HOUSE COMMITTEE MARKS UP GENETIC NON-DISCRIMINATION BILL

Reps. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.) and Judy Biggert (R-Ill.) announced the mark up of the Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act (GINA), H.R.493, in the House Committee on Education and Labor.

The action represents the first time a House committee has marked up genetic nondiscrimination legislation, the lawmakers said. GINA is a bipartisan bill currently cosponsored by 200 members of the House, they noted.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Jan. 31 voted to approve GINA (Device Daily Bulletin, Feb. 2 (http://www.fdanews.com/dailies/device/3_24/news/65661-1.html)).

Previous versions of the bill passed the Senate by wide margins -- 95-0 in 2003 and 98-0 in 2005 -- but sputtered in the House. The prospects for passage in the House have brightened considerably since then, according to congressional sources.