Project BioShield Act of 2004
Latest action. Became public lawWhat a bill becomes when enacted, numbered by Congress and order of enactment: Public Law 119-4 is the 4th law of the 119th Congress.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) No: 108-276.
(This measure has not been amended since it was passed by the Senate on May 19, 2004. The summary of that version is repeated here.)
Project BioShield Act of 2004 - (Sec. 2) Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services (the Secretary) to: (1) conduct and support research and development activities regarding qualified countermeasures (a drug, biological product, or device to treat, identify, or prevent harm from any biological, chemical, radiological, or nuclear agent that may cause a public health emergency affecting national security), including by entering into interagency agreements for research and development; and (2) provide that biocontaminant laboratories and specialized research facilities under such agreements shall be available to the Secretary to respond to public health emergencies affecting national security.
Allows the Secretary to expedite procurement to respond to pressing research and development needs by: (1) using simplified procurement procedures for products and services that cost more than the simplified acquisition threshold; (2) allowing other than full and open competition in certain instances; (3) increasing the micropurchase threshold to allow the Secretary to use those procedures; and (4) limiting review of the Secretary's procurement decisions.
Allows the Secretary to employ other procedures to respond to pressing qualified countermeasure research and development needs, including expediting peer review procedures in certain instances, contracting with experts or consultants, and appointing professional and technical employees to positions at the National Institutes of Health.
Requires that appropriate internal controls be instituted for the authority given to the Secretary under this section.
Amends the Public Health Service Act to allow the Director of the National Institutes of Health to act through the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) to provide grants for the modernization and construction of biomedical and behavioral research facilities. Increases the Federal share of such NIAID-funded projects.
Authorizes appropriations for the National Vaccine Program for FY 2004 and 2005.
The summary continues for 15 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 "Public Law" stage on July 21, 2004. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
This bill has been enacted. It is law.
The record's latest action, on July 21, 2004: Became Public Law No: 108-276.
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?
Judd Gregg (R-NH) introduced it on March 11, 2003, and 11 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 11 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.
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
- SenatePassed
- HousePassed
- PresidentSigned into law