House, Senate release FDA FY15 funding bills

The U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee and U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee released respective FY15 appropriations bills for agriculture, rural development and FDA that would set FDA's base appropriations -- or taxpayer funding -- at roughly FY14 levels. The agency's FY14 budget was $4.4 billion, including $2.6 billion in base appropriations.

The House bill would allocate about $4.5 billion in total to FDA in FY15, including $2.6 billion in base appropriations and about $1.9 billion in user fees. The Senate bill would also set FDA's FY15 base appropriations at $2.6 billion; the bill does not include a total FY15 funding level for the agency. ...