Next Budget Webinar on Monday; Hill Days in May

This week’s Analysis and Commentary is entitled “Alliance’s FY 25 Appropriations Request: Realistic for Meeting FDA’s Needs.”

Next Alliance Budget Webinar on Monday. Are you interested in shortages and supply chain, cosmetics regulation, regulatory science, homeland security, or FDA's patient engagement programs?

If so, then sign up for the next Alliance budget webinar featuring: 

• FDA’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Hilary Marston and

• FDA's Acting Chief Scientist Dr. David Strauss

Monday, April 15 at 11:15 am.  Register here.


Alliance Planning Annual Hill Days in May.  A growing number of House and Senate offices have agreed to in-person meetings with the Alliance. House offices will be on May 7 and 8, and Senate offices on May 15 and 16.  

We strongly encourage Alliance members to join us for these visits. Please let Ben Dash know of your availability for any of these days. Non-members interested in participating should contact Steven Grossman. 

The Alliance’s Hill Days are an opportunity to advocate for a strong, well-funded FDA and educate Congress about FDA’s expanding mission and growing responsibilities. 

Broad participation from every stakeholder group and member organization strongly reinforces our unity about FDA’s funding needs and our commitment to two messages: “a strong FDA benefits all Americans” and “FDA’s growing responsibilities require a budget that grows.”   

We also plan a round of virtual visits with both House and Senate offices on May 22-23.


FDA Before House Agriculture/FDA Appropriations Thursday, April 18.  Commissioner Califf is scheduled to appear before the House Agriculture/FDA Appropriations Subcommittee next Thursday, April 18, at 9:00 a.m.  The subject is the FDA Fiscal Year 2025 budget request.  

A link to the webcast can be found here.  The Commissioner’s prepared statement will be posted at this same site following the hearing.


Updated House and Senate Member FY 2025 Appropriation Request Information.  Individual Member offices continue to release their personal office deadlines for funding requests.  The Alliance will submit its FY 2025 recommendations to these offices and urges Alliance members to do the same.

Attached here (House) and here (Senate) are updated lists of those deadlines with links to the individual request forms.  We will continue to update these lists as additional information becomes available.  

We urge Alliance members to also respond to these offices with the message: FDA is a funding priority because of its role in protecting public health and advancing food safety and innovative medical products. We encourage you to look at our March 15 Friday Update for detailed information on the FY 2025 FDA request.

If you have any questions, please contact Roger Szemraj.


Congressman Tom Cole Becomes Chairman of the Full House Appropriations Committee.  Congressman Tom Cole (R-OK) has been named as Chairman of the Full House Appropriations Committee.  This follows the recent resignation of Chairwoman Kay Granger (R-TX), who will remain on the committee as Chair Emeritus.  Because he is now the full committee chair, Congressman Cole must relinquish his subcommittee chairmanship. At this juncture, there are no changes impacting the Agriculture/FDA Subcommittee.  

The Senate Appropriations Committee also made some changes in subcommittee chairs. None of these changes impact the Agriculture/FDA Subcommittee.


Summaries and transcripts from HFP Jim Jones and CVM Tracey Forfa webinars are now available. The summaries and transcripts from the first two webinars in the Alliance budget series, Human Foods Program (HFP) Deputy Commissioner Jim Jones and CVM Director Tracey Forfa, are now available.

• Human Foods Program (HFP) Deputy Commissioner Jim Jones summary here and transcript here.

• CVM Director Tracey Forfa’s summary here and transcript here.

All summaries and transcripts from the Alliance Webinar Series and our other webinars can be found on our website here.


Register for the Alliance’s Annual Budget Series. There are five more budget webinars scheduled. The links to register are below:

• Office of the Commissioner–Chief Scientist, Chief Medical Office, NCTR, Cosmetics Regulation, led by FDA CFO Benjamin Moncarz on Monday, April 15 at 11:15 am. Register here. 

• CBER Director Dr. Peter Marks on Tuesday, April 23 at 2 pm. Register here.

• ORA Associate Commissioner for Regulatory Affairs Michael Rogers on Wednesday, May 1 at 12:30 pm. Register here. 

• CDER Director Dr, Patrizia Cavazzoni on Monday, May 6 at 2:30 pm. Register here.

• CDRH Director Dr. Jeff Shuren on Tuesday, May 14 at 2 pm. Register here.

OPM Rule to Block Potential Schedule F Designation of Federal Employees. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has issued a final rule reinforcing protections and merit-based principles for career civil servants. This rule emphasizes hiring and firing based on merit, not political loyalty. 

OPM Director Kiran Ahuja highlighted the critical role of career federal employees in delivering essential services across America. The rule acknowledges the important role of nonpartisan civil servants, who ensure food safety, clean water, and protect against national security threats. If asked, the Alliance would point out that FDA is involved in all three (if bottled water counts).