to submit their recommendations to OMB within 6 months. Based on the agency input, a final plan will be put together by OMB and submitted within a year, that would lead to the reorganization of the Executive Branch and contribute to reducing federal spending. There has been speculation that FDA might, in response, propose large, systemic organizational changes or a set of smaller changes. Whether large or small, the FDA plan will, undoubtedly, reflect whatever the Commissioner-Designate, Dr. Gottlieb, believes would improve the agency’s effectiveness.
- Food Industry Advocates for Sustained FSMA Funding. As reported by Food Safety News, a group of food companies and associations are asking Congress to sustain funding for FDA’s FSMA programs, adding that “it is important that FDA also has the training, technical assistance and infrastructure in place to implement FSMA effectively."