House Committee Proposes 6% Increase in FDA Funding for FY 2020

The House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday released a draft fiscal year 2020 funding bill for the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), calling for a $184 million increase in discretionary funding over 2019’s enacted level.
 
Total funding for FDA, including revenue from user fees, is $5.86 billion, according to the bill. That total is slightly less than the $6.1 billion requested by the Trump Administration for FDA.
 
“Within this total, the Committee provides target increases for medical product and food safety activities, including new initiatives to revolutionize the safety of the nation’s blood supply and to enable faster responses to foodborne illness outbreaks. In addition, the bill includes a strong focus on continuing FDA’s efforts to advance generic drug reviews and increase medical product manufacturing in the US,” the committee said in a statement.
 
The Alliance for a Stronger FDA added in an emailed statement: “The Alliance is very pleased by the House Ag/FDA appropriations subcommittee’s proposed $184 million increase in budget authority (discretionary) spending for the FDA for FY 20. While this is less than the Administration’s request, the proposed 6% increase represents a substantial investment in the agency’s growing mission and importance.”
 
A markup of the bill will be held on Thursday by the committee.