Project BioShield Act of 2003
Latest action. Received in the Senate. Read twice. Placed on Senate legislative calendarThe list of measures reported out of committee and eligible for floor action. Being on the calendar is not a promise of a vote.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) under General Orders. Calendar No. 214.
Project BioShield Act of 2003 - (Sec. 2) Amends the Public Health Service Act regarding preparations for public health emergencies affecting national security, including a bioterrorist attack.
Makes biocontainment laboratories and specialized research facilities available as needed to the Secretary of Health and Human Services (the Secretary) in public health emergencies affecting national security if the owners of such a facility have entered into a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement with the Secretary under the provisions of this Act pertaining to biomedical countermeasure research and development. Grants the Secretary certain authority with respect to the research and development of qualified countermeasures, including: (1) expedited procurement authority; (2) expedited peer review authority; (3) authority for personal services contracts; and (4) streamlined personnel authority. Defines a qualified countermeasure as a priority countermeasure that affects national security. (Sec. 3) Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security, in coordination with the Secretary and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, to maintain a stockpile of drugs, vaccines (including smallpox vaccine), and other supplies to provide for the emergency health security of the United States in the event of a bioterrorist attack or other public health emergency. Directs the Secretary to: (1) review and revise the contents of the stockpile on a regular basis; (2) award grants to ensure that the stockpile contains an adequate amount of smallpox vaccine; and (3) assess, on an ongoing basis, the potential public health consequences from the use of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear agents and determine the agents for which countermeasures are necessary. Permits the Secretary and the Secretary of Homeland Security to jointly submit to the President proposals for the development of needed security countermeasures. Defines security countermeasures as priority countermeasures against a chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear agent that meet one of certain criteria (including having been approved or cleared under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act as countermeasures against a chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear agent). Amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to authorize appropriations for: (1) the procurement of security countermeasures; (2) the carrying out of terror threat assessment responsibilities; and (3) the acquisition and deployment of secure intelligence sharing facilities.
The summary continues for 1 more paragraph. 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 "Passed House amended" stage on July 16, 2003. 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 July 17, 2003: Received in the Senate. Read twice. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 214.
- 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 108th Congress (2003-04), 498 of the 8,623 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 5.8 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?
W. TAUZIN (R-LA) introduced it on May 15, 2003, and 15 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 5 Democrats, 10 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 May 15, 2003, 8566 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 8503 days ago, on July 17, 2003.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 108th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2005 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