Statement
“Good morning Chairman Hoeven, Ranking Member Merkley, and Members of the Subcommittee. Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today to discuss the President’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 Budget request for the FDA.”
“This is the last time I’ll appear before this subcommittee in my current role, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to work with you. I am proud of what we accomplished together, to advance the public health mission of the FDA over the past two years, and I am thankful for your willingness to support us in moments of challenge and opportunity.”
“We’re especially grateful for the funding increases the subcommittee provided for FDA in Fiscal Year 2019. The 2019 Budget includes one of the most substantial increases for the FDA in recent years. The new funding will help the agency modernize our approach to medical product manufacturing and ensure the quality of compounded drugs. You’ve provided key support for us to advance competition through generic drugs, and to use real world evidence to improve our understanding of the benefits and risks of drugs and devices, across the product lifecycle. We appreciate your support for our efforts to keep pace with rapidly evolving digital health technologies, modernize our information technology systems, and protect the safety of the nation’s food supply. I’m personally grateful for the opportunity to engage with all of you directly, and with your staff, in advancing these and many other important goals.”
“The funding requested in the President’s FY 2020 Budget will allow the agency to advance our work to ensure the safety of the food and medical products consumers use every day. We’re also seeking new funds to promote competition to bring better and more affordable products to market, support the development of innovative medical products to bring new cures to patients, further modernize our food safety system, strengthen our response capabilities when there’s an outbreak of foodborne illness, and continue to implement the 21st Century Cures Act.”
“Today I want to focus on one of my highest priorities since taking my role two years ago – the FDA’s work to combat the opioid crisis. This is the biggest public health crisis facing the agency, and remains one of the biggest crises facing our nation. The contours of this crisis are changing from a crisis that was formed largely in the medical setting, often through prescription drugs that were prescribed lawfully but far too loosely; to a crisis that increasingly involves the use of illicit drugs like super-potent fentanyls. But the fact remains that we still need to take more steps to rationalize prescribing, and too many prescriptions are still being written, and they’re being prescribed for durations of use that are too long for the underlying indication.”
“At the FDA, we’re continuing to take new and aggressive steps to combat this crisis. Even as we see some encouraging trends as prescribing declines, we can’t lose our focus. We’re very far away from fully addressing this crisis. It was a crisis formed over many years, and through many missteps or missed opportunities. To reverse these trends, we need a comprehensive approach. This crisis will remain our highest priority for many years to come.”
“The 2020 Budget requests $55 million to continue supporting the four main areas of the agency’s work…”
Source: Remarks from FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D., as prepared for testimony before a U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Appropriations on FDA’s Fiscal Year 2020 budget – March 28, 2019. FDA.
