FY 23 appropriations: ready to start in March;Alliance campaign encourages Members of Congress to request increased funding for FDA.
Top-Line:
Analysis and Commentary describes the process by which Appropriations leaders receive input from other Members about funding priorities.
FY 22 appropriations move invisibly: CR through March 11.
FY 23 appropriations: ready to start in March,
Alliance initiates campaign to encourage Senators and Congressmen to request increased funding for FDA.
Constrained expectations for revival of the Reconciliation.
Webinars completed; upcoming budget priorities series announced.
Patrizia Cavazzoni, MD | CDER | April 4, 1 p.m. | Register
Judith McMeekin | ORA | April 6, 2 p.m. | Register
Susan Mayne, PhD | CFSAN | April 12, 11 a.m. | Register
Steven Solomon, DVM | CVM | April 22, 3 p.m. | Register
Jeff Shuren, MD | CDRH | April 29, 11 a.m. | Register
Peter Marks, MD | CBER| May 10, 1 p.m. | Register
This week’s Analysis and Commentary describes the process by which Appropriations leaders receive input from other Members about funding priorities. Alliance members are urged to become involved on FDA’s behalf.
FY 22 Appropriations Move Invisibly; CR Through March 11. When the House and Senate voted to extend the current Continuing Resolution (CR) until March 11, it was with the understanding that there was a framework in place for passing all appropriations bills by early March. Details were not announced, but reportedly the agreement was encompassing enough that Appropriations Committee staff were told they can begin drafting bills. This has indirectly been confirmed by staffers.
FY 23 Appropriations: Ready to Start in March. The President has scheduled his State of the Union (SOTU) address for March 1. Typically, the President’s Budget Request is released within two weeks afterward. There are some indications that the Biden Administration plans to stick with that, suggesting the budget could be released during the week of March 7 or March 14. Some slippage is certainly possible.
Alliance Initiates Campaign to Encourage Senators and Congressmen to Request Increased Funding for FDA. During March and April of each year, Members of Congress ask their constituents and interested parties to recommend program funding for the coming fiscal year. In turn, Members formulate a list of their priorities, which they share with appropriators. Requests can be highly localized (monies to rebuild a bridge) or quite global (increases for NIH).
Every year, the Alliance reaches out to Members of Congress to encourage them to tell appropriators “Increased FDA funding is one of my priorities.” Even if we do not succeed, every request form we fill out provides an opportunity to help a Congressional office understand the importance of a well-funded FDA. We would like to broaden our efforts so Congressional offices receive 2 or 3 requests on behalf of FDA, rather than just ours.
Read this week’s analysis and commentary to learn more. If you are interested in participating, please contact Roger Szemraj of the Alliance staff.
Constrained Expectations for Revival of the Reconciliation. The reconciliation bill that passed the House on November 19 by a vote of 220 – 213 and its draft Senate counterpart are now dead. There are hopes that a successor bill—substantially reduced in size—can be resurrected in the next couple of months through negotiations in the Senate.
Our primary interest in the legislation is the inclusion—in both the House-passed and the Senate draft bills—of a $300 million investment in FDA infrastructure. Half of this funding would go to technology and data modernization and the other half to facilities and physical improvements. If the reconciliation legislation is revived, we are hopeful that the FDA monies will still be included.
Webinars Completed; Upcoming Budget Priorities Series Announced. Thus far this year, we have held webinars with Jacqueline O’Shaughnessy, the FDA Acting Chief Scientist (January 25) (summary and transcript) and Emily Holubowich and Steven Grossman on How FDA Is Funded (February 2) (summary and transcript).
Starting April 4, the Alliance will be holding an FY 23 Budget Priorities series, with the five Center Directors and the Associate Commissioner for Regulatory Affairs presenting.
FY 23 Budget Priorities Series
These online events are for Alliance members and media, although we welcome guests. If you are not an Alliance member and would like to participate, please contact Alliance Executive Director, sgrossman@strengthenfda.org.