Cliff Stearns: “Let me just briefly say, this is a very simple amendment. It takes the Center for Tobacco Products back to the 2009…”

“Let me just briefly say, this is a very simple amendment. It takes the Center for Tobacco Products back to the 2009 level. Now all of you should realize, this agency never existed in 2006. There have been prodigious increases in this center. We are taking the funding for this Center for Tobacco Products back to the 2009 level. Now under the President's plan, the budget for the FDA's Center for Tobacco Products has simply exploded. The administration's budget justification to Congress states, ``FDA is experiencing an unprecedented and dramatic surge in staffing and facility needs that will cause FDA facility requirements to exceed the scope of the 2009 master plan.'' {time} 1450 I understand that. The FDA is expanding, does good work. I'm not criticizing it. But one area of the FDA's budget that is growing way too fast under this administration's budget is the brand-new Center for Tobacco Products. Again, this agency, this center did not exist in 2006. In the FY 2012 Agriculture appropriations legislation reported by the committee, it continues the trend of major discretionary spending reduction sought by the Republican majority. This same fiscal restraint should be applied to the Center for Tobacco Products. We're talking about appropriation levels going back to 2006, 2009, 2010. So all I'm asking is let's move this back to 2009.…”