A week after promising non-military government austerity in his State of the Union address, President Obama proposes a second successive record annual hike in FDA funding—up 23% on top of his 19% boost last year—to include new product safety programs and user fees.

The $4.03 billion request includes $601 million in increased user fees and $146 million extra from appropriated congressional funding—a ratio that drew immediate criticism from the Alliance for Stronger FDA, which wants more taxpayer funding of the agency, and less dependency on industry. It said the budget authority request “will sustain FDA’s current programming and personnel in FY 2011. It will not enable FDA to add necessary new programs or personnel.”

Obama’s proposal would add $100 million for a “Protecting Patients Initiative” to modernize FDA’s approach to supply chain safety for medical products and postmarketing surveillance.

Import safety would get $11 million from the budget proposal to launch an electronic drug registration and listing system.