Obama Wants to Boost US FDA Budget

US President Barack Obama wants to give US FDA the largest funding boost in its history. His budget request calls for US$2.35 billion for fiscal year 2010, compared with US$2.06 billion in the previous fiscal year, reports the Wall Street Journal. Food safety oversight is the big winner, increasing from US$649 million to US$783 million, but the Center for Devices and Radiological Health, which oversees medical devices, would also improve its bottom line by US$34 million. These figures do not include user fees that the agency collects from the industries it regulates to review product applications and inspect facilities. When those fees are included, the total FDA budget request totals US$3.04. See the table below from Wall Street Journal reporter Jacob Goldstein’s blog for an idea of how Obama’s budget distributes the money within the agency.

Tags: Obama budget, US FDA