Hamburg: FDA Budget Cuts Would Have ‘Devastating’ Effect

FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg is warning Congress about decreasing the agency’s funding for the rest of fiscal 2011, saying the proposed cuts would have a “devastating” impact on the agency. In testimony before the House Appropriations Agriculture, Rural Development, FDA and Related Agencies Subcommittee Friday, Hamburg said that the more than $200 million in FDA funding cuts approved by the House last month are equal to the budget of one of the agency’s centers. “I can tell you [the impact] will be significant,” Hamburg said. “We will be unable to do inspections domestically and internationally at the level we need to be doing.”
Drug Industry Daily