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.

• Special Thanksgiving Message. This week’s Analysis and Commentary explores how FDA and Thanksgiving are intertwined and why an effective FDA is something to be thankful for.

• Maneuvering Begins on Last FY 19 Appropriations Bills.  Reportedly, the White House has told Congressional Republicans that it wants one spending bill containing: the seven funding bills that haven’t yet passed, the President’s $5 billion funding for the southern border wall, and emergency funding for areas of the country hard hit by this year’s wildfires and hurricanes. As reported by Politico: "The White House tactic would try to force Democrats to choose between funding the wall and shutting down more than a dozen agencies, including Homeland Security, just days before Christmas." Also reported this week, Democrats have their own wish list, including some spending priorities and provisions to protect the Special Prosecutor from being fired. This creates the basis for a compromise later, although we aren’t sure there will be one. How this affects FDA is discussed in depth in last week’s Analysis and Commentary.

• Upcoming Alliance Briefing with Dr. Steve Solomon, Head of the Center for Veterinary Medicine at 3 p.m. on December 6.  If you don’t know much about the Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) , you are missing some of FDA’s most important work. Come learn how the human gut microbiome, pet ownership, and greenhouse gases are linked within CVM’s mission to protect the health of humans and other animals. In past years, the CVM briefing has been among the most interesting ... as Alliance members discover how their group’s interests overlap with CVM. Alliance members and media should contact Steven Grossman to RSVP or with questions.

• There will be no Friday Update on November 22. We wish all Alliance members and their families (as well as our other readers) a happy Thanksgiving, and we will be back on November 29 with our usual reports and commentaries. If you have questions in the interim, don’t hesitate to contact Ladd or Steven.

Editorial note: We apologize to readers for a 4-day delay in the posting of this edition of Advocacy at a Glance and the associated Analysis and Commentary on the Alliance web site. The Alliance's sitemaster was out of the county and "off the grid" last Friday and only returned very late yesterday.