Safe and Affordable Prescription Drugs Act of 2015
Latest action. Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Safe and Affordable Prescription Drugs Act of 2015
Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) to require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to promulgate regulations within 180 days permitting individuals to import a prescription drug purchased from an approved foreign pharmacy that:
is dispensed by a pharmacist licensed in that country;
is purchased for personal use in quantities not greater than a 90-day supply;
is filled using a valid prescription issued by a physician licensed to practice in the United States; and
has the same active ingredient or ingredients, route of administration, dosage form, and strength as a prescription drug approved under the FFDCA.
Sets forth exceptions, including for controlled substances and biological products.
Establishes a certification process for approving pharmacies in certain foreign countries. Requires HHS to publish a list of approved foreign pharmacies.
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 16, 2015. 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 July 16, 2015: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
- 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 114th Congress (2015-16), 329 of the 10,233 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.2 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?
David Vitter (R-LA) introduced it on July 16, 2015. 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 July 16, 2015, 4074 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 4074 days ago, on July 16, 2015.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 114th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2017 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