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FY 2007 Table of Contents

Cost of Living Pay Increase   

+$20,267,000

What is the purpose of this Initiative?

This initiative will provide the necessary cost of living increases for agency personnel to enable FDA to continue to transform the healthcare system and maintain FDA's ability to fulfill its public health mission.

What is the problem we are trying to solve?

The public trusts FDA to ensure that food on the family table will be safe and wholesome, that new medical products, drugs, biological products, medical devices, and radiological products are available in a timely manner with demonstrated benefits that outweigh risks, and that product information is useful and understandable.

FDA's personnel are essential to achieve these goals.  Because of its product review, inspection, enforcement, and education focus, FDA is more people-intensive than many government agencies, with payroll accounting for more than 60 percent of its total budget.  In our field operations, the payroll ratio is even more dramatic.  More than 80 percent of the field budget funds payroll costs, and these employees are dedicated to "front line" efforts, such as inspections for food safety, BSE and FDA-regulated products, coordination with states, and cooperative education programs.

The $20,267,000 reflects a pay increase of 2.2 percent that will help FDA sustain its current programs, such as:

• Increasing the availability of counterterrorism tools and accelerating the availability of medical products (drugs, devices, vaccines).
• Providing support to the CDC to manage the quantity and quality of stockpiled drugs and vaccines.
• Maintaining the ability to assure the safety of regulated products, inspecting and investigating domestic and foreign manufacturers, and participating in Mutual Recognition Agreements with countries to establish global standards for foods and pharmaceuticals.
• Supporting the application review of human drugs and biological products to meet promised performance commitments.   
• Maintaining preparedness and support for emergency operations in response to natural or man-made events, and providing appropriate public health support to other Federal agencies, state and local governments, and other entities.
• Achieving the Agency's regulatory mandate to protect the public health.  Achieving this mandate is an inherently governmental function.
• Maintaining inspectional responsibilities that require hands-on coverage domestically and internationally.
• Supporting FDA's product review functions, which require numerous interdependent specialists in product areas who interact with industry on a regular basis.
• Continuing regulatory responsibilities, which require staff to monitor the entire life cycle of all FDA-regulated products.  For example, our regulatory responsibility for human drug products includes monitoring clinical trials, performing review of drug applications, reviewing drug promotion and advertising materials, and monitoring drug product safety after products reaches the market. 

How does this Initiative Support Secretary Leavitt's 500 Day Plan?

FDA contributes to three Secretarial goals:  Transforming Healthcare, Advancing Medical Research, and Securing the Homeland.  These goals promise to significantly improve the Nation's public health.  The cost of living increase will enable FDA to continue its sustained progress in achieving these important goals.  Examples of FDA's progress include:

• Supporting surveillance systems to enhance patient safety, counterterrorism, food defense, the new Unified Financial Management System, and other Presidential Management Agenda items.
• Maintaining the capability to respond to emergencies such as terrorist attacks or outbreaks of BSE.
• Maintaining effort related to the Obesity Initiative.
• Ensuring coverage of inspections at the borders.
• Sampling and inspecting foods including dietary supplements, animal drugs, medical devices, and radiological products.
• Maintaining inspections in FDA's radiological health program that currently covers only five percent of all x-ray, sunlamp, and laser products, and tests only one percent of all other radiation products.

Why should we invest in this important activity for the health of Americans?

FDA has instituted strategies to prepare the next generation of agency leaders, to employ workplace policies providing flexibility to employees in managing career and family, and to train and develop the regulatory and scientific expertise needed to perform mission-critical work.  

With the coming wave of retirements, FDA is using various leadership and succession planning initiatives, such as the FDA Leadership Program, DHHS Emerging Leaders Program, and the Presidential Management Fellows Program, to create opportunities for mid-career and entry-level personnel.

Even with these innovative human resource strategies, the cost of living pay initiative is necessary for FDA to ensure stability in its workforce environment.  One consequence of not receiving that support would weaken the public trust in FDA's ability to carry out its mission.   

In 2006, FDA is celebrating 100 years of service to the Nation.  During this century of service, the American public has become increasingly confidence in FDA's ability to ensure the integrity of the food supply, medical products, and other regulated products.  For the public, that assurance translates into knowing that FDA is performing its mission - protecting and promoting the public health. 

FY 2007 Table of Contents

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