Food Safety Law’s Funding Is Far Below Estimated Requirement

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/08/us/food-safety-laws-funding-is-far-below-estimated-requirement.html?smid=fb-nytimes&bicmst=1409232722000&bicmet=1419773522000&bicmp=AD&smtyp=aut&bicmlukp=WT.mc_id&_r=0

By RON NIXONAPRIL 7, 2015

After thousands of people were sickened by tainted eggs, peanut butter and spinach, Congress passed a sweeping food safety law in 2010 that gave the Food and Drug Administration new powers to prevent additional outbreaks. But lawmakers have not provided enough money for the mission.

The Congressional Budget Office said the F.D.A. would need a total of $580 million from 2011 to 2015 to carry out the changes required by the Food Safety Modernization Act. So far, Congress has appropriated less than half of that amount, even as the agency is moving to issue crucial rules under the law this year.

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In its previous five budget requests, the F.D.A. proposed user fees that would cover the bulk of the cost for carrying out the food safety law. Last year, for example, it asked for $263 million for the law, with about $229 million coming from fees on food companies.

But lawmakers soundly rejected those proposals after lobbying by the food industry.

Ms. DeLauro helped write a letter last year asking the administration to request the necessary funding through a federal appropriation. “User fees are a nonstarter,” she said in an interview. “They are just not going to get through Congress.”

After receiving an appropriation of $27.5 million for the law in the current fiscal year, the F.D.A. asked Congress to allocate $109.5 million for the coming year. But it remains to be seen if the Republican-led Congress, given the mood for cutting spending, will approve the higher amount. Even if the agency receives it, the figure would be just half of what the budget office says is necessary.

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According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 128,000 people are hospitalized each year with food-related illnesses, and 3,000 die. The cost of treatment and lost income total $15 billion a year or more, according to data from the Agriculture Department.

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