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.

• House to Consider Appropriations Bill that Includes Ag/FDA Funding.  This week, the House Rules Committee signaled that the eight remaining funding bills not-yet passed by the House will be considered on the House floor in early September.  The packaging of all eight remaining bills, including the Ag/FDA funding bill, has been termed by some as the “megabus” in comparison to the four-bill “minibus” passed earlier by the House this Summer.  On the Senate side, no appropriations bills have been passed by the full Senate.  While a short-term or long-term Continuing Resolution is still a strong possibility before the new fiscal year starts on October 1, the House movement leaves a small opening that Congress could pass full-year funding for Federal agencies by October 1.

• This week’s Analysis and Commentary looks ahead and addresses the question: What will Congress do in September?

• Commissioner Appoints Dr. Rachel Sherman as Principal Deputy.  FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb announced the appointment of Dr. Rachel Sherman as the Principal Deputy Commissioner. Dr. Sherman has held a number of senior positions at FDA, most recently as the Deputy Commissioner for Medical Products and Tobacco. According to Dr. Gottlieb, she will “oversee all medical programs and initiatives that are agency cross cutting and clinical, scientific, and/or regulatory in nature.”

• FDA Commissioner: “We Can Always Do More with More.” In recent House testimony, Commissioner Gottlieb provided the following thoughts regarding FDA’s budget: “We can always do more with more.” While the Commissioner is obligated to support the Administration’s budget proposals, his perspective provides an important messaging opportunity for the Alliance.  As Congress and Administration leadership ask the agency to do more -- it is important that additional resources be provided to allow the agency to effectively implement what is being asked of it.  Since the Commissioner is obligated to keep in line with the President’s budget request, it is the Alliance’s job to remind policymakers that when they ask the agency to more, it must be given more.

• Alliance’s Next Hill Day Will Be September 19th. Please hold the day on your calendar. More details will be forthcoming.

• Friday Update Will Next Publish on September 1.  There will be no Friday Update on August 25. We will resume on September 1.  While Update is taking a short hiatus, the Alliance will not. If you have questions, concerns, or ideas over the next 2 weeks, please let us know.

• Reminder: Please Put Alliance Dues in Your 2018 Budget. If you need more information, please let Eden know.