FDA funding increase on hold

The agency and most of the federal government continue to operate at fiscal 2008 spending levels following the Senate's inability to approve an omnibus appropriations measure. The House on Feb. 25 adopted the $410 billion FY '09 appropriations package, which includes nine spending bills and a 19 percent increase in FDA money (1"The Pink Sheet" DAILY, Feb. 23, 2009). But Republicans opposed the bill's high price tag and have tied up the measure in the Senate. Additional Republican amendments are scheduled for March 9 and "we are hoping for a final vote" March 10, according to a spokesman for Senate Appropriations Chair Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii. In the meantime, affected agencies are covered by a continuing resolution that expires March 11