The program will be up for renewal by the Congress this year, and will be required to undergo a vote in order to continue. The program which was started in 1992, has helped to decrease the time for a drug to receive approval by allowing the FDA enough funding to hire more staff.

Reported by Reuters, FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach said the funding does not affect how the FDA approves medication. "No one is buying the FDA," von Eschenbach said at a meeting to gather public input on the program. "The FDA knows that our actions and our decisions require adequate resources," he added. "We are not focused on where the resources come from, but only the purpose for which those resources are in fact necessary - to protect and promote the health of the public we serve."

Critics of the program state that the money received by the FDA affects the way scientist and decision makers in the FDA judge the effectiveness and safety of medication under review. A consumer group told Reuters that the fees were having a ?corrupting influence? compromising the safety of American consumers.

"Many (FDA employees) are feeling, if not bought, pressured" by the industry, William Vaughn, senior policy analyst for Consumers Union told Reuters.

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