FDA Heads Back to Work, for Now

After a three-day government shutdown due to a budget stalemate in Congress, FDA and other government employees resumed work on Jan. 23, 2018. On Monday, Jan. 22, approximately 40% of the FDA staff was furloughed due to the lack of funding for operations.

On Jan. 22, Congress approved, and President Trump signed, a continuing resolution that will fund the government through Feb. 8, 2018. Congress also funded the Children’s Health Insurance Program for six years and delayed taxes on medical device sales.

The funding extension was enacted after Senate leadership agreed to address the future of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, a program for people brought to the United States as minors, that is central to contentious debate to the nation’s immigration policy.

The Congress and the administration have three weeks to agree on funding for the government for the 2018 fiscal year, and to discuss DACA.