If Congress approves, the number of domestic food safety inspections made next year would fall by 5%, foreign drug plant inspections would drop 5.8% and checks on the nation's blood banks would be cut 4.7%, compared with estimated 2005 inspections.

The reductions are included in a $1.9 billion budget that gives the agency an overall 4.5% increase. Increases are earmarked for several projects, including expansion of a network of labs to analyze food for bioterror agents and increasing staffing in the office that monitors the safety of prescription drugs once they hit the market.

The Food and Drug Administration announced on Tuesday it will create an independent drug safety oversight board. ...

The board will include representatives from the FDA and medical experts from other agencies like the Veterans Administration.

It is expected to take steps to make the FDA's decision-making process on drugs more open and make sure drugs on the market are as safe as possible.

These will include a new drug safety web page with emerging information on side effects, and safety risks.

One-page information sheets for health care professionals and another for patients also will be made widely available.

Announcing the change, Mike Leavitt, the US House and Human Services Secretary, promised a new "culture of openness."

The FDA already has an Office of Drug Safety but consumer groups and some lawmakers have said it lacks sufficient independence and resources.