House Passes Mammoth COVID-19 Relief Package With New FDA Funding

House Democrats passed the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill yesterday in an 220-211 vote along party lines, sending the legislation to President Biden’s desk for signing on Thursday.

The massive funding package, which Republicans contend is as much a vehicle to fund social programs as a pandemic rescue package, has many uncontested provisions, including a one-time $500 million appropriation for the FDA, representing almost a 16 percent increase in the agency’s current fiscal year funding (DID, March 8).

The additional FDA funding in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (H.R. 1319) will pay for more postmarket surveillance and inspection activities for COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics, and for tracking potential shortages.

The bill also stipulates that Medicaid drug pricing rebate caps will be eliminated, starting in 2024, letting states pursue larger discounts from drugmakers when they negotiate prices. Earlier versions of the bill called for this clause to take effect in 2023.

Read the final text of H.R. 1319 here: www.fdanews.com/BILLS-117hr1319eas.pdf. ― Jason Scott