> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.fdaweb.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Rep. Paulsen Calls for FDA Reforms
- URL: https://www.fdaweb.com/rep-paulsen-calls-for-fda-reforms/
- Published: 2017-09-18T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-14T22:50:58.000Z
- Author: David McFarland
- Tags: FDA Policy/General, #legacy-id-D5139649

Rep. **Erik Paulsen** (R-MN) believes that reforming FDA is long overdue. Writing in a *The Hill* [opinion piece](http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/healthcare/350581-its-past-time-to-modernize-the-fda?ref=fdaweb.com), the congressman says the agency’s regulatory responsibilities have grown in recent decades and it is suffering from a “top-heavy bureaucracy and an increasingly outdated regulatory model. And, given its scope, it is critical that the FDA operates as efficiently and effectively as possible. Moreover, making key changes at the FDA will allow us to at least make incremental improvements within our health care system.”

At the top of his reform list is the product approval process and speed. Paulsen calls for FDA to adopt a “policy of reciprocity approval with ‘A-list’ foreign counterparts.” He says instead of reinventing the wheel for each drug review, the agency could piggyback on certain foreign regulators’ review processes if the product has already been approved abroad. Paulsen also urges more accelerated approvals based on relying on surrogate endpoints.

Additionally, Paulsen calls for increased funding for NIH-controlled research. “Like many of my colleagues, I strongly disagreed with the administration’s proposed funding cuts to the National Institute of Health earlier this year,” he writes. “As the nation’s premier funder of biomedical research, the NIH is an important tool in keeping our health care system at the forefront of health care innovation.”