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Washington, D.C.—While welcoming the action of a key House appropriations subcommittee in providing $299 million in fiscal 2010 funding for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the leader of the union representing FDA employees said that given the agency’s expanding responsibilities, additional resources will clearly be necessary.

“I applaud President Obama and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) for recognizing the need for additional resources for this vital agency, particularly with the current economic situation and demands on the federal budget,” said President Colleen M. Kelley of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU). Rep. DeLauro is chair of the Appropriations subcommittee with jurisdiction over the FDA.

“This 15 percent increase in funding will cover some growth in existing FDA responsibilities and will allow some work on backlogged items,” President Kelley said, “but I believe additional funding is needed, and NTEU will look for opportunities to achieve that goal.”

Earlier this week, the Health Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee approved a food safety bill, which will impart additional responsibilities to the FDA as will the measure which passed both the House and Senate in somewhat different versions giving the agency authority to regulate tobacco. The bills are designed so that the new authorities are funded by user fees.

Kelley said NTEU will be monitoring the situation to ensure that projected user fees generate the revenue necessary for the actual costs of the duties required by the new regulatory authority.

NTEU worked successfully in concert with an array of groups interested in public health and food safety issues in the appropriations process for the current fiscal year, securing additional FDA resources and staffing.

“Ensuring that the FDA has sufficient funding and personnel is particularly important right now,” President Kelley said, noting the multiple incidents of widespread food-borne illnesses over the past two years, along with issues connected to various imported products, including toys.

NTEU is the largest independent federal union, representing 150,000 employees in 31 agencies and departments, including some 5,000 in the FDA.