DeLauro Responds to Report on FDA's Office of Generic Drugs

Washington, DC—Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-3), Chairwoman of the FDA and Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, released the following statement in response to a Wall Street Journal report on potential misuse of funds by the FDA's Office of Generic Drugs:

"The Office of Generic Drugs is a critical gatekeeper of the availability of safe and affordable generic drugs to the American consumers. And while I support employee development and having the best possible staff, it is troubling that an agency would use their limited funds for anything other than addressing their primary goal, protecting the American public. Even in these difficult economic times, I have worked to ensure a funding increase for the Office of Generic Drugs in the Subcommittee mark and I am concerned about how those funds have been used. The Office of Generic Drugs should use limited funds to directly address the enormous application backlog rather than duplicative contracts."