BLOCKING Act of 2019
Latest action. Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 24.
Bringing Low-cost Options and Competition while Keeping Incentives for New Generics Act of 2019 or the BLOCKING Act of 2019
This bill modifies provisions related to market exclusivity for a generic drug.
Currently, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) awards 180 days of exclusivity on the market to a first applicant to file a qualifying application for market approval of a generic drug. Generally, this exclusivity period begins upon a first applicant's commercial marketing of the drug.
The bill authorizes the FDA to approve a subsequent generic drug application prior to a first applicant's first date of commercial marketing if (1) the subsequent application is ready for full approval, (2) a first applicant's application has been pending for at least 30 months, and (3) the approval of a first applicant's application is not precluded by patent infringement claims asserted against that first applicant.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Reported to House" stage on May 2, 2019. 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 May 2, 2019: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 24.
- 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 116th Congress (2019-20), 344 of the 14,345 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.4 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?
Kurt Schrader (D-OR) introduced it on January 31, 2019, and 16 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 13 Democrats, 3 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 January 31, 2019, 2779 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 2688 days ago, on May 2, 2019.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 116th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2021 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