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S. 1781 · 108th CongressIn committee

Pharmaceutical Market Access Act of 2003

Latest action. Referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions by unanimous consentDoing business by universal agreement instead of votes. Most Senate floor action happens this way, which is why a single objecting senator has real power.Read the full definition (opens a new tab). · October 24, 2003

Live record from Congress.gov, updated as the official record changes.
What this bill would do
Official summary · Congressional Research Service

Pharmaceutical Market Access Act of 2003 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to promulgate regulations allowing qualifying individuals to import covered products (in addition to pharmacists and wholesalers, whom current law authorizes to import such products).

Amends provisions pertaining to record keeping regarding imported covered products. States that the Secretary shall not have to store records in cases in which qualifying individuals have imported a covered product.

Amends provisions regarding the testing of imported covered products. Declares that specified tests, including ones involving authenticity and degradation of products, shall not be required unless the importer is a wholesaler. Requires such tests to be conducted by the importer unless a product is a prescription drug subject to the provisions of this Act pertaining to counterfeit-resistant packaging. (Currently either the importer or the manufacturer may conduct such tests).

Eliminates the sunset date current law establishes for the provisions pertaining to the importation of covered products.

Classifies prescription drugs as misbranded if they do not incorporate specified counterfeit-resistant technologies in packaging.

Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on October 23, 2003. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.

Status
Introduced
October 23, 2003
In committee
October 24, 2003
Passed a chamber
Cleared Congress
Enacted
Where this sits in the process
Common questions
Composed from the official record
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 October 24, 2003: Referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions by unanimous consent.

  1. Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
  2. Passage by the Senate
  3. Passage by the House
  4. 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?

BYRON DORGAN (D-ND) introduced it on October 23, 2003, and 12 members have since signed on as cosponsors.

They come from both major parties: 9 Democrats, 2 Republicans, 1 independent.

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 October 23, 2003, 8405 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 8404 days ago, on October 24, 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

  1. Senate
    In committee, no floor vote yet
  2. House
    Awaits Senate passage
  3. President
    Awaits both chambers
No recorded votes yet
No roll call in this Congress cites this bill. Most bills die in committee without ever reaching a recorded floor vote.