WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senators Barbara A. Mikulski and Benjamin L. Cardin (both D-Md.) today urged Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag to fully fund the completion of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) consolidation by providing $400 million in President Obama’s Fiscal Year 2011 budget.

Senator Mikulski, a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, has been a vigorous proponent of the consolidation, fighting for federal funds and authority to move the FDA’s offices and laboratories onto the 130-acre site of the former White Oak Naval Surface Warfare Center in Montgomery County, Maryland. The consolidation will increase operating efficiencies at FDA, greatly improve the agency’s ability to fulfill its public health mission, and bring jobs to Montgomery County and the surrounding area.

“We’re making progress one building at a time. But we’re doing more than building buildings, we’re building America’s future,” Senator Mikulski said. “It’s been a long fight, but we keep moving closer to the finish line, and I will continue to fight for money in the federal check book to keep the project on-time and on-budget. The FDA consolidation at White Oak has been a top priority for the community and a top priority for me because it means economic development for Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties, and jobs for the people of Maryland.”

More than $137 million is included for the consolidation in the Fiscal Year 2010 Financial Services Appropriations Bill, which has been approved by the Appropriations Committee and is awaiting consideration by the full Senate.

Senator Cardin said, “The FDA is our premier government agency for safeguarding the nation’s public health regarding food products, drugs, medical devices and other products that Americans use every day. To carry out its mission, it is critical that we proceed with plans to consolidate the agency into one, modern campus with the most up-to-date scientific equipment that is needed to protect the health and safety of all Americans.”

A pdf of the letter can be found here: http://mikulski.senate.gov/_pdfs/Press/Nov09FDAWhiteOak.pdf.

Text of the letter follows:

Dear Director Orszag:

We write to urge you to support the General Services Administration (GSA) request to fully fund the next phase of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) consolidation at White Oak, Maryland by providing $400 million in the President’s FY 2011 budget.

We understand that approximately $400 million is needed to complete the project’s current master plan, which Congress first appropriated funds for in FY 2000. The FDA’s has long needed a consolidated campus with modern facilities to support the important work of its scientists and policy makers. This need has become even more important in recent years as FDA’s responsibilities in bioterrorism, food safety, and the regulation of drugs and medical devices has continued to expand.

As FDA’s role in advancing the nation’s health grows, its campus must grow as well, and to accommodate the additional construction that is anticipated to be needed, the current phase of construction must be completed as soon as possible.

For example, last June the President signed a bill into law requiring the FDA regulate tobacco products. In response, the FDA plans to establish the Center for Tobacco Products at the White Oak site, and hire some 700 professional staff. Building this new Center will be an important step for improving the nation’s health, but it will be very difficult for GSA to begin budgeting for construction until the current Master Plan is completed.

The sooner FDA can be together on one campus, the better it can protect public health and safety and manage its growth. The consolidation project at White Oak has been on-budget and on-schedule, and a model for energy efficient construction. White Oak project leaders have also benefitted from extensive community involvement, which has helped leverage resources from the surrounding area and inspire enthusiasm about the project amongst the area’s residents. For these reasons, we strongly urge you to fully fund the FY 2011 request so the project can continue to a successful completion.