Senate committee approves $2 billion budget for FDA

WASHINGTON The Senate Appropriations Committee unanimously passed an appropriations markup measure Thursday, providing the Food and Drug Administration with a $2.04 billion fiscal 2009 budget. This amount is $324.6 million more than the agency initially received for fiscal 2008.

“The increase in the Food and Drug Administration budget means the agency has, for the first time, a budget of more than $2 billion,” Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, a committee member, said. “The FDA is in the front line. It is also in the front line of research.”

No action is scheduled on the House measure for the agency’s 2009 budget, which passed the Agriculture Subcommittee June 19. It includes a total of about $2.1 billion for the FDA.