House Energy & Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone (D-NJ) announced that the committee will hold a markup on Thursday at 11:00 AM ET to consider legislative recommendations for its budget reconciliation instructions. Section 3004 of the bill provides $500 million to the Food and Drug Administration to combat the COVID-19 pandemic by:
- Supporting the review and development of COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics;
- Addressing supply chain shortages;
- Facilitating advanced continuous manufacturing technologies for vaccines and their components; and
- Resuming inspections of facilities delayed or cancelled due to COVID-19.
The committee will also consider provisions meant to bolster COVID-19 testing capacity, expand and sustain the public health workforce, boost funding for Indian Health Service facilities, and ensure that Medicaid and CHIP beneficiaries have access to COVID-19 vaccines and treatment. The committee’s briefing memorandum can be found here and the legislative text pertaining to FDA can be found here.
On February 5, the House adopted S. Con. Res. 5, which determined the Congressional budget for FY 2021, set budget levels for FY 2022-2030, and provided reconciliation instructions. The committee was provided with the ability to increase the deficit no more than $188,498,000,000 from FY 2021-2030. If the committee votes to pass the bill, it will be combined with provisions from other committees, sent to the House floor for passage, and then sent to the Senate.
