In Government Shutdown, 41 Percent Of FDA Staff Furloughed

In the days leading up to the partial government shutdown at midnight Friday (Dec. 21), HHS released a contingency staffing plan that showed , out of FDA’s 17,397 staff members, 41 percent or 7,053 employees would be furloughed in the event of a shutdown. Under a lapse in appropriations, FDA’s core emergency response functions, high-risk recall activities, and some user fee-funded work would continue, while some of its “routine regulatory and compliance,” inspection and many research activities would halt, HHS...