Legislation Would Keep FDA Budget at 2012 Levels Through March

Legislators in the US House of Representatives and US Senate are back in session and looking to pass legislation to keep government agencies funded through March 2013.

The draft legislation of a tentative agreement between Democrats and Republicans, first announced before the start of the August 2012 congressional recess, would largely maintain current funding levels across federal agencies. The government would be funded with $1.047 trillion in appropriations-$26.6 billion lower than fiscal year 2012 funding levels, reports The Hill.

The bill would make available, "Such amounts as may be necessary… for continuing projects or activities," including the 2012 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. That piece of legislation established FDA's fiscal year 2012 funding levels, and would be maintained for the next six months.

Agencies would also be required to submit to Congress a report within 30 days detailing how they plan to spend the funds appropriated to them. This would likely involve changes from FDA's 2012 operating budget, as the agency has since made numerous operational and structural changes.