On Wednesday, the first day of the new federal fiscal year, 16 public health organizations wrote to the heads of the House and Senate Appropriations committees urging Congress to add $50 million to the Food and Drug Administration’s budget so the agency can fully implement the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). “FDA estimates that it needs an additional $300 million over the next two to three years to fully implement FSMA,” wrote the organizations, which include the Pew Charitable Trusts, the American Public Health Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Infectious Diseases Society of America. “As you complete your work on Agriculture Appropriations legislation for FY2015, we strongly urge you to more robustly fund this vital national priority by providing at least $50 million in additional resources for the FDA’s efforts to implement FSMA in the year ahead,” they stated. In August, Representatives Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Sam Farr (D-CA) called on the Office of Management and Budget and the Department of Health and Human Services to request “much higher budget authority” for FSMA implementation in the president’s FY 2016 budget rather than continuing to consider user fees as a funding source. Congress passed a Continuing Resolution in September that funds the federal government at current levels until Dec. 11.