PAHPA reauthorization advances with the amendments

With two key congressional committees voting to refer the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act (PAHPA) to both chambers this week, the crucial bill inches closer towards reauthorization.

The authorization for PAHPA is set to expire on Sept. 30 if a reauthorization bill isn’t passed. First signed into law in 2006, the PAHPA was last reauthorized in 2019 and provides the federal government with authorities and powers to prepare for public health emergencies, biological threats and other crises.

It is among the collection of bills considered “must-pass” before the upcoming September deadline.

The House Energy & Commerce Committee voted 28 – 23 along party lines on Wednesday to adopt amendments to PAHPA. Reauthorization of PAHPA is usually bipartisan, however lawmakers on the panel diverged over what could be achieved with the amendments to the bill this go around.

Democrats on the committee sought to include new provisions aimed at addressing drug shortages in the U.S., including permanently expanding the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) authority over reporting from drug and medical device manufacturers.

GOP committee members were sympathetic to measure to stem shortages, but argued this issue could be addressed at another time.

“Committee Republicans are committed to identifying targeted solutions to drug shortages and the chair has announced she plans to release the discussion draft on drug shortages,” Rep. Larry Bucshon (R-Ind.) said during the markup meeting.

Bucshon expressed skepticism over giving the FDA expanded authority to demand information on potential shortages, saying it remained unclear whether giving the agency these authorities during the pandemic helped.

The markup session held by the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) on Thursday was generally more agreeable, with lawmakers having reached an agreement shortly beforehand.

The committee voted voted 17-3 to send the amended bill to the full Senate.

“This legislation will help us make sure that we have a capable workforce in place, not just nurses and doctors but also public health workers with disease detectives who can figure out where an outbreak is happening and set up vaccination clinics, among many other things,” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), chair of the HELP committee, said in his opening remarks.

An amendment introduced by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), however, was not adopted. Paul’s amendment would bar the federal government from funding gain-of-function, which seeks to see potential ways a virus could evolve.

This form of research became highly controversial over the course of the pandemic with Republicans accusing federal agencies of funding this research in China.

While Sanders said he appreciated Paul’s attention on this issue he spoke against the amendment, arguing it would be “jeopardizing international collaboration on the medical research.”

While the House version of the reauthorization left out measures to address drug shortages, the Senate version included provisions that would require manufacturers to to notify the FDA of when there is an increase in demand that they will not be able to meet, a measure that has long had the support of medical groups.