Senate Hearing on FDA’s 2009 Budget

The Senate Appropriations Committee is holding a hearing today on the FDA’s fiscal year 2009 budget.  As Business Week (via AP) reports,

FDA’s advisers recommended boosting the agency’s budget by $375 million in the next fiscal year, and the Senate recently passed a resolution supporting such an increase. The White House proposed a $54 million increase in its budget.

Democratic Sen. Herb Kohl, who chairs the subcommittee that sets FDA’s budget, is expected to question whether the agency’s plan to hire 200 additional safety inspectors is enough.

In related news, the FDA has linked certain brands of recalled puffed rice and puffed wheat cereal to salmonella outbreaks in thirteen states.

– SBS