HHS LIFTS FDA EMPLOYMENT FREEZE: HIRING OF 500 FTEs

Executive Summary

HHS LIFTS FDA EMPLOYMENT FREEZE: HIRING OF 500 FTEs (full-time equivalents) will proceed this year to implement the agency's prescription drug user fee program, Mammography Quality Standards Act programs, and to improve review times for medical devices. FDA was released from the temporary Public Health Service-wide hiring freeze late on Jan. 7 after HHS, PHS and the Office of Management & Budget determined FTE ceilings for fiscal 1994. FDA, Congress and industry put pressure on HHS to exempt FDA from the hiring ban.