The FDA joins the USDA in expressing concerns about how the looming so-called sequestration budget cuts will impact food safety. The FDA estimated the cuts will force the agency to reduce inspectors by 2,100, even as the Food Safety Modernization Act requires the agency to increase total inspections year-over-year. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Margaret Hamburg said,
"We're going to be struggling with how to really grapple with the cuts of sequestration ... clearly we will be able to provide less of the oversight functions and we won't be able to broaden our reach to new facilities either, so inevitably that increases risk."