Congress Clears FDA Funding Bill for Fiscal 2017

The president signed into law on May 5 a spending bill for fiscal 2017 that keeps the federal government running through September and gives a modest funding increase to the FDA and $428 million for CDRH.

The House approved the bill with a bipartisan 309-118 vote on May 3 and the Senate followed May 4 with a 79-18 tally.

Total FDA funding for the remainder of fiscal 2017 tops $4.65 billion, up 2.4 percent from the previous fiscal year.

Congress will also permit the agency to collect $1.23 billion in user fees for fiscal 2017, including $126.08 million for devices under the current MDUFA program. A Senate committee will get to work on the user fee reauthorization bill this week. — Gayle S. Putrich