FDA Is Staring at Another Shutdown: What Can We Expect?

A government shutdown Dec. 21 would clip the FDA’s wings considerably, leaving security and public health lab workers on the clock but cutting back on most regulatory or policy-focused employees.

The Food and Drug Administration said last week it would “continue vital activities,” while stopping routine inspections of pharmaceutical and food manufacturing plants. The agency didn’t provide specifics to Bloomberg Law.

This would be the second January in a row the FDA would be required to partially shut down as a result of a congressional stalemate. Last year’s two-day shutdown pushed the agency to furlough almost half of its staff; ...