Biological Implant Tracking and Veteran Safety Act of 2015
Latest action. Forwarded by subcommitteeA smaller panel inside a standing committee with jurisdiction over a slice of its subject matter. Most hearings and the first markup usually happen here.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) to Full Committee in the Nature of a Substitute (Amended) by voice voteA vote decided by which side sounds louder. No individual positions are recorded, so no member can be held to a position afterward.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) .
Biological Implant Tracking and Veteran Safety Act of 2015
Directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to: (1) adopt the unique device identification system developed for medical devices by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), or implement a comparable standard identification system, for identifying biological implants intended for use in medical procedures conducted in VA medical facilities; (2) permit a vendor to use any of the accredited entities identified by the FDA as an issuing agency in adopting or implementing such a system; (3) implement a compatible system for tracking the implants from the human donor or animal source to implantation; and (4) implement inventory controls compatible with such tracking system so that all patients who have received, in a VA medical facility, a biological implant subject to a recall by the FDA can be notified of the recall.
Sets forth requirements for vendors from which the VA may procure biological implants of human origin, and for vendors from which the VA may procure biological implants of non-human origin, including that such a vendor:
uses the standard identification system adopted or implemented by VA under this Act;
is registered as required by FDA procedures;
consents to periodic inspections and audits by the VA regarding the accuracy of records and the handling of products;
agrees to cooperate with all biological implant recalls conducted on the vendor's own initiative, on the initiative of the original product manufacturer used by the vendor, by the request of the FDA, or by a statutory order of the FDA;
agrees to notify the VA of any adverse event report it provides to the FDA, or of any warning letter from the FDA issued to the vendor, by not later than 60 days after the vendor receives such report or warning letter; and
agrees to retain all records associated with the procurement of a biological implant by the VA for at least five years after the date of the procurement.
The summary continues for 2 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on February 20, 2015. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on April 21, 2015: Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee in the Nature of a Substitute (Amended) by Voice Vote .
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 114th Congress (2015-16), 329 of the 10,233 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.2 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
David Roe (R-TN) introduced it on February 20, 2015, and 4 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 4 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on February 20, 2015, 4220 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 4160 days ago, on April 21, 2015.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 114th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2017 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers