FDA Details Global Safety Plan, But Will It Get Funded?
By: Becky Bracken
Published: June 24, 2011

The number of FDA-regulated imports has grown four times since 2000. And this week, the FDA released a 36-page report that outlines a plan to track all of those imports on a global scale. But its not going to be cheap. And the FDA is already staring down the barrel at at $265 million budget cut from Congress.  
And if you're still not sure about how worthwile FDA funding is, get a load of these statistics: 

-Two-thirds of all fruits and vegetables consumed in the U.S comes from another country. 
-80 percent of all seafood consumed in the U.S is imported from another country. 
-Half of all medical devices are imported. 
-80 percent of the ingredients in drugs come from another country. 

The report explains how the FDA needs to update its technological capacity to keep up with global imports, and acknowledges, "without a substantial increase in resources or a complete overhaul in the way it operates."
So what do you think? Should Congress provide additional funding for the FDA? Or should a complete overhaul of the department come first?