WASHINGTON, Nov. 11, 2015 - The fiscal 2016 omnibus spending bill that lawmakers are now negotiating could include a bigger increase for FDA to enforce new food-safety regulations than appropriators had originally proposed. “I have no doubt that it will take additional dollars at some level,” said Sen. Jerry Moran, chairman of the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee.
State regulators have appealed to the House and Senate Appropriations committees to provide FDA with the full $109.5 million funding increase that the White House requested for fiscal 2016. The appropriations bills drafted earlier this year in the House and Senate would only provide increases of $41.5 million to $45 million.
The additional money is needed to implement a series of new rules that the FDA is finalizing under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). The FDA is expected to roll out a rule this week that includes the first federal regulations for growing and packing fresh produce.
Moran and colleagues who are working on the 2016 omnibus have more to spend on FSMA and other priorities because of the two-year budget agreement that was recently enacted. Moran said he’s also looking at augmenting FSMA funding by moving money around within FDA.
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