Congress Gives US FDA Austere Budget But Seeks Boosts On Inspections, IT, And ALS Activities

The minor cut would be masked by user fee revenue increases, but still would be the first time in at least a decade that agency's budget authority has dropped.

budget squeeze
The FDA must repurpose funding to accommodate congressional priorities in FY 2024. • Source: Shutterstock

The US Food and Drug Administration would see its first cut, although minor, in non-user fee funds in at least a decade, and would be forced to repurpose existing funds for specific items in Congress’s fiscal year 2024 appropriations bill.

More from US FDA

FDA Leadership Shuffle Continues: Lowell Zeta Returns As OPDP, OGD Leaders Depart

 

Lowell Zeta, a senior counselor at the FDA from 2020 to 2021, returns as deputy commissioner for strategic initiatives. The agency also names a new acting CIO and acting CVM director, but OGD's Ted Sherwood and OPDP's Catherine Gray retired.

US FDA’s Makary Floats Vague ‘Plausible Mechanism’ Approval Pathway For Rare Diseases

 

Ascertaining the novelty and benefits of Makary’s new drug approval idea – along with what it would take to implement it – requires more clarity on the types of studies he envisions being used to grant and confirm “plausible mechanism’ approvals.

US FDA Commissioner Makary Wants To Combine Adverse Event Reporting Systems

 

In discussing FDA’s adverse event monitoring, Makary also seemed to falsely imply the agency did not fully investigate the myocarditis signal with COVID-19 vaccines.

US FDA User Fee Collection Safe In Preliminary Trump 2026 Budget Plan

 
• By 

The preliminary White House 2026 budget plan cuts agency funding, but not so sharply that user fees are excluded from collection.

More from Agency Leadership

FDA Special Assistant Høeg’s Vaccine Concerns On Display At ACIP

 
• By 

Tracy Beth Høeg, who is reportedly re-examining Novavax’s COVID vaccine application, is the FDA rep at the CDC panel’s first meeting under the Trump Administration. She raised concerns about routine use of Jynneos for adolescents at risk of mpox and questioned how Moderna assessed efficacy of its COVID vaccines.

FDA Reorganization Proposal A ‘Mindless Approach To Centralization,’ Woodcock Says

 
• By 

Plan to reorganize the agency into five offices was designed by someone who does not understand the FDA, former long-time agency official Janet Woodcock says. The proposal would eliminate highly specialized expertise in favor of “a big team of generalists,” former Principal Deputy Commissioner Joshua Sharfstein says.

US FDA Staff’s Union President Calls For More Support From Industry

 

Industry should be more vocal about the harms the recent reduction-in-force will have on getting drugs to market, NTEU Chapter 282 President Anthony Lee said in an interview with Pink Sheet.