Congress passes budget increase for FDA

WASHINGTON The proposed budget for the Food and Drug Administration will soon see more funds headed its way after the Senate and the House of Representatives passed a budget resolution for a $71 million increase in the agency’s 2009 budget.

The Senate voted 51-44 for the increase, which was added in by Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. The House narrowly passed the resolution with a vote of 212-207.

The two resolutions, though, must be compared and worked on by a conference committee, which has not yet been scheduled to meet.

The total increase for the FDA’s budget is $375 million over the 2008 budget.