The US Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) would see an appropriation of $329 million—a 4.8% increase over current levels—in the Obama administration’s proposed 2012 budget. Total CDRH funding would total $395 million, with $66 million from industry user fees, if the administration has its druthers, according to The Gray Sheet .

This is the second year in a row in which the White House has sought to fund the CDRH’s national device registry effort, this time to the tune of $4 million. The budget proposal also allocates $8.4 million to the CDRH for a medical countermeasures program to beef up the FDA’s response capabilities for new diseases as well as chemical and biological threats; $1.5 million to improve imported device safety; $1.7 million for increased medical device manufacturing inspections; and $1.2 million for staff training and research targeting nanotechnology. In addition, the CDRH would be allotted $49 million to promote innovation efforts and improve regulatory science standards. Of course, Congressional Republicans have other ideas when it comes to funding government agencies; the US House of Representatives has proposed cutting $241 million from the FDA’s overall budget. The two approaches will have to be reconciled before the FDA and CDRH’s 2012 funding will be finalized.