Bill Sponsor
House Bill 8644
116th Congress(2019-2020)
Secure America’s Medicine Act of 2020
Introduced
Introduced
Introduced in House on Oct 20, 2020
Overview
Text
Introduced
Oct 20, 2020
Latest Action
Oct 20, 2020
Origin Chamber
House
Type
Bill
Bill
The primary form of legislative measure used to propose law. Depending on the chamber of origin, bills begin with a designation of either H.R. or S. Joint resolution is another form of legislative measure used to propose law.
Bill Number
8644
Congress
116
Policy Area
Health
Health
Primary focus of measure is science or practice of the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease; health services administration and funding, including such programs as Medicare and Medicaid; health personnel and medical education; drug use and safety; health care coverage and insurance; health facilities. Measures concerning controlled substances and drug trafficking may fall under Crime and Law Enforcement policy area.
Sponsorship by Party
Republican
Missouri
House Votes (0)
Senate Votes (0)
No House votes have been held for this bill.
Summary

Secure America's Medicine Act of 2020

This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop and annually update, in collaboration with the Department of Homeland Security and others, a list of critical medications that the federal government should ensure are available in the event of a public health emergency.

HHS must develop an initial list and report to Congress on its rationale for including or excluding certain medications. For annual updates, HHS must solicit public input on the contents of the list by consulting with relevant stakeholders and through the Federal Register. In addition, HHS must evaluate the factors that impact the supply of each medication on the list and identify any that may not be available in sufficient quantities in the event of a public health emergency.

For any medications with insufficient availability, HHS must take certain actions to include them in the Strategic National Stockpile, and the bill makes changes to the administration of the stockpile to allow HHS to enter into additional types of contracts to acquire these medicines. The bill also requires the Public Health Emergency Medical Countermeasures Enterprise (which coordinates federal preparedness efforts with respect to medical countermeasures) and the Government Accountability Office to address these contracts in their activities and reports related to the stockpile.

HHS must also report to Congress on barriers to, and make recommendations to promote, domestic production of critical medications.

Text (1)
October 20, 2020
Actions (2)
10/20/2020
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
10/20/2020
Introduced in House
Public Record
Record Updated
Jan 11, 2023 1:44:30 PM