FDA Appropriations for FY 18 and FY 19

(1) In response to the release of the FY 18 Consolidated Appropriations Act, the Alliance issued the following statement:

The Alliance thanks House and Senate appropriators for their continued support of the FDA. The agency provides services that are core functions of government and, because of this, appropriators have clearly recognized the need for a strong FDA that benefits the American people.We also appreciate that the Administration -- through its FY 19 budget request -- has given FDA a vote of confidence. We look forward to working with appropriators and the Administration in the FY 19 process to make the agency even more effective and to realize the multiple opportunities to increase the value of its work.Compared to the last FY 18 Continuing Resolution, the Consolidated Appropriations Act will add significant resources this year. The key changes are:  $41 million in addition BA appropriations, with a focus on improvements in food safety, enhancing the Oncology Center of Excellence initiative and managing increased workloads in the animal drugs and feed programs.  $94 million to support expansion of FDA’s role in combatting opioid abuse, using monies provided under a general provision (i.e. does not increase FDA’s BA base funding). 

In addition, appropriators have chosen to support implementation of the 21st Century Cures Act with $60 million dollars drawn from a pre-paid fund (i.e., not BA) set up by that Act. This is an increase from $20 million available under the Act in 2017.

Please see our chart on FY 18 Appropriations.While the opioid monies will not increase FDA’s core funding, they should allow the agency to free up some resources that have been pulled from existing programs to help stem the opioid crisis.The Alliance feels confident that FDA will be worthy of the trust that comes with these additional dollars. We are committed to working with appropriators and Commissioner Gottlieb to assure that funds are used appropriately and to the benefit of the American people.

(2) As Congress starts its consideration of FY 19 appropriations, the Alliance has set out its “ask” for the year:The Alliance supports the President’s FY19 proposed $473 million increase for medical products that would strengthen the systems that guide and support agency decision-making and stimulate innovation. Improvements to drug, device and biologics programs would be supported under the proposal. The Alliance also requests $50 million in additional FY 19 food safety funding, which will enable FDA to meet the expanded scope of state partnerships, while also strengthening other key FSMA implementation priorities, particularly import safety and training.

Editorial note: The Analysis and Commentary section is written by Steven Grossman, Deputy Executive Director of the Alliance for a Stronger FDA.