WASHINGTON, DC - Building upon its bipartisan #RecordOfSuccess, the House Energy and Commerce Committee today advanced three public health bills.
The public health bills advanced by the full committee were:
PASSED BY VOICE VOTE: H.R. 670, the Special Needs Trust Fairness Act of 2015, authored by Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-PA), would;
* Amend the Social Security Act to allow individuals to set up their own special needs trust.
NOTE: An amendment offered by Rep. Leonard Lance (R-NJ) was adopted by voice vote that included provisions from H.R. 5757, the Medicaid Data and Benefit Improvement Act of 2016. The amendment extends Medicaid coverage of tobacco cessation services to mothers during the first year of a newborn’s life.
PASSED BY VOICE VOTE: H.R. 921, the Sports Medicine Licensure Clarity Act of 2015, authored by Health Subcommittee Vice Chairman Brett Guthrie (R-KY), would;
* Ensure that sports medicine professionals are covered by their malpractice insurance when providing care to their athletes or teams in other states.
PASSED 36-15: H.R. 3299, the Strengthening Public Health Emergency Response Act of 2015 authored by Reps. Susan Brooks (R-IN) and Anna Eshoo (D-CA), would;
* Examine state and local preparedness efforts to examine how our communities can be strengthened.
* Improve the efficiency of contracting process by moving contracting authority back under the BARDA director.
* Incentivize research to combat the next generation of deadly diseases, ensuring that private investment is available for cutting-edge research on medical countermeasures.
* Require post approval reports for medical countermeasure products to monitor the procurement process.
* Call for a GAO study examining the impact of the PRV products and how it is improving our national preparedness.
“With these three bills, we boost emergency preparedness and national security, expand access to special needs trusts, and ensure health professionals are protected while providing care to their athletes on the road. We’ve had great bipartisan success working together to improve the public health, and these three bills build upon our proven #RecordOfSuccess," said Chairman Upton.
A full list of bills and electronic copies of the bills are available on the Energy and Commerce Committee’s website here. A background memo, amendments, and votes will be available at the same link as they are posted.
