The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is requesting US$4.03bn to promote and protect US public health as part of the President’s fiscal year 2011 budget – a 23 per cent increase over the agency’s current US$3.28bnbudget.
The request, which covers the period of 1 October 2010, through 30 September 2011, includes increases of US$146m in budget authority and US$601m in industry user fees, according to an FDA press release.
“The FY 2011 resources will strengthen our ability to act as a strong and smart regulator, protecting Americans through every stage of life, many times each day,” said FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D.
“This budget supports the ability for patients and families to realize the benefits of science that are yielding revolutionary advances in the life and biomedical sciences.”
FDA said the budget request reflects its resolve to transform food safety practices, improve medical product safety, protect patients and modernise FDA regulatory science to advance public health.
Some US$318.3m alone will be spent on transforming food safety, in line with President Obama’s vision of a new food safety system to protect the American public.
To achieve this, FDA said it will set standards for safety, expand laboratory capacity, pilot track and trace technology, strengthen its import safety programme, improve data collection and risk analysis and begin to establish an integrated national food safety system with strengthened inspection and response capacity.
