House subcommittee proposes $257M increase for FDA in FY2022

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) would see a $257 million increase in its budget authority for FY2022 under a draft funding bill that advanced to the House Appropriations Committee on Friday.
 
The draft legislation was released late on Thursday ahead of the Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies’ markup of the bill the following morning.
 
While the bill would provide FDA with $86 million less than the Biden administration called for in its $6 trillion budget request last month, the $257 million increase would represent about an 8% boost to FDA’s budget authority. (RELATED: Biden’s first budget request seeks $6.5 billion for FDA, Regulatory Focus 1 June 2021)
 
“This bill would provide $3.45 billion to the Food and Drug Administration. Within this total there is an increase of $72 million to address the opioid crisis, rare cancers and resume unannounced, in-person, inspections in the two largest foreign drug manufacturing countries from whom we import pharmaceuticals,” Subcommittee Chair Sandford Bishop (D-AL) said during the markup.
 
Despite Republican leadership on the committee voicing their apprehension about increased spending levels in the bill, the subcommittee unanimously agreed to advance the bill to the full committee for consideration.
 
“If we want to fund the good things contained in this bill, we must work together to develop funding levels both sides can support. We also need to agree to leave out controversial provisions,” said Committee Ranking Member Kay Granger (R-TX).
 
Granger also expressed concern about the security of the US medical supply chain. “If there is one thing we know from the events of the last year, it’s that we are too reliant on imported medical products. The FDA must help to create a regulatory environment where manufacturers of medical equipment and pharmaceuticals come back to the United States,” she said.
 
In a statement, the Alliance for a Stronger FDA welcomed the funding increase provided in the bill.
 
“We are grateful for the House’s support of FDA and appreciate that its proposed increase in [budget authority] BA funding will go a long way toward addressing the agency’s many resource needs. In any year, a $257 million/8% increase for FDA is substantial and meaningful. For that, we thank the Members of the House subcommittee. We will work with the Senate to achieve a similarly large commitment to FDA’s FY22 funding needs. The drive to strengthen the FDA is a multi-year marathon, not a sprint, and the Alliance will continue to advocate for critical funding to strengthen the agency,” the group said.
 
Markup, Statement and summary, Draft bill