VotedBy VotedBy ⌕
Election Day · Tue, Nov 3See how your members of Congress voted →

S. 2055 · 114th Congress

Medical Countermeasure Innovation Act of 2015

Key: what the circles and colors mean

Each circle is a bill. The ring fills as it moves through Congress:

IntroducedPassed one chamberPassed both chambersBecame law (gold)Resolution agreed to (full, dark)Failed or vetoed (gray)

Under the number: the Yea · Nay count of its final (or latest) recorded vote. On a member's page, the small badge is how that member voted: Y Yea / Aye, N Nay / No, P Present, – Not voting.

Gold and violet are only for Yea and Nay; they never mean a party. A member's party is the letter on their photo.

Never voted on. It didn't reach a floor vote before the 114th Congress ended, so it expired. A bill has to be introduced again to be considered in a new Congress.

RBR BurrSponsor
4 cosponsors · 1 D, 3 R

1 signed on when it was introduced; the rest joined later. Cosponsors who withdrew aren't shown.

What it does: CRS summary · Reported to Senate with amendment(s) · Mar 14, 2016

Medical Countermeasure Innovation Act of 2016

(Sec. 2) This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to ensure the issuance of timely and accurate guidelines regarding the use of medical products for countering public health emergencies or material threats. HHS must report on funding for procurement of medical countermeasures when available funds are below a specified amount.

(Sec. 3) The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority's (BARDA's) contracting authority for procurement of medical countermeasures under Project BioShield is codified.

(Sec. 4) The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response must annually publish its budget plan for medical countermeasures.

(Sec. 5) BARDA may enter an agreement with an independent, nongovernmental nonprofit to foster and accelerate the development and innovation of medical countermeasures and related technologies. BARDA must direct and oversee the nonprofit's work and ensure transparency and accountability.

(Sec. 6) BARDA's procurement of medical countermeasures no longer requires Presidential approval or an agreement between HHS and the Department of Homeland Security.

(Sec. 7) This bill amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to require the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to award, upon approval, a priority review voucher to the sponsor of a drug or biological product that: (1) is a significant improvement in the prevention, diagnosis, or treatment of a serious condition; and (2) can be used as a medical countermeasure to a material threat. The transferable voucher entitles the holder to have an application for a new medication acted upon by the FDA within six months.

The sponsor of a medication that is subject to a voucher must pay a user fee based on the FDA's cost for the priority review process.

The FDA must publish a notice each time it issues a voucher or a voucher is used.

(Sec. 8) The Government Accountability Office must report on the effectiveness of this priority review voucher program in providing incentives for the development of material threat medical countermeasures.

Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov

About this bill and sources

Official title: Medical Countermeasure Innovation Act of 2016

Latest action (Mar 14, 2016): Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 388.

Policy area: Health · Origin: Senate · Introduced: Sep 17, 2015

Official page on Congress.gov · Bill text (GovInfo) · Status record (XML)

No recorded floor vote found.