Mike Johnson Elected as Speaker of the House - Further House Appropriations Action Proposed
This week’s Analysis and Commentary is entitled “Concrete Progress; Still A Long Way from Settling FDA’s FY 24 Funding.”
Mike Johnson Elected as Speaker of the House - Further House Appropriations Action Proposed. On Wednesday, the House of Representatives elected Congressman Mike Johnson of Louisiana as the 56th Speaker of the House. The vote was 220 to 209. As part of the process, Speaker Johnson laid out a path to complete the FY 24 appropriations process, an issue that contributed to the ouster of his predecessor, Kevin McCarthy.
First, Speaker Johnson proposed extending the Continuing Resolution to either January 15 or April 15 to allow time to complete action on individual bills.
Second, he proposed establishing a working group to assess Member concerns with the Agriculture/FDA bill.
Third, he established a schedule for consideration of each individual appropriation bill starting this week with the Energy and Water measure, and multiple bills each week until Thanksgiving. The Agriculture/FDA bill would be considered by the full House the week of November 13.
Speaker Johnson also proposed that the House complete consideration of all FY 25 (next year’s) appropriation bills during May through July of next year, and not begin its August recess unless all 12 appropriation bills are passed by the House.
Senate Resumes Consideration of Ag/FDA Minibus. The Senate on Wednesday resumed consideration of HR 4366, the minibus appropriations bill that includes Agriculture/FDA, along with Transportation/HUD and Military Construction/VA. Final votes on the bill are expected next week.
No amendments impacting the FDA have been adopted. The Senate rejected by a vote of 56-42 (60 votes required for approval) an amendment offered by Senator Lankford (R-OK) to add S. 135, the Prevent Government Shutdowns Act of 2023, which would have set up automatic continuing appropriations.
Upcoming Alliance Webinar with James “Jim” Jones, FDA’s First Deputy Commissioner for Human Foods, on November 13th at 1pm - Register here. Jim Jones joined the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in September 2023 as FDA’s first Deputy Commissioner for Human Foods.
Jones leads the charge in setting and advancing priorities for a proposed, unified Human Foods Program (HFP), which includes food safety, chemical safety and nutrition activities. He will exercise decision-making authority over all HFP entities, including resource allocation, risk-prioritization strategy, policy, major response activities involving human foods, and related Office of Regulatory Affairs activities.
For many stakeholders, this will be the first opportunity to hear him discuss his priorities, plans, and approach to change.
FDA Foods Coalition Launched. This week, a group of consumer advocates, food industry representatives, public health groups, and state and local regulators–many of whom are also Alliance members and directors– launched a new organization called the FDA Food Coalition. They will be advocating for a modernized foods program and educating about the need for effective governance in the FDA Human Foods Program.
“FDA needs substantial additional resources to strengthen and improve its human food safety and nutrition programs. Maximizing the value of such an investment will require stakeholders and the FDA to address the organizational, cultural, and policy challenges that confront food safety,” said Steven Grossman, Executive Director of the Alliance for a Stronger FDA. “The FDA Foods Coalition is uniquely positioned to achieve this and is a natural complement to the Alliance’s efforts to increase funding.”