Preparedness Bill Draft Released as Negotiations Continue

With a looming deadline of September 30 for reauthorization, lawmakers in both parties are seeking input on two remaining legislative proposals.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee has unveiled a bipartisan draft of a preparedness bill aimed at renewing a comprehensive emergency preparedness bill

However, negotiations in the House Energy and Commerce Committee have hit an impasse due to disagreements over prescription drug shortages. The Senate draft encompasses various provisions, including the initiation of pilot programs for data sharing and state medical stockpiles. It aims to enhance wastewater detection capabilities and promote research on viral pathogen treatments. Notably, Chairman Bernie Sanders and ranking member Bill Cassidy have not yet reached a consensus on separate elements they each introduced.

Sanders is soliciting feedback on a clause that would compel drug companies to offer the United States the lowest price offered to other G7 countries if they receive support from the Prevention or the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority.

Cassidy is seeking input on a provision to renew and expand the Food and Drug Administration’s priority review voucher program

This preparedness bill program grants priority vouchers to manufacturers of medical countermeasures, allowing them to expedite their applications. Vouchers can be redeemed later or sold to other companies.

Sanders’s preparedness bill proposal for the “most favored nations” clause is expected to further strain negotiations on the preparedness bill. A spokesperson for Chairman Sanders emphasized his focus on significantly lowering prescription drug prices for the American people. The spokesperson argued that if taxpayers contribute to the development of a drug, they should not have to pay the highest prices in the world for it.

While former President Trump recently reintroduced the idea during his preparedness bill campaign, it lacks support from the GOP, and Trump’s formal proposal was only made in his final days in office. The proposal was ultimately rejected due to the administration’s failure to adhere to proper notice-and-comment protocol.

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