Group shows support for FDA with boost to budget

WASHINGTON Despite anxieties about plans to spend up to $700 billion to bail out banks, the Food and Drug Administration is getting a $300 million boost to its budget for fiscal year 2009.

The Alliance for a Stronger FDA announced its support Monday for a continuing resolution in Congress that will allow the FDA to spend at a higher rate next year than it could this year. The House passed the resolution Wednesday, and the Senate passed it Saturday.

“Our alliance has advocated for funding for FDA that will enable it to retain its standing as the ‘gold standard’ of consumer protection and to regain the confidence of the American public,” alliance president Wayne Pines said in a statement.