Changes at the FDA?

I just finished my torts course with a short discussion of the issue of preemption as it relates to the FDA. I mentioned that the Obama administration recently withdrew the government's brief in Colaccico v Apotex, a case about whether the FDA's attempt to impose preemption through comments not included as part of its regulations themselves. I suggested this was a sign that the Obama administration would move away from the Bush era views. More recently, according to a story published by Reuters, President Barack Obama proposed a 19 percent hike in the Food and Drug Administration's budget to strengthen inspections and increase the number of generic drugs on the U.S. market. (Story here.) These are all good news for consumers. However, we should not expect a lot of change -at least not so quickly. Today, Forbes.com published a story that argues that the FDA “is still doing business as usual." The story is avaiable here.