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.

“The increase in the Food and Drug Administration budget means the agency has, for the first time, a budget of more than $2 billion,” Sen. Bob Bennett (R-Utah), another committee member, said. “The FDA is in the front line. It is also in the front line of research.”

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