Project BioShield Act of 2003
Latest action. Read the second time. 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. 265.
Project BioShield Act of 2003 - Amends the Public Health Service Act regarding preparations for public health emergencies affecting national security, including a bioterrorist attack.
Grants the Secretary of Health and Human Services (Secretary), through the National Institutes of Health (NIH), certain authority with respect to the research and development of qualified biomedical countermeasures, including: (1) expedited procurement authority; (2) expedited peer authority; and (3) authority for personal services contracts.
Directs: (1) the Secretary of Homeland Security to assess current and emerging chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear threats, and determine which present a material risk to the United States; and (2) the Secretary to assess the public health consequences of such threats, and the availability and appropriateness of countermeasures. Authorizes the Secretaries to jointly propose to the President appropriate countermeasures and procurement. Directs the Secretaries, upon presidential approval, to procure the necessary countermeasures for stockpiling.
Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to allow the Secretary to declare a national emergency under specified conditions and authorize the release into interstate commerce of a drug or device intended for use in an emergency. Directs the Secretary, as feasible, to: (1) impose requirements on such authorization, including emergency product labeling and ensuring that health care professionals administering the product and persons to whom the product is administered are informed about benefits, risks, and alternatives; and (2) periodically review, or revoke as circumstances warrant, an authorization. Provides civil monetary penalties for violations of such provisions. Allows the President, under specified circumstances involving the Armed Forces, to waive the requirement that individuals be allowed to refuse administration of a countermeasure.
Amends the Social Security Act to revise the Secretary's authority to waive specified requirements during a national emergency.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on July 30, 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 September 2, 2003: Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 265.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- 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?
Judd Gregg (R-NH) introduced it on July 30, 2003, and 1 member has since signed on as a cosponsor.
They are 1 Democrat.
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 July 30, 2003, 8490 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 8456 days ago, on September 2, 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
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers