The election of Barack Obama and Democratic gains in Congress might get the Food and Drug Administration out of the stone age. Democrats in Congress have spent the past year battling with the Bush administration for FDA budget increases. The agency simply doesn’t have the staff scientists, modern technology or number of inspectors needed to police the global marketplace.

The Wall Street Journal’s Alicia Mundy reports that the next FDA could have finally have sufficient funding. Apparently, though, Congressional Democrats are trying to emphasize the need for the agency to regulate tobacco products. This makes some sense, though it would be nice to first see what a fully funded FDA could do with food and drugs.-MB

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