Editorials Address Recent Request by FDA Commissioner for Additional Funds
Two newspapers on Monday published editorials that address a May 5 letter to Congress in which FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach requested an additional $275 million in funds for the agency to ensure the safety of imported food, prescription drugs and medical devices. Summaries appear below.
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New York Times: "Prodded by Congress," FDA "finally acknowledged that it needs a lot more money than the Bush administration has been willing to give it," and, for the "sake of American consumers, Congress would be wise to come up with the additional funds," a Times editorial states. According to the editorial, FDA "has been overwhelmed by a daunting array of tasks -- and a flood of imported products -- that have expanded much faster than the agency's budget and staff." The "Bush administration has been reluctant to commit additional financing" to FDA, which previously "rebuffed requests from Democrats and Republicans in Congress to spell out how much more they needed," the editorial states. However, according to the editorial, von Eschenbach "finally saw the light." The editorial states, "Surely most Americans would want adequate financing for the agency they depend on to keep their food and drugs safe," adding, "Few priorities seem more important" (New York Times, 5/19).
- Washington Post: "Congress was eager to give" FDA funds to "improve its overseas monitoring," but "top officials repeatedly refused to ask for the needed funds" until von Eschenbach sent the letter, according to the Post editorial. The editorial states that a letter from Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) "finally liberated" von Eschenbach "from his monetary muteness" by "asking the FDA commissioner for his 'professional judgment'" about whether the agency required additional funds. The letter "freed [von Eschenbach] from having to worry about compromising the established budget process or competing with the priorities of the agency, the president or his advisers," the editorial states. Congress should provide FDA with the funds, which would "bring the agency closer to getting the tools it needs," the editorial concludes (Washington Post, 5/19).
