Advocacy at a Glance

House Appropriations Subcommittees Begin FY 20 Bill Approvals. Three subcommittees of the House Appropriations Committee this week began the FY 20 “markup” process, reporting bills that could be considered by the full House Appropriations Committee next week. Each bill provides an increase over FY 19, and is an encouraging sign as we move to consideration of funding for FDA as part of the Agriculture, Rural Development, FDA and Related Agencies bill.The Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies today approved its FY 20 bill, including $189.8 billion in discretionary funding, an increase of $11.7 billion over the 2019 enacted level and $47.8 billion over the President’s 2020 budget request.  The Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies provides $108.1 billion in discretionary funding -- $10 billion above the FY 19 enacted level. Finally, the Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch approved its FY 20 bill including a total of $3.943 billion, $135 million or 3.6 percent more than in FY 19.  These three bills now move to the full House Appropriations Committee.  We have heard that the Labor-HHS bill will be considered on Wednesday, May 8, but the Committee has not yet made a formal announcement.We continue to hear that the Agriculture, Rural Development, FDA and Related Agencies bill could be considered by that subcommittee during the week of May 13, but, again, no formal announcement has been made.  We will continue to report on any further developments.Senate Appropriations Subcommittees Also Preparing to Take Action. We have also heard that Senate Appropriations Subcommittees could begin moving their bills during the week of May 13, subject to reaching an agreement on 302(b) allocations to each subcommittee.FDA and the Budget Process: A Short Primer.  The Alliance exists to be an advocate for increased appropriated funding for the FDA. To do our job well, we have to be aware of everything else  (non-FDA) happening in budget and appropriations. This week’s Analysis and Commentary is a refresher course in macro-budgetary considerations and micro-budgetary considerations.