Senate Appropriations Committee Approves $2 Billion for FDA

The Senate Appropriations Committee unanimously passed an appropriations markup measure Thursday, providing the FDA with a $2.04 billion fiscal 2009 budget.

This amount is $324.6 million more than the agency initially received for fiscal 2008. The measure will have no number until it is introduced in the full Senate.

“The Food and Drug Administration is a firewall for our citizens. It must not be allowed to fail,” Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.), a member of the appropriations committee, said.

No action is scheduled on the House measure for the agency's 2009 budget, which passed the Agriculture Subcommittee June 19 and includes a total of about $2.1 billion.

The administration's amended fiscal 2009 budget requests $2.67 billion, which includes $628 million in user fees.