Lawmakers Continue to Press for Answers on Implications of Hiring Freeze for FDA

Two lawmakers behind the Cures Act have asked the Office of Management and Budget to clarify whether the federal hiring freeze applies to the FDA, raising concerns that the freeze could disrupt the implementation of the bipartisan law and the passage of user fee agreements.

The letter, authored by Reps. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), calls on OMB — which previously released guidance on President Trump’s executive order imposing a federal hiring freeze — to specify whether the FDA is subject to the freeze.

Understaffing at the FDA has historically delayed approvals for branded drugs and generics, the lawmakers noted, and a hiring freeze would only worsen delays and keep the FDA from carrying out several of its new responsibilities under the Cures Act.