A bill to establish a Federal program to encourage the voluntary donation of pure and safe blood, and to establish a national registry of blood donors.
Latest action. Referred to House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce.
Expresses the findings of Congress that procedures and standards should be established with respect to the operation of all blood banks in the United States. Establishes in the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare a National Blood Bank program. Directs the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to perform specified functions in order to assure an adequate supply of safe blood in the Nation, including to: (1) promulgate regulations for licensing and inspection of blood banks; (2) classify blood banks as either class A blood banks or class B blood banks; (3) take such action as he considers necessary to assure that the distribution and allocation of blood among the different regions of the United States will be accomplished in as efficient a manner as possible; and (4) develop new procedures, materials, and techniques to inform the public of the need to donate blood voluntarily. Requires the Secretary to maintain a registry of all persons who give blood after January 1, 1974, to a licensed blood bank and identify donors on such registry who may have been implicated in the transmission of hepatitis or who should otherwise be disqualified as blood donors. Establishes an Advisory Council to be composed of nine members appointed by the President, which shall make recommendations to the Secretary with respect to (1) long-term policy goals of this Act; (2) the encouragement of blood donation and the motivation, recruitment, and recognition of blood donors; (3) reciprocal transactions between national blood bank systems; and (4) the removal of the cost for purchasing blood from coverage under health insurance plans. Provides that no person other than a blood bank which is classified as a class A blood bank may maintain any program in which individuals deposit blood in advance of their need for blood or pledge to give blood upon request. States that no agency or other instrumentality of the Government of the United States shall contract for or pay for the provision of blood from any person other than a class A blood bank. Provides that any person who willfully violates any provision of this Act shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall, on conviction thereof, be subject to imprisonment for not more than one year, or a fine of not more than $1,000, or both. Authorizes to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on August 2, 1973. 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 August 2, 1973: Referred to House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce.
- 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 93rd Congress (1973-74), 651 of the 23,396 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.8 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?
BERTRAM PODELL (D-NY) introduced it on August 2, 1973. No cosponsors are recorded.
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 August 2, 1973, 19397 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 19397 days ago, on August 2, 1973.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 93rd Congress has not finished by January 3, 1975 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