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.

• Last Chance to Join Alliance Sign-On Letter to Appropriators. Our deadline is quickly approaching, but there is still time to sign onto our letter to appropriators asking them to support the funding levels in both the House and Senate committee bills. We have more than 40 groups, but additional signers are welcome, including organizations that are not Alliance members. Contact <a href="mailto:eshiferaw@ofwlaw.com"Eden Shiferaw to sign up. Questions to Ladd Wiley or Steven Grossman.

• Appropriations May Follow “Regular Order,” but Lots of Uncertainties. Just before the Fourth of July recess, the House passed the Defense appropriations bill by a vote of 359 to 49. The Senate Appropriations Committee passed their version this week. It should be taken up in the Senate in July and then conferees will be appointed. With committee passage of the DOD and L-HHS funding bills, the Senate Appropriations Committee has now moved all 12 funding bills forward.

The Senate passed the first minibus, combining Energy and Water, MilCon/VA, and Legislative Branch. They will go to conference shortly to reconcile differences with the House-passed version. No scheduling has been announced for consideration of the Ag/FDA, either independently or as part of a minibus. All of these efforts reflect appropriators’ desire to accomplish “regular order appropriations,” in which funding for the entire government is completed before the fiscal year starts on October 1.

As discussed in this week’s Analysis and Commentary, increases in FDA funding for FY 19 are dependent on Congress managing to complete funding bills expeditiously under “regular order.”

• 21st Century Cures: Progress Report. Alliance member, Faster Cures, has been tracking implementation of the provisions of the 21st Century Cures legislation. Their mid-year 2018 summary is here and reflects excellent progress being made by FDA.

• No Friday Update Next Week. We will not be publishing an edition on July 6. We will be back again on July 13. In the interim, if you have questions about the Alliance, the FY 19 budget situation or any other topic related to the Alliance’s mission, don’t hesitate to contact Ladd or Steven directly.