President Barack Obama has asked for a 17 percent hike in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's budget. However, much of this planned increase would come from businesses, not tax dollars. In fact, almost half of the FDA's proposed $4.5 billion budget would come from fees paid by companies that manufacture drugs and medical devices.
In the past five years, about a third of the FDA's funding has come from company fees. Under the new proposal, the amount would increase to 45 percent. The products that the FDA regulates make up about a quarter of the U.S. economy.
Reuters reports:
“Obama's plan must be approved by Congress, where it could it could be stalled by wrangling over spending cuts and tax hikes.”