Consumer Federation of America today praised members of the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee for their efforts to increase the Food and Drug Administration’s budget. The Subcommittee, led by Chairman Herbert Kohl and Ranking Member Robert Bennett, proposed increasing the FDA’s budget by $186 million, including $48.4 million in new funding for FDA’s food programs.

“We greatly appreciate the efforts of Senators Kohl and Bennett to provide FDA with increased funding that the Agency desperately needs,” said Chris Waldrop, Director of the Food Policy Institute at Consumer Federation of America. “This is a significant step forward in bolstering an Agency that has been under-funded for far too long.”

The Subcommittee’s bill is $122 million above the President’s budget proposal and more than $70 million above the House subcommittee’s proposal.

Recent events, including foodborne illness outbreaks related to fresh spinach and peanut butter and concerns surrounding imported food products, have demonstrated the need to substantially increase funding for FDA.