Cost of Intervention: Food and Drug Administration

The Acting Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requested a decision on questions raised by a petition filed by Consumers Union. The questions involved the extent of the FDA's legal authority to provide financial assistance to cover the expenses of administrative litigation to certain participants in FDA adjudicatory and rulemaking proceedings. Costs may be reimbursed to otherwise eligible persons, lacking financial resources, who "can reasonably be expected to contribute substantially to a fair determination of" issues before it.